Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The railwaymen are right. The association of manual labour with illiteracy is outdated
Trackmen in the Indian Railways have protested that their morning roll call is an insulting anachronism,which dates from a time when most of them were illiterate. Minimum educational qualifications have governed recruitment for two decades and most trackmen can now sign their names. Besides,other jobs involving manual labour have dropped the roll call in favour of the attendance register. Today,only schoolchildren need to answer a roll call. And trackmen. Its insulting.
Trackmen,who prevent accidents by keeping the rails true,have been traditionally disrespected. A century ago,they were called gandy dancers,an appellation of obscure etymology. However,since the profession of dancing was not much respected at the time in the English-speaking world,gandy dancers were probably not respected either. So it is nice to see a substantial section of the profession finally standing up for its dignity. Or do the 2.6 million trackmen,who have appealed to the ministry to be allowed to sign attendance registers,represent the entire profession? Are railways made by hand elsewhere?
India is one of the last handmade nations on earth,but one by one,professions that were driven by manual labour are being gentrified. Our famously lumpy handmade roads are being smoothed over by heavy machinery. Construction workers no longer clamber about on handmade bamboo scaffolding. Even our kitchens work out of the box,which often has a phoren label. Handmade is giving way to handcrafted,a euphemism for mystifyingly and pointlessly expensive. The railwaymen who have demanded dignity are protesting against the old association of manual labour with illiteracy. But,in the meanwhile,manual has become premium.
