‘Classist nonsense’: Bengaluru housing society asks ‘maids to not use common areas’, Twitter erupts

Many Twitter users noted that the discriminatory ‘dikats’ by resident groups are often justified under the guise of security concerns, but are really class discrimination.

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Discriminatory rules such as separate lifts for service workers and domestic workers are common in many gated societies across Indian cities. Now a tweet has highlighted another instance of such practices.

The tweet shares a text reportedly written by a Bengaluru residential society that asked domestic helps not to use common areas such as “park, ampitheatre, gazebos” while waiting between their jobs. The text suggests that “maids” should instead use the waiting areas. The text argues that residents feel “uncomfortable when being surrounded by maids everywhere” and “security is not able to monitor common areas”. The text also says, “Cooks, carpenters, plumbers sit on the sofa at the building reception. Most of us have probably stopped sitting on the sofas by now.”

residents of a bangalore society confusing class and being a classist🤮 pic.twitter.com/0pbeBUpDJc

— Vibin Babuurajan 👋 (@vibinbaburajan) June 21, 2023

In the comments, many Twitter users noted that often these ‘dikats’ are justified under the guise of security when in reality they are based on unfounded biases that see those from the lower-income group as criminal or unclean and hence unfit to exist in common spaces alongside the elites.

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Echoing this view, a Twitter user wrote, “The privileged can eat the food they make, Can live in the house they clean, Will leave their kids under their care, But how dare they sit and walk in our common areas!! Yet another example of the classism and casteism exhibited by the privileged strata of Indian society.” Another person wrote, “Please name the society so that we know to avoid it? This RWA needs to be schooled on discrimination 🤦🏻‍♂️”.

People also gave examples of how in progressive societies the service staff is afforded the same dignity as others. A Twitter user wrote, “In US cafeteria of my previous company, i saw janitors/other support staff sit, use, respected & serviced as a CEO would have. In cafeteria of my present company, I see cleaners/janitors stand and drink tea even when seats are free. Feudal/casteist undertones of our society.”

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