Inequality & hierarchy

Every society is hierarchical — even primitive and tribal societies had some form of hierarchies (“The everyday embrace of inequality,” Feb. 2). What about the relationship between a watch guard and an officer in a company? Does not that relationship reproduce hierarchies each time they play their roles? Family is a classic example of a hierarchical organisation. Family hierarchies are based on age.

The situation in India is slightly different from the U.S. In India, the fragmentation of households into nuclear units and the onslaught of modernity are the main reasons for the ‘detached' relationship between domestic workers and their employers. In the past, the right to domestic work in a household was the privilege of a particular family and this continued over generations. While this patron-client relationship can well be exploitative, we cannot dismiss its social and cultural significance. Did not the domestic worker culture help reduce caste discrimination and caste-based inequalities against workers?

Sarath S. Pillai,

Delhi

I agree with the views expressed in the article. But I would like to add that in India, discrimination is not always one way. In small towns, we have workers discriminating among employers based on their caste. It is very difficult to find help for families that belong to the so-called low castes. So, with or without the institution of paid domestic work, inequalities and hierarchies exist and will continue to exist.

M.S. Aravinth Mahesh,

Puthukkadai

The middle class has become so dependent on ‘domestic help' for getting its daily chores done that it fails to realise the effect it has on children. It seems perfectly normal to treat the domestic worker with disdain. Worse, the worker learns to live in this grossly unfair environment. Children growing in such an environment develop an attitude of treating people unequally.

The middle class will continue to exploit the workers both economically and psychologically unless the workers are in short supply and come expensive. They must form local unions so that they have the power to negotiate.

Prathit Charan Misra,

Allahabad

I am pleased to write that I belong to a family which not only loves its domestic assistants but also shows reverence to them. The economic status, illiteracy, and family background never stood in our way of showering affection on our elderly domestic help. We take care of her entire family of 11 members — feeding, educating the children and meeting their medical expenses. My mother, 82, is financing a pucca house for her family. Is this not protecting their right to lead a dignified life?

P. Prema,

Karaikudi