With Pot Around His Neck and Broom on His Waist, A Retired Railway Employee Stages Unique Protest for Valmiki Community’s Rights in Rajasthan

Jodhpur, Rajasthan – On Wednesday, the Valmiki community in Jodhpur staged a protest regarding the recruitment process for sanitation workers. Among the demonstrators, one individual stood out, tying a broom around his waist and wearing a pot around his neck. This unusual form of protest piqued the curiosity of onlookers, with some stopping to ask, “Why are you wearing a broom? Why have you hung a pot around your neck?”

The man behind this symbolic protest is 60-year-old Prakash Vidrohi, the district president of the All India Valmiki Mahasabha in Jodhpur. Vidrohi has been advocating for prioritizing the Valmiki community in the recruitment process for sanitation workers, a cause he deeply believes in. He argues that the Valmiki community has been carrying out sanitation work for centuries, and therefore, the first right to these jobs belongs to the youth of this community. Depriving them of these opportunities, he warns, will hinder their social mobility, living standards, and educational advancement.

Speaking to The Mooknayak, Vidrohi, a Mazhabi Sikh who reveres Guru Nanak Dev, shared the pain and frustration of his community. He explained, “Years ago, Babasaheb lifted us Valmikis out of an oppressive system. There was a time when certain castes, like the Mahars, into which Babasaheb himself was born, were forced to tie brooms around their waists to sweep away their ‘polluting’ footprints and hang pots around their necks to catch their spit, so it wouldn’t ‘defile’ the ground. Today, the Manuvadi governments are trying to push us back into the same degrading conditions. To make my community understand this bitter truth, I chose to wear the broom and pot as a symbol.”

Vidrohi retired in July this year as an Office Superintendent in the Railways and has been actively working for Dalit rights and social awareness for many years. Recalling his career journey, Vidrohi said he joined the Railways in 1991 as a sanitation worker. “It is only because of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s vision that I, a non-matriculate, was eligible to sit for the departmental promotion exam after 15 years of service. This enabled me to rise from a sanitation worker to a clerk and eventually to the position of Office Superintendent.”

Vidrohi shed light on the growing discontent and ongoing protests by the Valmiki community in Rajasthan over the recruitment process for sanitation workers. He explained that the most recent recruitment drive for sanitation workers in 2024, received over 9 lakhs of applications statewide. A significant number of these applicants belonged to non-Valmiki communities.

Vidrohi remarked, “Until 2018, only individuals from the Valmiki community applied for sanitation worker positions. This was because sanitation work used to be extremely arduous, involving manual cleaning of drains and sewers. However, with the advent of modernization, machines and robots have made the work much easier. This has led to an increasing number of upper-caste youths applying for these positions.”

He further explained the appeal of government jobs, saying, “Government jobs come with many benefits—timely salaries, facilities like loans for children’s education, and buying a house or vehicle. These opportunities enabled the Valmiki community to progress, with our children gaining access to education. But this progress was unacceptable to Manuvadi governments. To counter this, they implemented reservations within sanitation worker recruitment, allowing non-Valmiki individuals to enter these roles.”

Vidrohi also pointed out a significant issue: once non-Valmiki individuals secure these positions, they rarely perform the core sanitation work. Instead, they are often assigned clerical or administrative tasks in offices or serve in personal capacities for officers. Ultimately, the groundwork still falls on Valmiki workers, perpetuating an unjust system that continues to exploit their community.

Valmiki Community’s Demand for Priority in Sanitation Worker Recruitment

The Valmiki community has been actively protesting to demand priority in the recruitment of sanitation workers. It is reported that, in response to their demands, the Rajasthan government has begun preparing to revise the recruitment process.

The recruitment of approximately 24,000 sanitation worker positions in Rajasthan has been canceled. On Wednesday, the Department of Local Self-Government issued orders to withdraw the recruitment notification that was previously released on September 29.

This marks the third time that the recruitment process has been halted. Recently, an agreement was reached between the Valmiki and Sanitation Workers Union and the administration to suspend the recruitment of sanitation workers in Jaipur Heritage and Greater Municipal Corporations. The suspension was primarily due to issues related to the non-issuance of experience certificates, which had been a significant hurdle in the process.

Changing Forms of Discrimination in Government Institutions

When asked about instances of discrimination during his three-decade-long government service, Prakash Vidrohi candidly shares that the Valmiki community continues to face discrimination, albeit in evolving forms. Reflecting on his personal experiences, Vidrohi recalls how, after being promoted from a sanitation worker to a peon at the railway hospital in 1998, he opposed caste-based discrimination at his workplace.

Vidrohi recounts, “Despite it being a government hospital, we were not allowed to store water or milk in the refrigerator. It was only after raising complaints that this right was granted.” Speaking about the discriminatory use of utensils, he reveals that earlier, separate cups were designated for the Valmiki community. While such overt practices have reduced, the use of disposable plastic and paper cups in workplaces reflects a modern form of exclusion.

A staunch follower of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Prakash Vidrohi has imbibed Ambedkar’s principles into his life. Rejecting Hindu religious practices, Vidrohi expresses his devotion to the deities revered by the Dalit community, who accept non-vegetarian offerings. He believes that casteism and superstitions propagated by orthodox forces have fragmented the community. According to him, the lack of unity and organization within the Dalit community is the primary reason for its slow progress despite constitutional provisions like reservation.

Vidrohi remarks, “Today, many organizations exploit Babasaheb Ambedkar’s name for their selfish gains. Instead of adhering to his true ideals, they are leading the community astray. This is why the Dalit community remains deprived of its rightful opportunities.”

Vidrohi has a profound love for literature. In his free time, he writes poems, thought-provoking essays, and shayari. He has a rich collection of writings that he aspires to publish as a book. His literary works are not just a medium of personal expression but also a tool to foster social awareness and inspire change.

Courtesy: The Mooknayak 

Note: This news is originally published in themooknayak.com and is used completely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes especially for human rights.