Navami K Week 7

Reading - Of Rasoi ka Kaam/Bathroom ka Kaam by Sonal Sharma 

The author of this article revisits the concept of ‘purity’ and ‘polluted’ within the system of labor and highlights that even till today, there has been a continuation of this hierarchy, which usually gets coupled with other hierarchies like the caste system and the gender barrier. This narrative according to the author is established due to the existing narrative of the relationship between caste and class. Caste identity becomes an important aspect in order to understand the nature of the organisation of the labor force, but other scholars argue that ‘class’ occupies an important position in order to classify the relationship between an employer and employee. More than other habits, ‘cleanliness’ forms a large proportion of this distinction between chosen labor and otherwise. But first, it is important to look at the term ‘dirt’ and how it is interpreted in various contexts. The author says that ‘according to Mary Douglas (1966), we cannot look at “dirt” or “pollution” in isolation as it is “order and schemes,” established and reestablished through socialization, that construct the “dirt” the dirty is not absolute, it is relative. Douglas defines dirt as “a matter out of place”  and through a few examples illustrates how certain objects create situations of “uncleanliness,” “dirt” or “pollution” when they are in places where they should not be.’ What she means by this is that the term ‘dirt’ is a social construct that falls and rises in meaning as society views it. She gives the example of untouchable caste groups, where cooking in households is banned as it is a taboo for this caste to enter the kitchen and perform this function mainly because they are termed as unhygienic. In another interpretation provided by the author, the word ‘dirty’ or the hindi word ‘gandha’ is used to describe the occupation of many, especially sex workers rendering their jobs as bad in the public eye. This identity is what degrades or de-morals the labor force and create hierarchies within the labor system.