[Reader-list] creating the bangladeshi

[Bharati]

dear friends,
Many of us have been reading about the "deportment of illegal Bangladeshis"
in India in the newspapers in the last few months. Who are these persons?
As an environmentalist working with waste recyclers, (ranging from kabaris
to ragpickers), I know for one that all recyclers have been unofficially
classified as Bangladeshis. (Personally, to me it hardly matters who is or
is not from where and I see no reason why Bangladeshis should not get a life
here or anywhere else where the opportunity exists.) The official
clssification holds ground at the most unexpected levels : sub-inspectors of
the Police, councillors of municipalities and many, many middle class
citizens. There is no basis for this in the form of any survey, or reports.
It's based upon perception.  In case you're wondering what such a survey
might  actually show, studies carried out by us (in a different context)
show that most recyclers come from North India. (and here, we are often told
that Bangladeshis change their names, lie and pretend to be North Indians,
that we have been fooled. But arguing over the data is itself dangerous and
undesirable and one acknowledges that). So firstly, communities of workers
are classified, on the basis of their work. This work (or waste picking and
recycling) also happens to be stigmatised, considered dirty and debased,
fitting in well of the unofficial-official understanding of Bangladeshis.

But all recyclers are not suspect in the same way. In India,  the recycling
works like a flat topped pyramid, with waste pickers at the bottom, forming
the base. There are almost 100,000 waste pickers in Delhi, saving at least
Rs.600,000 daily for the city. They sell to small waste buyers, often
opening out of slums, working under poor conditions. Above them, the richer
dealers and millionaires from waste (some have, in the past, described the
comforts of Italian socks to me) and the recyclers. As you climb up the
pyramid, the work of the players involves less direct handling of waste, (
and much of it has already been cleaned)  and moves into the realm of
"business." About 1 in a hundred persons is a recycler in Delhi. None of
them at any layer are immuned from various kinds of discrimination, but I
will stick to the lower two layers, who are currently classified as
Bangladeshis.

So, How do you deport a Bangladeshi? According to the police and Home
Ministry, it's pretty simple. First, you pin-point them because they " look
different," they "speak differently", and "you can tell if you are trained."
According to officials in the Lt. Governor's Office, "its very easy because
there is a big difference in the manner of a UP Muslim and a Bangladeshi
Muslim." Also, no documents to prove citizenship are typically accepted
because " they make false Voter-I-Cards." So what do you do if a catcher
lands up with a truck at your jhuggi tonight? Flash your undisputable and
accurate citi-bank credit card?

Secondly, as I discovered during a visit paid to my office by the police,
its about playing your concern about national security. Police has
occasionally asks us to " hand over the Bangladeshis" for the sake of the
country. This argument about security is a new one, that has evolved many
branches in the last few months. It now includes the arguments that
Bangladeshis are involved in huge hawala deals and of kabaris buying stolen
goods. In other words, they are constructed to be endangering security and
safety : of the economy and average middle classes. In the minds of many
officials, therefore, safety means that the fencing of the city (watch
recent developments in Luyten's Delhi) must go hand in hand with eliminating
the thieves and the markets for their stolen goods.

In the same vein, wastepickers are routinely caught when any theft takes
place as it is presumed that with their access to a buyer, they will not
hesitate to steal. Very few persons acknowledge that given the fact that
wastepickers take the same route each day, are highly territorial and depend
greatly upon this territory to earn a living, it is unlikely that they will
want to endanger their work by frequent robberies. Some of the wastepickers
I work with have often expressed anguish over the fact that their desire to
simply labour honestly is not even considered valid enough for debate. (BTW
: None of these arguments have been penned down in any public document that
I was able to access. I therefore depended largely on conversations and
meetings. )

This last argument about theft is particularly of concern to many of the
kabaris/waste buyers in Delhi. From being accused of dealing in stolen
goods -nothing new there-  they are now being informally drawn into the
Bangladeshi-Non-Bangladeshi debate and classification. It seems to work as
an uncontrollable chain reaction: from dirty to undesirable to thieves to
Bangladeshis. It seems to me that Bangladeshi is really a euphemism
increasingly used for anyone who can be seen as poor/Muslim. Moreover, this
is also a means of ridding the city of the unwanted. Don't forget,  the move
to deport comes on the basis of orders of the Home Minister whose Ministry
also shots from the shoulder of the Supreme Court, which it claims has given
these orders. (However, I could not locate these. )

 So suddenly, the waste buyer who act as the sink of middle class
consumption, finds himself a triple accused non-citizen.

This is not  surprise, given how the Lt. Governor of Delhi's office has been
giving orders for eviction of kabaris for a while now. About 2 years ago, an
order circulated to the Municipalities and the Police asked them to shut
down all the kabari shops operating in slums. No reason was cited. Although
only a few were shut down, there was widespread harassment and the bribe
rates and frequency increased. Again, informally, officials said that it was
a step towards cleaning up the city of people who "dirty "the city.  They as
said that slums, though undesirable within the city, cannot be "exploited"
for "commercial purposes". In a quick stoke, therefore, a waste dealer
becomes both dirty and commercial  (as against playing a role as a cleanser
and a free service provider).

This dynamic, ongoing construct of the ubiquitous kabariwala and ragpicker
of Delhi is not without resistant, of course. There is a staunch argument
against being forced not to be from UP, Bihar, even West Bengal. In meetings
with the Police, many ask about the basis of this classification and
challenge it in small ways. While wastepickers are decidedly nervous, many
of them have also some idea of emergency plans. None of these include
changing their names, changing their accents or reinventing a life-story.
These do include ensuring their peer group knows if they are picked up,
being able to borrow money to bribe and be let out and at times of greatest
fears, stay awake to warn the others if the trucks come along. Several of
them  have decided against opening bank accounts for fear of being unable to
access savings in case of deportation.(Fearfully, the stories doing the
rounds are that deportees are dumped on the border and left to fend for
themsleves. None of them are heard from in any case). This year, many of
them optimistically applied for voters I cards. .Others sent for documents
from their villages across India and some of them tried locating birth
certificates or proof of being born in India. Documents that might never be
accepted but which hold out hpe during the questioning sessions. Most have
none, and they can only hope to be out mining the waste from a bin when the
rounding-up is happening.


Bharati

Bharati Chaturvedi
Chintan Environmental Reserach and Action Group
238 Sidhartha Enclave. New Delhi. 110014.