# Who Will Do This Work?

## Overview

This chapter explores the social realities of sanitation work and questions around caste, dignity of labour, and equality. Through real-life interviews, stories, and reflections—especially from Gandhi and Ambedkar's lives—students are encouraged to think critically about inequality and learn about efforts to bring about change. The chapter urges respect for all kinds of work and workers.

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## Key Topics Covered

### 1. Everyday Sanitation Work and Social Realities

* Many people who clean streets, drains, and toilets belong to the same community.
* Despite having education, members of these communities are often unable to get other jobs.
* Cleaning work is seen as "low" by society, and people doing it face discrimination.
* An interview from the documentary *India Untouched* highlights how people are trapped in such work due to generational pressure and caste-based restrictions.

### 2. Student Activity and Reflection

* Students are asked to speak with sanitation workers and understand:

* How long they’ve been doing this work
* Their educational background
* Whether they had other work opportunities
* Challenges they face
* Drawing and discussion tasks help students reflect on dignity of labour and the consequences if no one did cleaning work.

### 3. Mahatma Gandhi’s Beliefs and Actions

* Gandhi believed in equality of all kinds of work, including cleaning toilets.
* In Sabarmati Ashram, everyone—guests included—had to do sanitation work.
* Even in villages, Gandhi personally cleaned toilets to challenge untouchability and promote dignity in every task.
* A discussion between Gandhi and young Narayanbhai highlights the complexity of changing mindsets.

### 4. Inequality in Today’s Schools

* A conversation between two children, Hetal and Meena, reveals caste-based discrimination in schools.
* Only children from certain communities are made to clean toilets and school grounds.
* This injustice reflects how some practices of untouchability still exist today.

### 5. The Childhood of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

* At the age of 7, Ambedkar was denied a haircut by a barber who claimed it would "dirty" his razor.
* This experience stayed with him and drove his lifelong fight for justice and equality.
* He later became the architect of the Indian Constitution and a global symbol of social reform.

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## Reflection and Discussion

Students are encouraged to think about:

* Who does cleaning work in their home or school?
* Is this work respected equally?
* Do all students share responsibility for cleanliness?
* How work is divided between boys and girls at home and school
* What changes they would like to see in society regarding respect for all work

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## New Terms and Their Meanings

| Term | Simple Meaning |
| ----------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Sanitation | Keeping places clean by removing waste like garbage and toilet waste |
| Untouchability | An unfair practice where some people are considered "impure" and treated badly because of their caste |
| Dignity of labour | Respecting all types of work equally |
| Ashram | A place where people live and learn simple, community life, often with spiritual or moral focus |
| Compost pit | A place where waste like food and leaves is collected to make natural fertilizer |
| Discrimination | Treating people unfairly because of their background or identity |
| Constitution | A set of rules that guide how a country works, ensuring equal rights for all |
| Caste | A traditional system in India that divided people into groups based on their birth |
| Bhajan | A devotional song, often sung in praise of God or spiritual ideals |
| Labour | Work done using physical or mental effort |


## Practice Questions

### 🟢 Easy (3)

**1.** Who are the people that usually do cleaning jobs like sweeping and toilet cleaning?
**Answer:** People from specific communities who have been doing this work for generations, often due to caste-based roles.

**2.** What work did Gandhiji and others do in the Sabarmati Ashram?
**Answer:** They cleaned toilets and did other cleaning work themselves to promote equality and end untouchability.

**3.** What kind of work did Hetal and Meena do in their school?
**Answer:** They cleaned the school grounds and toilets, often only children from their community had to do it.

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### 🟡 Medium (2)

**4.** Why did Narayan feel angry when villagers pointed at Gandhiji's team to clean the toilets?
**Answer:** Because the villagers thought it was not their job and expected Gandhiji’s team to do it, showing they hadn’t changed their mindset.

**5.** How did Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s early life experience with a barber affect his thinking?
**Answer:** The discrimination he faced made him realize the deep injustice in society and inspired him to fight for equality and write India’s Constitution.

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### 🔴 Difficult (3)

**6.** How does caste affect a person’s job opportunities, as described in the interview from the documentary ‘India Untouched’?
**Answer:** Even with education, people from certain castes cannot easily get other jobs due to social discrimination and are forced to continue doing cleaning work.

**7.** What was the lesson Gandhiji tried to teach by making everyone in his Ashram do the cleaning work themselves?
**Answer:** That all work is equal and everyone should take responsibility for cleaning, not just people from certain communities.

**8.** Why did some guests leave the Ashram, and what does that show about social attitudes?
**Answer:** They left because they didn’t want to clean toilets, showing that society looked down on such work and did not respect the dignity of labour.

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### 🔵 Very Difficult (2)

**9.** What are the long-term impacts on children like Hetal and Meena who are forced to do cleaning work in school?
**Answer:** It leads to missed learning, discrimination, low self-esteem, and reinforces the cycle of inequality from a young age.

**10.** If everyone followed Gandhiji’s belief that all work is equal, what major changes would we see in society and at home?
**Answer:** There would be more respect for all types of work, less discrimination, equal sharing of responsibilities, and stronger values of dignity and fairness.

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