5 - The Purusharth of Women

Summary

But their women come here to collect scrap paper. Our women did not do any work.

—Rajaram

‘I just have one last question, and I’ll leave after that,’ I told Rajaram as I prepared to wrap up our conversation. It was a warm August morning and we had been talking for nearly two hours. I could tell that he was getting tired. ‘My last question is this, now keeping in mind some of the other refugee communities, such as Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, or Syrian refugees, does your experience of displacement, of living in camps and tents make you feel any sense of solidarity towards them: that they are like you?’ Rajaram had a lot to say in reply:

Look, I’ll tell you, every man…. Every community has its own philosophy. I do not know about theirs. But their women come here to collect scrap paper. Our women did not do any work. I have got to know there is a park here where they have 500 tents. From many years. That community, their Muslim societies might be helping them. I do not know. Why? That community, I understand, is still backward. They are weak. Understood? They have 500 tents. They live in tents. We did not stay in tents for 5 years. We took over whatever the Muslims left behind. Yes? Or, those who were the biggest [most prosperous] whose possessions had survived, they came and they started their businesses. I do not know what their livelihood is. Our people never took this long. Assamese Muslims are here. They do not even have experience of farming. Our people had experience of running a business. So everywhere they did business. Whatever they could. Just like the examples I told you, some people opened a barber's shop. We have done work, have not asked [begged].… They are here from 5 to 4 years, I have got to know. But they do not have any experience of business yet, I think. What do they do? I just see that they are poor.

At this point Rajaram paused and asked his shop assistant for a saree.

I do not remember theirs. They work hard, they do mazdoori, I have not seen them in business. I have not seen these Assamese doing any work besides this scrap paper. Now they have two wives, two children, two girls. You understand?