Two Weeks after Demolition of Dhobighat where do the Dhobi Families Stand? 

Hamara Manch, April 6 2025

On March 19, 2025, without any warning, large parts of the dhobighat in IITK were demolished under heavy police and security supervision. As one of the dhobis described the scene, ‘it felt like an early morning raid, we were hounded out as if we were dangerous criminals’. This demolition at the dhobighat has severely compromised the dhobis’ ability to continue their work, creating disruption in the essential service that they have been providing to the campus community for over sixty years. As a result, their livelihood is at stake, with no details forthcoming of any plans for an alternative means to ensure that they continue to earn their living on campus. The following is a brief update on what has transpired since the demolition, including the current work conditions and the uncertain continuation of their livelihoods.

Work Conditions at Dhobighat Post-demolition

Despite the brutal demolition of their stores cum residences and part of this workspace, the dhobi families resumed their work almost immediately. This is a testament to their resilience and commitment to their service but also of the fear of losing the patronage of their users and hence their livelihood. HM visited the dhobighat to assess the present work conditions there. Even two weeks after the demolition exercise, the site still looks like it was freshly hit by an earthquake. Huge piles of rubble lie on the ground, along with damaged belongings of the families including clothes, furniture, and other household items scattered all around.

It is noteworthy that the permanent single storied structures (which were claimed to be in dangerously dilapidated condition) are so robust that the bulldozers have not been able to destroy them. They stand defiantly but apparently a few days ago the windows and doors of these godowns were broken and removed, giving the appearance of buildings in ruins. What is surprising is that after this orchestrated and rapid demolition of the dhobighat there has been no further demolition in all these days of any of the buildings which were already evacuated much earlier.

What remains intact at the dhobighat are most of the cemented water tanks and washing area though two of the tanks were destroyed as the bulldozer made its way to the site. The dhobis are continuing their work, surrounded by the massive quantity of rubble and other discarded stuff. The dirt road running behind the dhobighat which is frequented by vehicles for the construction of the medical college raises a dust storm all through the day, making it difficult to protect the washed clothes and they need to be washed again sometimes.  And while the drying area is mostly as before, for storage the dhobi families have been forced to use the sixteen small tin sheds with earth floors that are barely enough to accommodate the clothes of a single dhobi family. To make matters worse, there are only 16 sheds among 30+ families. And with temperatures touching 40 degrees Celsius the sheds are radiating heat, and yet they are the only location where folding and ironing of clothes can be done since the residences/ stores of the dhobis have been destroyed. All this disruption has affected their ability to provide services as earlier, making them already lose some customers and causing them great worry about the continuation of their livelihood.

Interestingly, amidst all this, in an inexplicable gesture, the Institute authorities have been laying new water pipes and water taps in the dhobighat. For years the dhobis have been requesting for repairs to be done on their worksite, but the Institute authorities have done nothing. Surprisingly now, when they have explicitly declared that the entire site will be razed in a couple of months, they are extensively refurbishing the facility. If this had been done years earlier, a lot of water wastage could have been avoided.

Another similar puzzling change has been made with regard to washroom facilities for the dhobis. As we have mentioned in earlier reports, for decades they have been petitioning without success for toilets in the dhobighat where generations of families of dhobis have been living and working to provide laundry services to the Institute community.  But now after partially demolishing the workspaces cum residences the Institute authorities have installed two portable toilets around two hundred metres from the water tanks where they wash clothes. These portable metal toilets are extremely impractical for use, as they are not only very tiny but are also at a height with a very unstable rickety staircase to reach them. Resembling a pair of metal almirahs positioned on four-foot cube metal tanks, each toilet is about two feet by two feet with almost the entire floor space occupied by a bare Indian style latrine pan. There is no water tap or flush or any source of water, a broken can is kept for the user to fill and carry water before using the facility. The toilets are identical except one of them is marked Ladies and the other Gents, and for understandable reasons nobody uses them. After the sudden demolition of the stores cum residences and eviction of dhobis, this installation of new pipes, taps and toilets amidst the debris raises more questions about the future status of this site. We believe it is the responsibility of the administration to explain their plans about the dhobi ghat to the dhobis amidst such contradictory and arbitrary actions.

Concern about Continuation of their Livelihood

Though the Director of the Institute has committed through two public mails to the entire Institute community that the dhobis’ livelihood would be ensured, neither these mails nor any other formal proposal for continuation of their livelihoods has been given to the dhobis by the Institute administration. Instead, the only thing the dhobis have received from the Institute administration so far has been threats and intimidation. Significantly, barely a day after the demolition, one of the dhobis was summoned by the Police Chowki in IITK, apparently because a police complaint was filed against him by the Institute administration. This particular dhobi saathi had been chosen by the dhobi families to represent them in the aborted negotiation process which was to be mediated by Prof Deepak Gupta. The summons by the police completely terrified the dhobi families who were in the process of salvaging their belongings and the clothes of their users which were with them at the time of demolition and evacuation. And yet given the threatening tone of the police official this dhobi saathi along with 15-20 other dhobis went to the chowki at 11 am on 22nd March. Only two of them were allowed inside the official’s room. There the dhobi saathi was informed that the Director of IITK has filed a complaint against him and then for over two hours he was threatened with dire consequences if he did not cooperate with the Institute administration. He was made to stand for the entire period and at the end was forced to sign an apology letter dictated by the police official basically stating that he was sorry for his actions and would not repeat it and would thenceforth cooperate with the Institute authorities. Neither a copy of the complaint (he was not even shown it) nor that of his apology letter was given to him.

Such intimidation, along with the continuous anxiety over their livelihood, has led to several medical contingencies amongst the dhobis during this four-month period. Yet they have continued to provide impeccable services to their users. And in this entire period, they have put forth only one demand – the assurance of continuation of their livelihoods. They have repeatedly written to the community and the administration that they were ready to leave the dhobighat as soon as a tangible alternative was put in place. And in this, they have received immense support from the students and the extended IITK community. Now, with the demolition having taken place, their anxiety regarding the continuation of their livelihoods is higher than ever before. Their primary concern is best captured in the words of a woman dhobi saathi:

                        ‘Ab hamara saath saal purana ghar godam toot gaya, hum khule me kaam kar rahen hain aur sansthaan ke baahar khaded diye gaye aur humko bata diya gaya hai ki yeh hauda paata bhi tod denge mahine, do mahina mein. Hum sansthan se bas ek hi cheez chahte hain ki hum samast dhobi pariwaar ki aajiwika sthaayi rup se kaise chalegi uska thons jawaab de, kuch banta hua dikhe kuch likhit me mile to hame bhi tasalli ho jaayegi… (The houses and godowns which were our workspaces and residence for over 60 years have been destroyed, we are forced to work in the open, we have been pushed out of the campus, and we have also been told that the remaining dhobighat (tanks and all) will be razed to ground in a month or two. We ask the Institute to answer only one question in concrete terms – how will we dhobi families continue to earn a steady livelihood in future? If we see some actual plan, get some written assurances, we would feel reassured).

Hamara Manch’s Position

These thirty plus dhobi families, around 100 individuals including children, have been sustaining themselves by providing laundry services to the community, and for most this is their only source of income. They provide an essential service to over 5000 users, mostly students. The Institute administration has repeatedly asserted to the Institute community that the dhobis are an integral part of the community and has also committed that they would ensure the continuance of their livelihoods. We urge the community to hold the Institute authorities to their commitment and thus help to resolve the prevailing uncertainties faced by the dhobis. We want just one thing:

A formal detailed plan of action that ensures continuation of livelihood for these 30 plus dhobi families on the IITK campus.