The rationality and discourse which legitimises state actions regarding slums are investigated, thereby uncovering how slums are discursively produced. The question-hour debates from 1953 until 2014 of the upper house of the Indian Parliament are analysed for this purpose, complemented by an examination of slum-related policies and legislations. The historical progression of the conceptualisation of slums, the rationale around it and how this rationality reigns in policy and legislation debates are outlined. The slums have transformed from political subjects to technical objects over a period of 61 years.
