vedanti singhal: week 7

In ‘Of Rasoi ka Kaam/Bathroom ka Kaam’, Sonal Sharma talks interaction of caste and class with respect to employers and domestic workers in the Indian society. The same is analysed through surveying and interviewing a group of heterogenous domestic helpers in Delhi belonging to different background. The author reached the following conclusions through this survey, that domestic workers practice untouchability and the notion of “pollution” and “purity” within themselves; workers reinforce the practice of untouchability by practicing it towards their employers. 

It is well established that all workers have faced untouchability to some extent in their lives and it is very pervasive in the Indian context. For instance, most helpers are asked their caste before recruitment or their caste is illicitly presumed or deduced on the basis of their origin. Workers’ practices show that caste plays a crucial role in structuring the relations, it is not the only identity at work and highlights the importance of religion and region. Ideas of pollution as “avoidance” apply to workers as well as they “avoid” certain activities as well as certain places in the household depending on their caste. Like, workers higher in the hierarchy of caste do not prefer doing “menial/impure” chores like cleaning the bathroom and associate these tasks with those belonging to the lowest rung; others, like Muslims or workers belonging to different religions, are not permitted in the kitchen. The same is reproduced by the employers as they segregate tasks. However, it should not be concluded that workers’ practices of untouchability can be equated with those of employers because of power inequalities with serious economic consequences.