Hands That Bury the Dead Have Little to Feed Themselves

After marking an outline with a spade, he scraped off some mud and piled it next to him. Thomas, a gravedigger at Kalpalli Cemetery in Bengaluru has been laying the dead to rest for over 40 years. The workers at the cemetery have been building these final resting places since time immemorial.

The gravediggers’ daily bread depends on the number of corpses brought to the burial ground. Their source of income is solely dependent on the alms given by the families of the deceased. 

While, the morticians are meant to receive at least Rs. 1,000 for digging a grave, they end up being short-changed. Irregular income and lack of recognition despite their efforts are forcing them to thrive in poor living conditions.

In general parlance, death can never be a form of jubilation. But for this community, it is not depressing either. Death keeps the gravediggers alive.

Cemeteries are neither declared nor undeclared slums. They do not possess separate dwelling identities. They are deprived of basic amenities like drinking water, BPL cards, education and medical aid.   

Fight for Social Justice

In January 2017, the gravediggers held a protest by staging their own final rites. They dug their own graves and covered themselves with mud demanding a fixed pay and employment recognition.

Forced to act, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announced that one member from every family of gravediggers will be given an employment contract and paid a monthly minimum wage of Rs. 17,000. The civic body conducted a survey of the households living in cemeteries and even allotted Rs. 268 crores for renovation. In addition, the civic body promised educational and health facilities.

However, these amenities are yet to be implemented.

“The houses in this cemetery just fall apart when it rains. Eight people have died in the recent past due to this. Sometimes, even ambulances don’t arrive here because we do not have a designated address. We feel like a neglected section of the society.” 

Shourie Raja, gravedigger at the Kalpalli Cemetery.

Life in the Midst of Death

Saritha, lives in a dilapidated house within the Kalpalli Cemetery. She uses scraps of wood and gunny bags to patch the leaking roof. She spends at least two hours in a day cleaning the place in and around her dwelling using cow dung for its anti-bacterial properties.

Her husband works as a gravedigger. He toils four to five hours borrowing the soil in order to lay a corpse to rest. Her daughter studies in the neighbouring government school.

“I want my daughter to study hard and get a well-paying job. Since my husband does not earn a regular monthly income, we have taken a loan to pay the school fees. I want the future generation to be prosperous, unlike us.” 

Saritha, resident at Kalpalli Cemetery.

Open defecation is a common scenario at the cemetery. Lack of toilets leaves them with little choice but to resort to it. This in turn, causes health ailments and other infectious diseases. “It is really difficult to manage without toilets. We are afraid because we don’t know who is watching. Besides, during the rainy season we have to watch out for snakes,” said Saritha.

Illegal Activities on the Rise

Most of the burial grounds across the city are not fenced and don’t have enough streetlights. Hence, they have become hotspots for miscreants. Fear and unrest have become a part of the daily lives of residents. Gravediggers and their families do not step out of their house after 8 pm.

“Feeling secure in one’s environment is a basic need and it ought to be fulfilled,” said Suresh, Secretary of Ambedkar Dalitha Sangarsha Samithi.

Several unlawful activities take place within the Kalpalli cemetery. Trading of ganja and drugs, rowdyism and other forms of disorderly conduct is rampant. 

The residents have registered multiple complaints at the Pulikeshi Nagar police station in Bengaluru. They have also submitted their grievances in writing to the Commissioner of BBMP.

“Even after the registration of complaints against illegal activities over the last few years, no action has been taken to punish the guilty. Governments have changed, so have political parties. But the lives of the people at the burial ground still remain the same.”

Suresh, Secretary of Ambedkar Dalitha Sangarsha Samithi.

The writing on the wall is clear. The gravediggers and their families have not given up. They still spend their evenings discussing issues like women’s safety, children’s education, and prevention of felony.

While the gravediggers continue to remain short-changed, a permanent solution is imperative to their long-standing impasse.

Video Editor: Ashish MacCune

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