Never mind the oft-heard, commonplace phrases against casteism and religious bigotry, the much-happening metropolis of Hyderabad still holds venom against ‘the Other'. While those from minority sections at least have a few localities where they can be assured of a rented house, negative answers are the staple for Dailt home-seekers. More discomfiting are the various ways adopted to probe the caste of probable tenants.

What usually begins as the rider ‘Vegetarians Only' scribbled on the rental sign, progresses further into the name, surname, home-town and antecedents of the home seekers till the caste is narrowed upon.

“Restrictions in terms of diet are often a ruse. If the prospective tenant has an upper caste tag to his name, he will be given the house despite his diet.

The sign is put up only to keep Dalits off,” says Mallepally Lakshmaiah, a noted Dalit journalist, who found himself in many such situations.

The same is vouched by many from the oppressed communities. Upmarket and cosmopolitan localities such as Hitec City and Madhapur are not an exception; though the usual claim is that increased commercialisation of space dilutes traditional barriers.

“I was spurned by at least 12 landlords in Gachibowli-Madhapur vicinity apparently due to my caste. Majority among them directly enquired about my caste, while a few others said they would prefer vegetarians. It proved to be a Herculean task for me to obtain a house,” says P. Sudhakar (name changed), a scholar from University of Hyderabad.

Sly enquiries

Query about caste is not always the first and direct one. If the name or surname of the prospective tenant denotes nothing, sly enquiries are made about his or her dietary habits.

Those admitting to the guilt of being non-vegetarian should be ready to field a direct question about caste.

Bachelors have it a little easier, as they usually hire accommodation in groups of assorted identities. However, this may not be the case always.

“I had harrowing experiences during my search for house. An upper-caste landlord in Alkapuri invited us inside the house, and offered coffee before accepting the rent in advance. But once he came to know of our caste, he began to sound evasive. He first said his wife had to be consulted, and asked us to wait. Next day, we went only to receive the money back, that too from outside the main-gate,” says N. Srihari Madiga, preparing for his Civils exam.

Humiliating experience

He recalls many such instances of humiliation, not only from upper castes, but also from those belonging to BC sections.

Faith begets a blunter refusal. Muslims are more often than not ghettoised to specific localities, whereas for Christians it gets more difficult if they are also Dalits.

“I encountered many refusals during house-hunting due to discrimination based on my faith. People seemingly willing to rent out hearing my fluent Telugu, would come up with all kinds of excuses after knowing my name. Some bluntly said they didn't want Muslims,” recalled Syed Mohiuddin, a media professional.

Md. Esa, a real estate agent, says in his career he has encountered many instances of landlords refusing to rent their premises out for Muslims, as also Sikhs.

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