By Gaurav Mehta:
Being associated with the field of law I have been nurtured in the belief that the ‘Right to Life’, which has been accorded the place of a Fundamental Right under the Constitution of India, includes a plethora of rights, the foremost being the right to live with dignity. The dignity of an individual even finds a special mention in the Preamble to the Constitution.
But a recent experience put questions in my mind as to whether we treat every individual with the same respect, or if that varies with their professions. The ‘lower’ the profession of a person, lesser would be the amount of respect he commands in our eyes. Is it right to even categorise some professions as ‘lower’?
I was sitting with a friend in a canteen at the Tis Hazari District Court in Delhi when I saw a 12-13-year-old shoe-shiner enter. He came to the table adjacent to ours, at which three advocates were sitting. One of them, who happened to be in his late 30s, gave consent to the boy to polish his shoes. The little boy sat down near his feet, started opening the laces and with much effort took out the advocate’s shoes. After taking off the shoes, the boy got up to take them out of the canteen, perhaps so that he could sit outside, near the stairs and polish them. I thought it was right on his part since this canteen which happens to be on the first floor, meant exclusively for advocates, does not have much space as compared to the one on the ground floor, which is open for all. Seeing him moving out with shoes, the advocate called him and said very rudely, “Oye, yahi baith ke karr! (Oye, sit here only!)”
I was observing all this very closely. It can be anybody’s guess as to what circumstances put a shoe-polish and brush in this little one’s hand instead of a pen. My point is, even if that advocate thought it was OK to get his shoes polished by the little boy, the least he could’ve done was to open the laces and taken the shoes off himself, rather than making the boy do it. Isn’t this basic etiquette? How can one’s conscience allow it? Is the boy, or for that matter, people who polish shoes for a living, not human beings? Aren’t these people entitled to dignity in living, dignity in the profession they choose? Who gave people the right to address them as “Oye”?
Last month, the safai karamcharis in Delhi went on a strike. One of the issues with these sweepers, cleaners, garbage-clearers and drain workers was the ill-treatment and humiliation faced by them. The importance of the role of these safai karamcharis in cleaning up the city can hardly be undermined. One can only imagine what state the city would be in if they didn’t do their jobs. Yet, they execute the most thankless job and also have to put up with ill-treatment.
Our society comprises of a total of individuals engaged in different vocations or professions on the basis of their educational qualifications and experience. There is a constant interaction between all of them at some point or the other. It is virtually impossible to imagine a society comprising exclusively of only doctors, or engineers, or lawyers, etc.
It is time that we discard this idea of superiority and inferiority in work and treat everybody with respect and dignity. Because every profession has a well-defined role and importance.
So the next time when you deal with your car cleaner, or the newspaper vendor, or the watchman of the society, or the boy filling petrol in your car, or the man serving you at a hotel, or the security guard at your office, treat them with dignity. They well deserve it. After all, we all belong to the same race called ‘humanity’!
Note: The views expressed hereinabove are based on my personal experience and certainly not against advocates as a body. Belonging to the same fraternity, I’ve always had immense respect for it. And my purpose is not to generalise things and paint everyone with the same brush. This was just an incident that I felt like sharing with some of my like-minded friends here on this platform.