Doongerwadi dhamaal

The sparring trustees of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) have after more than six months finally relented and scheduled a meeting for July 14, 2015 with the officials of the Mumbai Mazdoor Sabha (MMS) who are demanding a revision of wages for the Class IV employees comprising pallbearers, gardeners, plumbers and sweepers. While correspondence exchanged between the BPP and the Union (see below) suggested that there could be a breakthrough in negotiations, a fresh wave of hostility between BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta and trustee Yazdi Desai spilled out in the open before community volunteers who had gathered at the Albless Bungli at Doongerwadi on July 8 to acquaint themselves with the duties of a pallbearer.
Concerned that the overdue labor agreement could snowball into an agitation or strike affecting the disposal of the dead at Doongerwadi, nearly two dozen volunteers, including Desai had offered their services as voluntary pallbearers. Ervad Aspandiar Dadachanji, panthaky of the Vachaghandhy Agiary, had specially been invited to explain the religious significance of the geh sarna ceremony and the duties of a nassessalar at a funeral.
Shortly after Desai arrived at Albless Bungli, just when everyone expected the session to commence, in walked Mehta, enquiring, "What is all this? With who’s authority? This is illegal…unauthorized meeting.” Going up to him with a letter in hand, Desai defiantly challenged, "Sorry Dinshaw, four trustees have signed this.”
Since this issue was reportedly not brought up at the BPP board meeting the day prior on July 7, Mehta insisted, "There can be no meeting without the board’s approval… Four trustees cannot do something sitting at home. This has been done behind our back. I am the chairman whether you like it or not.”
Desai: "You are encouraging the Union.”
Mehta: "You are aggravating the situation… You are doing a postmortem.”
When some feared that the Union could resort to a strike and stop work, Mehta responded, "I give a guarantee badhoo solve thasé (everything will be resolved).” Before the slanging match between the duo could result in a slugfest, the two were separated by their supporters. By then, many of the Class IV employees and the general secretary of the MMS Dhunji Naterwalla had joined the fray and Dadachanji had left the Bungli. Water had to be offered to Mehta to make him cool down. Once again Mehta touched on the subject of how Desai had not returned the money he owed him. Desai denies taking any money from Mehta.
On the suggestion of some of the supporters, Naterwalla, Mehta and a few vociferous agitators sat in a concentric circle to express their views. Desai and his wife Anahita remained at the periphery as did some other onlookers.
Explaining that the workers’ three-year agreement with the BPP terminated in December 2014, Naterwalla stated that they had to resort to a "peaceful agitation when four reminders sent to the trustees did not elicit a single response.” He asked those present, "Slogan shouting thaich (is there any slogan shouting)?” When everyone concurred that the protest was silent, he said, "We are wearing a lal topi (red cap) which no law can stop.” When a volunteer complained that no red cap should be worn during funeral prayers, one of the employees retaliated, addressing the volunteer who had covered his head with a handkerchief, "We at least wear a red cap. Where is your cap?” Giving an assurance that a red cap would not be worn near a dead body, Naterwalla said, "We have respect for the dead. We have no intention of causing insult…
"Desai was having good relations with me. Bola-chaali/gaali (use of some swear words) doesn’t mean you become vindictive,” continued Naterwalla who was still agitated that Desai returned the Union’s Diwali gift which was "a bloody insult to our president. I wrote a bloody nasty letter to protect my Union.” After the publication of this letter in Parsiana (see "The gift of the mazdoor,” December 21, 2014) Desai has become more vindictive, maintained Naterwalla. One of the Union’s causes for discontent is that Anahita "is interfering in the day-to-day affairs of Doongerwadi,” he added.
According to Naterwalla, in one of his conversations with Mehta, he told the chairman, "M…C…, tu su karéch (why are you so passive)? You can overthrow the bastards.” At this point, once more pandemonium broke loose inside the Bungli to protest against his use of offensive language. To the sanctimonious lot, Mehta pleaded, "Don’t aggravate…” Intervened community activist Jamshed Irani, "I am taking all the gaali… Ghamand na raakho (don’t sit on your pride).” Yazdi and Anahita summoned their allies to leave the Bungli and chose to shift their meet to the Cama Baug venue, we were informed by community activist Dr Viraf Kapadia.
Mehta concurred with Naterwalla that in the last few months the four dissenting trustees had refused to meet the MMS officials because Desai didn’t "want to talk to them.” In his letter of July 8, 2015 addressed to Naterwalla, senior executive of the Punchayet Aspi Sarkari referred to Mehta and BPP trustee Jimmy Mistry having a telephonic talk with Naterwalla and the president of the MMS Chandbibi Zaidi the previous day before fixing a meeting for July 14 at 6 p.m. in the BPP boardroom. "Further, the trustees have requested that the present agitation may please be withdrawn till an amicable settlement is reached,” he wrote.
In his response of July 8, Naterwalla noted, "Whilst we appreciate that at last you have agreed to meet us for discussion on long pending charter of demands, however it seems that the said acquiescence has strings attached to it which we do not like. You would appreciate that we have time and again requested the Punchayet for a meeting to which the trustees never agreed and in fact some trustees had the audacity to blame the Sabha and bring disrepute to it by giving interviews in the media despite knowing the reality that it was the trustees who were delaying the negotiations and not the Sabha. However at this juncture and without delving into events of the recent past, we wish to state herein that we are agreeable to meet the trustees of Punchayet on the scheduled date…however this meeting shall be held without any conditions whatsoever.
"Further only after gauging the approach of the trustees shall we decide on the future course of action and whether we should accede to the request made in the letter under reply…”
Hoping that the meeting of July 14 would bring improved financial returns for Class IV employees, the gathering dispersed. Among the pallbearers who stayed back, there were three who spoke of skin infection on their limbs. Kersi Kolah was concerned that he had contracted a leg infection which he showed Dr Syrus Irani and Parsiana, believing it was caused by working in the damp, humid conditions in the dakhmas wearing an attire with residues of starch and not adequately protective sanitized gear.
Responding to articles in the media that "khandhias bheekh maangéch (beg for alms),” a pallbearer said that if they get a sufficient salary, they would not need to do that. They were also agitated to read a statement that pallbearers go to the Racecourse. "Where do we have the money to go to the Racecourse?” they ask rhetorically. After 23 years of service Ratan Wagchhipwalla says he draws a salary of Rs 17,000 making it difficult for him to support himself and his family in these days of escalating inflation. Dependent as they are on donations and charity, one of them said, "Desai used to give Rs 2,000 but now he has stopped. Can we say anything?”
In the absence of respect and better remuneration they feel that in the eyes of the general Parsi community, "khandhia maanas nathi, jaanvar chhè (they are not humans but animals).” When bravehearts talk of volunteering as pallbearers, just let them stand at the entrance to a dakhma and it will be an eye-opener, commented another khandhia.

Band of volunteers
"For a grieving family it is no doubt painful if there is no one to attend to the departed,” mentioned volunteer Mehernosh Zaveri, 52, who owns Atash Truckers. "I’m not volunteering to break the strike. I’m volunteering to safeguard my religion and my Doongerwadi,” he averred. Though Zaveri has never entered a dakhma, Homi Boga and Nozer Sutaria have cleaned functioning Towers of Silence in Poona, Navsari and Mhow, noted a report in The Times of India (TOI) on July 3, 2015. "The corpses should not be allowed to rot,” stated Boga, 58, a plumber by profession who spent five months in Pakistan last year working as a khandhia but quit as he was unhappy with the remuneration.
Retired assistant commissioner of police Sam Patel of Andheri who had, after reading the TOI write-up, addressed a letter to Parsiana offering to "join the band” of volunteers, later sent an email with the caveat: "I was under the impression that the negotiations had been done and it failed, and hence I at once volunteered for the sake of our community. However, I learnt that no negotiations have taken place and I being a law abiding man request that first negotiations be done and if (they) fail then only am I ready to volunteer.” He was earlier willing to sacrifice the other offices he holds. Though long retired, he still serves on the panel of the Traffic and Road Safety Advisory Committees, has been a delegate for the Parsi Chief Matrimonial Court since the past 12 years and is a trustee of the P. A. Patel Agiary and Salsette Parsi Association. During his service with the police force he has "attended to corpses, especially in accident cases” before sending them to the morgue and hence "it would not be embarrassing for me to lift the body of my fellow community member or that of any human being,” he had written, explaining that he had nothing against the khandhias and nassessalars or their union "nor should they feel I am coming in their way… it is only my desire to serve the noble community.”
A peaceful protest of the Class IV workers at Doongerwadi and the baugs managed by the BPP commenced on June 22, 2015, with the disgruntled workers wearing red Gandhi topis with MMS written on them. They were asking for upward revision of emoluments as their contract, to be renewed every three years, had expired since January of this year. In response to their reported demand for a 50-65% hike, the BPP had offered seven percent.
A press release signed by Zaidi and Naterwalla mentions that they "really feel sorry for the unfortunate turn of events and all because of the stubbornness of (a) few trustees of BPP who, in order to protect their own vested interests, would lead a peace loving community to a war which they are destined to lose… Desai is dragging Parsi civilians into his personal fight against the Union… Desai actually wanted the strike to happen… whereas we have always stated that we are open for negotiations…” They have appealed to the volunteers to "pressurize” the trustees to commence negotiations for a revision of service conditions of those who have long served the community and to "ask the management of the BPP why they cannot open the dakhmas for the public and relatives of the deceased Parsis so that they can go and see the sorry plight of their dead ones… why (should) such secrecy be maintained by the BPP about the dakhmas?”
The Union also writes that they "are veterans in conducting strikes and taking what is lawfully ours…within the law… and shall do so if and when the situation demands.”