Dhobis of Delhi - An Urban Ethnography from the Margins 1973 - 2023

This is an ethnography using traditional anthropological fieldwork methods that record the journey of an untouchable washerman (dhobi) community over a span of more than forty years. The temporal span of this work is extended beyond the years of personal interaction with the help of historical and literary sources. This is one of the first and only detailed descriptions of the dhobi way of life, their economy and political life, their identity based on their community (biradari), and their cosmology and value systems. It is a story of their adaptation to the changing urban milieu in which they have been embedded since the inception of the present city of Delhi as Shahjahanabad. This book also traces the transformations of the city, seen through the eyes of a community situated at its bottom. Although marginalized, the dhobis use all strategies and tactics required to navigate their lives and occupation to be viable. Caste is seen here not just as a hierarchical system but also as a means to form strong and viable horizontal ties that confer identity and security. The book is a study of community life and resilience as well as the politics of daily life and strategies for survival of those in a precarious position. The focus is on the lived experiences of caste and community life and not on social relations that are viewed as flexible and adaptive. The book critiques the biased urban planning with its top-down approach that ignores those who have been historically disadvantaged. Introduction: Doing Urban Ethnography in the Present 1 The Dhobis of Old Delhi 2 The Social World of the Dhobis 3 Livelihood, Resources, and Strategies for Survival 4 Living Life as a Dhobi (Man and Woman) 5 Negotiating Power in the Realm of the Sacred 6 The Political Realm 7 Conclusion: Surviving in a Discriminatory World and the Future of the City