Ranchi’s caste kitchens

Caste considerations apart, the private kitchens apparently came about as the barracks lacked dining space and had few utensils to cater to the 400 policemen. ‘‘These private kitchens are not officially recognised,’’ said Sergeant Major Anand Shanker Prasad. ‘‘The beds are allotted to the cops on the campany basis. There is no compulsion for any one of them to take his meal in the barrack.’’

Nor is the story the same everywhere. The Jharkhand Armed Police have well-equipped kitchens which cater to all policemen, irrespective of their caste. The police even have a common mess, with tables and chairs.

Paswan and Bandra have no such luck. They might be office-bearers of the Police Association but that doesn’t change their lot. The police lines don’t have the space for a common kitchen and the prospects are only shrinking further with the operation of the private kitchens.

‘‘Most policemen belonging to the upper castes don’t like to eat the food cooked by us. They treat us as untouchables,’’ said Paswan, pointing out he belongs to a scheduled caste. The lack of space, he says, only helped the cops arrange their own kitchens on caste lines.

‘‘Their kitchen was filthy. The cooks never bothered to keep themselves clean,’’ said a constable of the Brahmin community. ‘‘The food cooked by them was not edible. I am strictly vegetarian but they eat meat. It stinks. I can’t eat food prepared by them,’’ says another, a Rajput.

The state police is in no hurry to change the scheme of things, either. A Rs 120-crore plan to modernise the force does not include improving mess facilities. Another file for recruiting cooks is also stuck in the pipeline. The trained cooks are working for senior officials, a cook alleged.

Two other members of the Policemen’s Association, Ruplal Oraon and Amir Akhtar, who also work as cooks say they are helpless unless the system changes.