Coolie or Sahayak – How Does it Matter Without Economic Reforms?

We are called coolies and we are proud of that. Don’t change our name. We love the red of our shirt and the shiny brass ‘billa’ on our arm. No green, no yellow, no white will do. Help us by solving our financial woes.

Ramkesh, Porter, New Delhi Railway Station

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, in his budget announced that Railway porters will now be called Sahayaks or helpers and not coolies, in an attempt to do away with the colonial legacy behind the name. He meant good, but a name change is not the only thing these porters want. Coolies want more, which they claimed the government failed to outline in the 2016-17 railway budget.

Coolies form a weaker section of the Railways. The name change may make a difference psychologically. But it won’t improve our financial standing. We want fixed wages, a 12-month railway pass, medical assistance, proper quarters to rest in railway stations and pension for aged coolies. 

Babli, Porter, New Delhi Railway Station

Porters play a key role in making our journeys comfortable. We intend to provide them with new uniforms and train them in soft skills in line with the evolving image of Indian Railways, adopting modern technology yet traditional in its ethos of treating passengers with respect. We will also explore methods of offering them group insurance facility. Henceforth, we will be happy to call them as sahayaks.

Suresh Prabhu, Indian Railway Minister, in his Railway Budget Speech

Many feel that the changes mentioned in the budget are all cosmetic.

We are not earning anything from this railway budget. The new status and a uniform is fine but what about our livelihood? Due to flexible wages, we always end up arguing with the customers. They do not realise this is hard work. The government misses out to address such issues in the railway budget each time.

Alyaas, Porter, Nizamuddin station

In Alyaas’ own words, “When the coolies heard themselves being addressed after so long in the Railway Minister’s Budget Speech, they were all thrilled and hoping for good news, but as the speech progressed, so did their disappointment.”