Dear India, Are We Ignoring Gandhi’s Teachings on Labour Dignity?

We need to revisit and imbibe what Gandhi taught, that the poor possesses the same soul as the rich.

Dear India,

It is such a delight and honour to be a part of celebrations to mark the 69th year of you being a republic. It has been an eventful journey, from being in chains of colonialism for about two centuries to becoming one of the prominent global powers. But to talk of this journey without remembering Mahatma Gandhi would be like taking off that big, shiny jewel from the centre of the crown – without which not only does it look less beautiful, but also incomplete.

Although we continue to hang his pictures in most government offices, schools and other public spaces, we have given his teachings a convenient slip. One such teaching of his, with which most of us remain completely unacquainted, is about the dignity of labour.

The more we talk about moving away from class and caste-ridden society, the more we have added to these divisions of society.

The moneyed class holds itself superior to those who engage in various kinds of manual labour to earn their living. They think of themselves as their masters, and not just employers. Of course there is lot of economics involved in explaining the growing inequality in our country (which is the highest in 92 years as calculated by French economists Lucas Chancel and Thomas Piketty), the way we address and treat this inequality shows how far we are from considering our fellow humans as equals.

Our inability to understand the dignity of labour not only explains why we accept and hence reinforce that they belong to the lowest rung of the society, but also our reluctance to pay them their rightful share. It is sad how we continue to dehumanise labour, much in the shadow of feudalism and caste system, especially the work of cleaning.

We need to revisit and imbibe what Gandhi taught, that the poor possess the same soul as the wealthy, that their wealth gives them no superiority over the poor and they are mere trustees of their wealth.

As you, my dear country, aspire to become a superpower, you would need the sweat and work of each and every citizen without categorising labour as superior or inferior. It also needs a proper legal framework, like the implementation of minimum wages legislation (currently with select committee) to ensure benefits and working conditions are as per the law.

Only with genuine respect towards those who earn their bread ‘by the sweat of his brow’, we can become an egalitarian and truly democratic country.

Here’s hoping that we evolve into one.

Love,
Zoya

(P.S. Just after I finished writing my letter, my twitter feed showed an image which captures this harsh reality – a woman comfortably sitting on a seat in a visibly uncrowded Delhi Metro with her baby while her nanny sits on the floor with a big diaper bag. Even other people seen in the picture look unperturbed by this. This is how insensitive we have become, it just doesn’t look awkward. It has become normal.)