Hostile work environment, class hierarchy among issues faced by Banaras' Dom community

New Delhi, Jul 14 (PTI) Despite being regarded as the keepers of the 'sacred fire', without which, it is believed, the Hindu soul will not achieve liberation, the Dom community continues to be one of the most oppressed as explored by author Radhika Iyengar in her debut book "Fire on the Ganges".

A discussion around the book, chronicling the everyday realities of the Doms -- a Dalit sub-caste who perform the Hindu last rites of cremation in the ghats of Banaras -- was hosted by the British Council on Friday. "Fire on the Ganges: Living among the dead in Banaras" plunges into Banaras' historical past as it tells the story about the lives of several characters from the Dom community of corpse-burners as well as their struggle to find a place beyond what was accorded to them by ancient tradition.

From hazardous work environment to the class hierarchy-defined roles performed by people within the Dom community, Iyenger has touched upon different aspects of the business of the corpse-burning and the community living on the margins of the society.

For instance, she explained how the Dom Raja (king of cremators), also called 'maalik', has more privileges as compared to the labourers.

She has also talked about the rigid work distribution system under which the community conducts its business, called 'Paari', where essentially every Dom family is given a set number of days to work in a year.

"Right below the 'maaliks' are the bookkeepers and the ones who are responsible for overlooking the proper functioning of the cremation grounds. Lastly come the labourers and corpse burners," said Iyenger as she recalled her conversation with the late 'Dom Raja' Jagdish Chaudhary in Banaras.

Besides adults, according to Iyengar, even the children of the Dom community are expected to earn money, which they earn by collecting shrouds left at the cremation grounds.

"The children sell it to a shopkeeper later for a meagre sum who resells the same to a different mourning family at a higher price," said the Red Ink awardee for excellence in Indian journalism.

But the worse, Iyengar claims, is the hazardous working conditions of these cremation grounds, eventually leading to severe lung diseases in many of these corpse-burners.

"When you're physically there, smoke in the Manikarnika Ghat (one of the oldest and sacred cremation ghats) is like a thick curtain that envelopes you and settles deep in your lungs. Now, this is a really hostile work environment because they're working with fire. Also, they end up suffering burns many a times," she added.

The book, priced at Rs 599, was published by HarperCollins India last year. PTI SGC MG MG