Source: www.hindustantimes.com
UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA, June 17, 2009: The economic meltdown has forced thousands of Brahmins, Thakurs, Banias, Kayasths, Lodhs, Yadavs and Muslims to take jobs as sweepers and sanitation workers, jobs that were traditionally done by Dalits. Software engineers and other well educated, highly skilled workers, suddenly unemployed, are sweeping streets and cleaning drains for a living, regardless of caste considerations. These jobs may be menial, but they are honest employment– and they are secure.
The trend began when the Mayawati government began recruiting 100,000 sanitation workers for villages a few months ago. The recruitment of upper-caste youth for this work may change the entire caste dynamics and social order in Uttar Pradesh’s villages.