Small entrepreneurs

Syllabus

Books

1. The Death and Life of Great American Cities — Jane Jacobs. Argues that mixed uses, frequent footfall, small shops, and "eyes on the street" make neighbourhoods safer and more functional; useful for understanding vendors as part of a street's social life rather than as obstructions.
2. The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else (Basic Books, 2000) — Hernando de Soto

Academic Papers

1. The Use of Knowledge in Society (1945) 35(4) American Economic Review 519 — Friedrich A Hayek
2. The Problem of Social Cost (1960) 3 Journal of Law and Economics 1 — Ronald H Coase
3. The Property Right Paradigm (1973) 33(1) Journal of Economic History 16 — Armen A Alchian and Harold Demsetz
4. Police Powers and the Constitution of India: The Inconspicuous Ascent of an Incongruous American Implant (2014) 28 Emory International Law Review 63 — Arvind Datar and Shivprasad Swaminathan
5. The Supreme Court and Article 19(6) of the Indian Constitution: A Study of Judicial Behaviour — Prashant Narang, PhD thesis, Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, JNU, 2019. Supervisors: Prof. Jaivir Singh and P. Puneeth
6. Street Smarts! Vendors and Property Rights in Delhi, India (2024) 1(1) Markets & Society 116 — Prashant Narang and Jayana Bedi

Legal Cases & Statutes

1. State of Bombay v RMDC Chamarbaugwala AIR 1957 SC 699; 1957 SCR 874 — held that gambling competitions were not "trade" or "business" under Article 19(1)(g), establishing that some activities can be treated as outside ordinary constitutional protection
2. Khoday Distilleries Ltd v State of Karnataka (1995) 1 SCC 574 — held that citizens have no fundamental right to trade in liquor, though once the state permits such trade, licensing decisions must still meet standards of fairness and non-arbitrariness
3. Man Singh v State of Punjab (1985) — upheld Punjab's owner-puller rule for cycle rickshaws, accepting the state's argument that it protected pullers from exploitation by vehicle owners
4. All Delhi Cycle Rickshaw Operators Union v Municipal Corporation of Delhi (1987) — upheld Delhi's rule that a cycle rickshaw licence could go only to the owner-puller, and that one person could not hold multiple licences
5. Manushi Sangathan v Government of Delhi (2010) — Delhi High Court struck down Delhi's owner-puller rule and licence cap, holding it harmed poor workers who could not afford to buy a rickshaw but could rent one to earn a livelihood
6. Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014
7. Delhi City Taxi Scheme, 2015 — taxis were allowed to operate through individual and fleet models, while rickshaws were pushed toward one-driver-one-vehicle regulation
8. Delhi Transport Department, E-rickshaw Road Restrictions
9. Supreme Court's 2024 decision declining to reconsider the one-lakh ceiling on auto-rickshaws in Delhi — Live Law

Reports

1. Report No. 95: Removal of the Three-Wheeler Cap — EPCA

Podcasts & Videos

1. The Plight of Our Street Vendors — Prashant Narang with Amit Varma, The Seen and the Unseen, Episode 179. A long-form conversation on the legal, economic, and moral questions around street vending in India
2. पकोड़ानॉमिक्स: फेरीवालों की व्यथा / Street Vending in India — Prashant Narang on Puliyabaazi. A Hindi discussion on street vendors, public space, corruption, and the Street Vendors Act
3. Third Wheel — Prabodh. A short documentary-style video on Delhi's cycle-rickshaw economy and the everyday reality of rickshaw pullers
4. Pedalling Past Permits: How India's License Raj Choked Dreams & Dignity — Prashant Narang, TEDx. On how permit rules and livelihood restrictions shaped the cycle-rickshaw sector
5. Right to Property — Prashant Narang. Compares property rights and livelihood claims of cycle-rickshaw pullers, street vendors, and auto-rickshaw drivers