“I feel we were born to do this job. There is no escape. Our Mehtar caste ensures that no other work will be offered to us. Every time I lower myself into a gutter, the stench and that liquid full of faeces enter my eyes, nostrils and my mouth. I know that I am risking my life. I have watched many of my folks faint and die due to the poisonous gases that emanate in these sewers. So, I consume a bottle of country liquor and use a bit of ganja (marijuana) to numb my senses. That is the only way I can bring myself to wade through the filth to unclog the gutters of this city.”
—A manual scavenger
“THIS is the only job which is caste-specific. Tell me if there is any other job which comes with a caste tag,” says Virendra Ganvir, a theatre artist in Nagpur and founder of Bahujan Rangbhoomi, a banner that presents plays based on the lives and issues of the underprivileged.
It is only those who hail from the Mehtar community, the lowest in the caste hierarchy of India, who are called upon to take up the task of manual scavenging. Though there is a ban on manual scavenging, the civic authorities and others continue to engage them for cleaning sewers. “Even if a person from the Mehtar or Valmiki caste is employed in some other work, he will be called upon to clean a clogged sewer, as his caste says that he is born to do this work,” observes Ganvir, who has researched their lives minutely and written a play, Gatar, based on the issue of manual scavenging and the suffering of those who are employed in this work.
この記事は Outlook の April 01, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Outlook の April 01, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
The 'Invisible' Dalits
The debate over sub-categorisation of castes is likely to shape the political discourse in the upcoming state elections
Caste Census: To Conquer Or Conserve?
The caste census is generating heated debate, but even its most ardent proponents are not able to articulate a plan about how to use the resulting data
THE FATEFUL COMEDY
Actor-director Rajat Kapoor talks about adapting Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov into a Hindi play
Mad Hatter
When a leader takes off his topi and holds it in his hands while appealing for votes, it signals something extraordinary
Circle Within Circles
The caste question in Muslims.
Backward March
The Maratha reservation question may continue to mire the next government in the state
The 69% Exception
Quota within quota: lessons to be learned from Tamil Nadu
United Indifference
The perils of tweaking tribal identities
Two Nations, Two Destinies
The widely differing balance of power between the military and civilian leadership in India and Pakistan has significantly impacted democracy in the two countries
Crème de la Crème
The mainstream society thinks reservations are against right to equality. It’s high time they are seen in the context of right to justice.