This paper tries to lay bare the intertwined histories of rehabilitation of the refugees from East Pakistan and the development of the city of Calcutta in the initial decades after the partition of British India. Calcutta has attracted people from outside from its inception. Calcutta of the lateeighteenth century has been described as a ‘contact zone’, where people from various fields and countries, of varied descent, came to the city with their specific knowledge practices.1 With the consolidation of the colonial rule, several classes of people flocked to the city—be it the quintessential salaried professionals or the keranis, the Marwari businessmen, the students from East Bengal or the upcountry labouring poor. It emerged as a cosmopolitan city par excellence.