Cycle rickshaws were introduced in Delhi way back in 1940. Their number has increased phenomenally in the last couple of decades. Rickshaws can be seen in large numbers in the National Capital Region – from the roads of Chandini Chowk to the University campus. In the absence of any alternative mode of transport for short distances, the rickshaws emerged as a vital public service. But the rickshaw pullers still have to bear the brunt of low wages and sub-human conditions of living. They migrate to urban areas in search of a better livelihood only to face urban misery in replacement of rural poverty. In addition they face many other problems. The police as well as the commuters abuse them physically and verbally. The policemen harass them, sometimes damaging their rickshaws and they end up paying for the damages.
Since most rickshaw pullers do not own the rickshaws they pull, they have to pay a part of their daily earnings to the owners. Here too they are exploited. They also suffer from a lot of health problems as the job involves a lot of physical work and is particularly difficult for the older persons. Most rickshaw pullers said that they are physically exhausted at the end of the day and they have no energy left to do anything else. The rickshaw pullers earn a very low wage which is not sufficient to even afford their basic minimum necessities. They can hardly afford two meals a day.
These people also have aspirations in life. They want their children to study and do well in life. None of them want their children to be rickshaw pullers. They do long for a better livelihood. A lot of the rickshaw pullers are from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Their families are based there and they have to earn in order to support them.
It would come as surprise to many people that some of the rickshaw pullers are graduates, and still they have not got a better job than pulling rickshaws. Manoj, a differently abled rickshaw puller says, “What can I do? Maybe it is this (his lack of nervous coordination) which is preventing me from moving ahead in life”. Overwhelmed with emotion he continues “though I have completed a six month certificate course in chair making and shoe polishing as well as typing, I am continuously being turned down by various employers”. The plight of this young man seems never-ending despite having the acquired the requisite skills.
The government’s attitude towards them has also not been particularly supportive. The government has used archaic laws to treat people working in this sector as though they are criminals and used the full might of the state to harass, fleece and hound them through bizarre regulations.
So the next time you climb onto a rickshaw, think what it feels like to be driving one all day.
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The author is a IIyr Economics Honours student and a Core Team Member of DevelopmentChannel.org
2 comments:
Now this might seem a blasphemous proposition,but just give it a thought,even if only for intellectual purposes:
there is perhaps a need for all kinds of services in a society,from the seemingly insignificant to the seemingly all-powerful..now thats where we get it a bit wrong..its true that there is a need for all, but all of them are also to be at par..none higher or lower than the other.
which brings me to my point.what if(and thats a major'if')rickshaw wala's are given proper wages,benefits and most inportantly proper dignity, would that perhaps make it possible for a rickshaw wala also to be proud of his work and feel that he too is contributing his own two bits to our society..
i can't promise the first two,i.e wages etc.but i think it's in our hands, the commuters, to ensure that we atleast respect them for their labour. dignity of labour is perhaps as important,if not more..something we can probably help with,no?
True, Kartik...the lack of dignity of labour is a major problem in India (I hold our too-long colonial suppression and the caste system responsible for it)
Par exemple, in the US, the plumber, the electrician, the super is not looked down upon (well, their wages are super high too, both relatively and in absolute terms..which is a whole another issue)...life is valued and so is work!
But you know what, the brain will always be superior to the brawn. In the sense that any profession requiring intellectual skills would always be valued and respected more than an occupation requiring physical ability.
I'll all for respecting their labour though..no two ways about that! ;)
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