New Delhi, March 6 -- The crowd gathers every morning, banners in hand, their voices echoing through the streets of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan. Their demand is simple: restore their villages to the rural status they once held. The people of Satipura and 2 Knj, two of the six villages incorporated into the Hanumangarh municipal council on January 10, 2025, are protesting almost daily against the state government's circular. For them, becoming "urban" is not a privilege but a crisis.

"We do not know how we will survive anymore," says Jasram, a resident of Satipura. He and his wife have worked as daily-wage labourers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for 15 years. The scheme, which ensures 100 days of ...