06-02-2006, 06:01 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-rajesh_g+Jun 1 2006, 05:31 PM-->QUOTE(rajesh_g @ Jun 1 2006, 05:31 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->http://www.asianage.com/main.asp?layout=2&...&RF=DefaultMain
<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Brahmins apply for âdalit jobsâ
- By Amita Verma
Lucknow, June 1: It could be fire in the belly or simply the necessity to survive, but a quiet social revolution has begun unfolding in several cities of Uttar Pradesh, where brahmins and upper caste Hindus are applying for posts of sanitary workers, known as "safai karamcharis".
The posts of sanitary workers, on an ad hoc basis, were recently advertised in several towns and cities and, for the first time, the applicants include members of the brahmin community in large numbers.
"There are vaishyas and kayasthas too who have applied for the post of safai karamchari but the number of brahmin applicants is sizeable," says an Agra Nagar Nigam official.
Udit Sharma and Suraj Misra, both young graduates, are among the applicants for the post of safai karamchari in Agra. "We have been looking for jobs for the past two years but we have failed to get one so far. We need to earn our living, and so we thought we might as well work as safai karamcharis here," says Udit Sharma.
Suraj Misraâs mother, Savitri Misra, has already warned her son that if he goes ahead with the job, he would be shown the door and, the family would have to face social ostracism. But Suraj is not perturbed. "I am not bothered about society and relatives because no one came forward to help us when my sisterâs engagement broke off due to paucity of funds. I need a job and any job will do. Once I start earning, everything else will fall into place," he says.
The chief development officer at Sitapur, Tahir Iqbal, admits that the upper caste candidates who have applied for the jobs of safai karamcharis appear determined to get the job. "There is a long list of Misra, Shukla, Tripathi and Tiwari candidates who have applied for these posts and they are eagerly waiting to get selected," he said.
One of the candidates who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "It is better to become a scavenger than to become a criminal. If I do not get this job, I may have to take to crime to fend for my family, which is dependent on me for a square meal."
In Kanpur, the number of educated upper caste applicants for the safai karamchari posts is around 38 per cent of the total number of applications, "There are some applicants who are postgraduates while others in this category are graduates," says Dr J.P. Gupta, senior health officer.
In Lucknow too, there are upper caste applicants for the job that was till now considered to be reserved for Dalits. "One such applicant told this correspondent: "If I get this job, it will fetch me around Rs 2,200 every month and this will help me pay for the education of my younger brother who is a second-year medical student. Besides, my work as a safai karamchari will finish by noon and no one will hopefully know what I am doing."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[right][snapback]52005[/snapback][/right]
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<!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Brahmins apply for âdalit jobsâ
- By Amita Verma
Lucknow, June 1: It could be fire in the belly or simply the necessity to survive, but a quiet social revolution has begun unfolding in several cities of Uttar Pradesh, where brahmins and upper caste Hindus are applying for posts of sanitary workers, known as "safai karamcharis".
The posts of sanitary workers, on an ad hoc basis, were recently advertised in several towns and cities and, for the first time, the applicants include members of the brahmin community in large numbers.
"There are vaishyas and kayasthas too who have applied for the post of safai karamchari but the number of brahmin applicants is sizeable," says an Agra Nagar Nigam official.
Udit Sharma and Suraj Misra, both young graduates, are among the applicants for the post of safai karamchari in Agra. "We have been looking for jobs for the past two years but we have failed to get one so far. We need to earn our living, and so we thought we might as well work as safai karamcharis here," says Udit Sharma.
Suraj Misraâs mother, Savitri Misra, has already warned her son that if he goes ahead with the job, he would be shown the door and, the family would have to face social ostracism. But Suraj is not perturbed. "I am not bothered about society and relatives because no one came forward to help us when my sisterâs engagement broke off due to paucity of funds. I need a job and any job will do. Once I start earning, everything else will fall into place," he says.
The chief development officer at Sitapur, Tahir Iqbal, admits that the upper caste candidates who have applied for the jobs of safai karamcharis appear determined to get the job. "There is a long list of Misra, Shukla, Tripathi and Tiwari candidates who have applied for these posts and they are eagerly waiting to get selected," he said.
One of the candidates who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "It is better to become a scavenger than to become a criminal. If I do not get this job, I may have to take to crime to fend for my family, which is dependent on me for a square meal."
In Kanpur, the number of educated upper caste applicants for the safai karamchari posts is around 38 per cent of the total number of applications, "There are some applicants who are postgraduates while others in this category are graduates," says Dr J.P. Gupta, senior health officer.
In Lucknow too, there are upper caste applicants for the job that was till now considered to be reserved for Dalits. "One such applicant told this correspondent: "If I get this job, it will fetch me around Rs 2,200 every month and this will help me pay for the education of my younger brother who is a second-year medical student. Besides, my work as a safai karamchari will finish by noon and no one will hopefully know what I am doing."<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
[right][snapback]52005[/snapback][/right]
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->