Putting them in their place?
This deep-rooted practice being opposed by the upper stratum is understandable as the hegemonised were feared to be made equal to them. However, the gradual change in the system is itself a vindication of a certain degree of unwillingness that existed among the slaves to be exalted to the promised position
The Shudras and Dalits of the Indian subcontinent were no different from the African slaves inArabia, at least in the contexts of burden of persecutions inflicted on them and their readiness to espouse any new ideology promising to grant them the most desired fundamental right – freedom. This faction does not necessarily constitute the majority but surely shapes up the highly oppressed class of the society. Their jobs and duties, in most of the cases, are acceptable to them. All they demand is the incorporation of considering them humans and awarding them basic human rights despite the outlook demanded by their occupations.
The institution of slavery and concubinage in the Arabian Peninsula did not eradicate, or even diminish, as soon as the first call towards Islam was made. The advent of Islam, an ideology that addressed the rights of the subjugated factions of that society and prescribed regulations and injunctions regarding their treatment, triggered the process and, therefore, can be thought of as the immediate reason of the onset of the evolutionary change. The masters as well as the slaves themselves, nonetheless, showed resistance to the alterations in the status quo.
This deep-rooted practice being opposed by the upper stratum is understandable as the hegemonised were feared to be made equal to them. However, the gradual change in the system is itself a vindication of a certain degree of unwillingness that existed among the slaves to be exalted to the promised position. This might sound absurd to many, but this is how harsh the truth is in general. The existence of these slaves was what the masters needed the most, and for that they were fed, clothed and sheltered, let it be of the poorest quality. The reluctance that was there among the bond servants was because of the unpredictability of their future. The immediate granting of freedom would have left no choice for these salves-turned-free persons to helplessly beg or resort to committing criminal activities to feed their mouths. The master-to-slave relationship was, therefore, given a symbiotic tincture where catering to the demands of servants was incumbent on those whom they were dependent.
A similar trend is prevalent in today’s world, irrespective of the political thought underlying each state’s political system and the culture and traditions that govern the hearts of its denizens. Each stretch of land houses several distinct ethnicities and religions; those in majority form the elite and upper classes, while those few in numbers constitute the lower class. Each society represses one community, in particular, to serve those above it. The subdued perform their duties and in return expect to be paid and given fundamental facilities, health, education and food to name a few. What they certainly do not deserve is to be given tags like Chuhra andKammi. Labelling all members of that community regardless of the class they belong to is yet another deplorable reality, but demeaning the label itself is much harsher. Nevertheless, the thirty-year-old sanitary worker’s death has compelled us to ask one question: Who is aChuhra after all – a Pakistani Christian who is into the profession of sweeping, or an individual belonging to a long persecuted caste in the Indian subcontinent?
The story of Irfan Masih is being narrated in two versions. The popular view is blaming a fasting Muslim doctor for refusing to touch the sanitary worker’s sludge-covered body, causing the needless delay in his treatment that resulted in his death. The other version holds that his body was received as dead, that is, he had died on his way to the hospital
Belonging to the Bhanghi caste, these Churhas have been winning their bread through the occupation of sweeping, collecting, hauling away and disposing of garbage since forever. It was this legacy that first earned them the title of “untouchables” and excluded them from the Hindu varna caste system that defines economies of each of the four social classes; they were too ‘ritually impure’ to be placed in the quadruple stratification. This resulted in them embracing the religion of their colonisers between the 1870s and 1930s like no other community did. As Jeffrey Cox says in ‘Imperial Fault Lines: Christianity and Colonial Power in India’, “It is certain that a large majority of the 391,270 Indian Christians enumerated in Punjab were Chuhras – that is, the most stigmatised minority in the province”.
The flipside is yet to unravel. These untouchables not only converted to Christianity but also took up other religious ideologies like Islam and Sikhism. Therefore, as stated by Cox in his book, there were, at one point in time, Hindu Chuhras, Musali (Muslim) Chuhras, Mazhabi (Sikh) Chuhras and Christian Chuhras (now simply known as Chuhras). Today, Chuhras dwelling in Pakistan are largely Christians while those in India are the followers of Sikhism.In fact, 90-95pc of Pakistani Punjab’s Christian population belongs to the Chuhra caste.
Therefore, this is not a story of designating Pakistani Christian community with the title of Churhas and henceforth denying them their right to live. This tale has its roots deeply embedded in the anthropological relationships of communities living in the Indian subcontinent since long. Religious castes demarcated the boundaries of social classes which, in turn, defined their means of earning. Tagging these professions resulted in formation of further classes, like Gujjar, Panwala, Chaiwala, and Churha.
The tragic death of Irfan Masih has, therefore, spotlit two issues: how morally wretched we are to call 1.6pc of Pakistani population by the name of Churha, and how despicable certain elements of our society are to deny these Churhas their right to medical assistance.
Dealing with the first issue requires only one statement as an answer: Not all Christians are Churhas because Churha can be anyone whose profession demands him to bathe in the filth of others. Many Muslims are doing similar jobs in other parts of the world.
The second problem requires a much deeper realisation. Being a Churha is as professional and respectable as belonging to any other profession. This title is as honourable as that of a doctor because while the latter purifies you of your internal filth, these Churhas clean your external grime. Your job is to eat in the car and throw it out. These are the people who prevent wrappers and shopping bags from clogging your drains and mains. Had these Churhas not presented themselves to do the “polluting” job, we all would have smelt the gases that suffocate them and tasted the sewage they work in.
The story of Irfan Masih is being narrated in two versions. The popular view is blaming a fasting Muslim doctor for refusing to touch the sanitary worker’s sludge-covered body, causing the needless delay in his treatment that resulted in his death. The other version holds that his body was received as dead, that is, he had died on his way to the hospital. If the former is true, there is no denying the fact that this inhumane act must be deplored at every possible level. These service providers must be served when needed and there cannot be any excuse to justify non-compliance to this rule. Yet this incident cannot be a barometer to judge the intention and devotion of all doctors. Those who clean the vomits and excreta of their patients and do not think even once before drenching their hands in their pathological fluids definitely outnumber the black sheep who value their cleanliness and fasts more than the health of the sick.
Legal prosecution in this particular case might end in convicting the responsible doctors if found guilty, but this is not the only reported incident of its kind. Exposure to toxic gases while cleaning a sewer in Khanpur killed Abdul Sattar back in 2013, while Sandal and Yousaf lost their lives in Faisalabad doing a similar job in 2017. Who is responsible for their deaths and that of many others who have paid back to this profession’s earning by sacrificing their lives in the line of their duty? We do need FIRs and a few judgments of conviction in this case, but what we majorly must do is to provide the entire sewer cleaning and maintenance personnel with personal protective equipment including fresh air respirators, padded thigh and shoulder straps, portable multiple gas detectors, air blowers and exhausts, safety helmets, long boots, and hand gloves. I have never seen any sanitary worker with all, if any, of these.
The oxygen cylinder sent by doctors after Irfan Masih’s body had been cleaned was reportedly empty. “And, before they could arrange another cylinder, he died”, Irfan’s brother Pervez told media. These sanitary workers are our country’s lifelines. All one has to do, in order to realise their importance, is to imagine a day without them. Once discerned, this realisation must be embodied by eyeing Churhas as professionals and ensuring the provision of adequate facilities and safety kits. Even the smallest toenail needs to be taken care of, since pain in any part of body is felt by the entire existence.
