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A notice board outside the lift is not the same as physical abuse. But in Gurgaon, they tell a similar tale of discrimination and denial of dignity.
If the story of Lokkhi, the teenaged girl, beaten up by her employers sparked rage, separate lifts for residents and their staff shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Most plush multi-storied housing complexes in Gurgaon have service lifts with notices specifying that they are meant for ‘domestic helps, drivers, pets and service providers. For ‘residents and guests’, the lifts are separate to avoid ‘inconvenience’.
When asked, residents as well as the heads of welfare associations in the apartment blocks cited reasons varying from hygiene to safety.
“Helps work on different floors. It becomes inconvenient to share the lift with them if it has to stop on every floor. Though there is no notice put up outside the lifts, of the six in our building, there are two for maids and drivers. Not everyone likes pets, so it is only fair to have separate lifts for them,” said Dr Naveen Sutleja of Rakshak Apartments in South City-I.
N R Paheja, president, RWA, Heights in South City I: “We have kept the lifts separate to maintain hygiene. Helps do not keep themselves clean. Either their clothes are dirty or they have body odour which makes it uncomfortable for residents and visitors.”
When asked which lift a maid accompanying a child could use, Paheja said, “Employers ensure the ‘maid’ keeps herself clean so there is no issue if they take the same lift as residents.”
Others had better reasons to justify the ‘segregation’. RWA president of Malibu Condominium, Ratan Katwal explained it was simply a security measure. He had an even better excuse. “Electricity supply is erratic here. In case of a power cut, one could be stuck in the lift for 10-15 minutes. If a resident or a visitor gets stuck in the lift with a servant or a driver, he/she might feel awkward. However, if the driver or a servant is accompanied by a resident or a visitor, we have no objection.”
Anand Chaturvedi, former president of Regency Park in DLF-IV, added, “We have 22 storeys and 170 flats. However, we have only three lifts. One is a service lift for goods, maids, drivers and pets. The other two are reserved for our residents and their guests. If the ‘servants’ are allowed to use all the lifts, imagine the rush during school and office hours. We have made segregation mandatory to avoid inconvenience and misuse of the limited number of lifts in our complex.”
Chaturvedi said illiterate helps press the emergency button which jams the lift till it is manually unlocked by the guards. To avoid such situations, the lifts are kept separate.
“As for pets, some children are scared of dogs so we thought it best to put them in separate lifts,” added Chaturvedi.
A resident of South City I said on condition of anonymity, “I don’t like it if a domestic help uses the same lift as me or my children. I feel we do need separate lifts.”
When asked how could she let the same person work at her home, she said, “It’s a bigger space and we don’t brush against them.”
About educating domestic helps to use lifts, Prussia Mathur of DLF Phase 5 was dismissive. “No matter how much they earn, they just won’t change their ways. Teaching them will make no difference”
A B Lall, a resident of Hamilton Court said, “We encourage the use of service lifts for servants, supply staff, courier people, pets and luggage movement. Women and children who use the lift alone might feel unsafe with strangers. There are six towers, with 22 floors in each. Each has two resident or visitor’s lifts and a service lift.”
Inder Bhandari, a resident of Ivory towers in South City I said, “The lack of training and civic sense leads to the misuse of any facility. I do not like segregation, however. But it is necessary to use separate lifts for better living conditions. Obscene language or graffiti in lifts leaves a bad impression on a visitor or a child.”
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The article is a shoddy piece of writing. It is confusing two different issues- segregation based on economic status and abuse. Although both are bad, the former is much more prevalent while the latter is much more criminal. Most households that I have seen during my upper-middle class upbringing practiced some form of economic or social status based segregation, even as I did NOT see caste- or religion-based segregation in my immediate circle. Maids and helpers would not be allowed or offered to sit on the sofa, or use the same utensils, although they were not asked which caste or religious group they belonged to. While this is not a right thing to do, especially if the other person can keep certain level of hygiene, it does not compare to physical abuse of a teenage girl.Please do not project one as a cause of the other.
The notice outside the lift for untouchables should say FREE and one for residents should have entry by PASS or a small fee. Those who pay can not be untouchables and, therefore, should be allowed in the lift provided they appear neat and clean. The domestic helps, drivers, service providers, and pets (they are not alone, I hope) will feel obliged for moving up and down in the lift free. This arrangement, I hope, will satisfy all parties, including the media and keep residents safe in their gated communities. It is only a local situation but, in my mind, as I tend to see the vast population, generally poor and lacking hygiene (at least in appearance) inhabiting the vast expanse of the land we know India, it reminds me of the British who carried on with their business of ruling the country unmindful of Mulk Raj Anand's coolies. They, however, tried and succeeded in training the natives who served them well and eventually gave them the reins of the independent nation when they left.
SHAME, SHAME AND SHAME
These were the exact same analogies Britishers used for Indians back in 19th century to so call "civilise" us. I guess we never learn
Indian Brown Sahibs. And these people raise hue and cry when Gora Sahab make strip search in foreign airports.
This is a ridiculous and an obnoxious state of mind of people of our country whoose forefathers have risen from the scrap. In todays world of social justice, this act is even worse than aparthied. These same maids and servants work in the houses of people of the higher strata. dont they feel uncomfortable when they chop vegetables or sweep the floors? Where does their so called intolerable odour and stink go at that time? Its a pity that even after 60 years of our freedom,there is a huge section of our population who has to face such kind of abuse. come on indians,we need to wake up for the basics of humanity to survive. these people are forgetting that it was because scores of poor people and freedom fighters that we are here today.You do not become elite by suppressing the already suppressed. But you definitely will become a great person if you give a helping hand for the upliftment of the underpreviliged
More serious than the servants and pets being in the separate elevaltors because of incovenience is that there are some persons who are highly alergic to dogs and cats. What should we do in that case? I beleive the best solution to the whole problem is two prong:1. The maids and servants and drivers MUST stay clean. If found dirty, the owner MUST be finded heavily.2. Especially if you are taking dogs/cats out or in, the person responsible with them MUST only use the stairs. Any voilation must be dealt with.Remember, to the person alergic to pets, it is a quesstion of life and death for him/her.
What is so wrong in having different lifts for different category of people. IS it not similar to seperate terminals and exit gates for VIPs at airport. Would you call it discrimination? IT is all for the safety and convinience of the residents. What is wrong in it? Or is it that the servants should be given the guest room in the house rather than the servant quarter to live in?This authress has lost her senses and trying to create a contrversy where none exists..
Lets bash those who bashed this little domestic help. She is only trying to earn her bread and butter. Apart from begging every job should be respectful.Wake up you bloody politicians and do something for the people.
What kind of sensationalist journalism is this? The opening line and accompanying picture is of violence against a domestic help and the report is about segregation of lifts...which despicable and morally repulsive as it is, still did not need the face of a battered domestic help to get people to read it.We expect better from Indian Express.
It is shamefull for society to consider humans as maids etc , if they have security clearance to enter then they should be allowed to enter . Beating her so badly and hen talking about service lifts is bull shit
it shows the mind set of the rich people owing the flats. I remember a very rich man who used to take tea in dhabba while going from Pune to Mumbai because he wanted to remain immune from different diseases and he did a lot for the poor. The rich and their ideosincracy are well known. The rich forget that the poor are responsible to generate more wealth they only employ their capital and brain. The long hours of work persistancy are for the middle class only who always support value in life