The colonial legacy of hand-pulled rickshaws in Kolkata may end soon as a modern plan is under way, which will see barefoot, tired rickshaw-pullers making way for motorized vehicles
By Ramesh Menon
Photos: Sipra Das
Close your eyes and think of Kolkata. The streets will suddenly spring up before you, bustling with life. People will be rushing around crowded shops, there is chaotic, noisy traffic, clanking trams negotiating through busy streets, yellow and black Ambassador taxis. In the midst of all this you will see the iconic rickshaw-puller meandering his way through the mindless traffic. You can also hear the jingle of little brass bells they ring to get their way. Most of them are migrants from impoverished families in Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
It was the Chinese who introduced the hand-pulled rickshaw to Kolkata in the 19th century. For over 100 years, the rickshaw-puller became an iconic image of the town that was once the centerpiece of activity for the British.
As there has been a lot of criticism about their plight and exploitative working and living conditions, numerous governments in West Bengal have tried to take them off the streets. It is one colonial legacy that modern Kolkata wants to shrug off. The feudal sight of poor, emaciated rickshaw-pullers is something many are not comfortable with. On the other hand, there are others who argue that it is a veritable part of the city’s glorious heritage and removing them would hurt the city’s ethnic and unique character. It is not only environment-friendly, but is a crucial mode of transport in Kolkata, one of the most polluted cities in India.
Kolkata will never be the same without its rickshaw-pullers. It is the lifeline of the city. Poetry has been written on them and they have been featured in various films and books such as Dominique Lapierre’s City of Joy. The rickshaw was a symbol of exploitation and suffering in Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, while in City of Joy, Om Puri was a poverty-stricken rickshaw-puller. This image got him national and international fame. However, in swank cities like Singapore, the rickshaw has been turned around into a tourist attraction where people have to shell out a neat sum to take a short ride. No Indian city has been able to copy this idea.
Among his many memories of India, Sakti Mukherjee, an entrepreneur and consultant in Addis Ababa, clearly remembers a rickshaw-puller’s yard behind his house in what was then known as Calcutta. As a child, he would watch their activities with great interest. They would often repair their carts and carried little oilcans to lubricate their wheels. If he ventured into the yard, they would lovingly offer him a part of their meal of ground gram. They would mix tobacco leaves with lime and grind it into their palms before stuffing it behind their lower lip. “They were so poor that they wore slippers made out of old tyres. Life was difficult for them as they ran on the street, carrying passengers, trying to make ends meet. But many just did not care for them. Such was their life.”
Rickshaw-pullers can be found waiting expectantly at every street corner or busy carrying passengers through narrow, over-crowded streets. Wrapped around their fingers is a brass bell that is used to indicate that traffic should move aside to give them way. It is even used to attract clients.
Many people today try and avoid taking rickshaws as they feel that it is inhuman to make someone run on the roads, pulling them in a cart as they sit comfortably. But what’s ironic is that when the rains come, many are forced to use their services as arterial roads are often flooded and it is the only mode of travel that will work.
Former banker Rituparna Chakraborty has often found herself arguing with friends who say that pulling rickshaws is a degrading manual job lacking in dignity. “But it is definitely better than being unemployed and is a honest way to eke out a livelihood. Rickshaws are a part of Kolkata’s glorious heritage.”
Somnath Sarkar, a former senior executive with Trade Fair Authority of India, who interacted closely with rickshaw-pullers when he lived in Kolkata, emphatically believes that it would be unfair to uproot them without providing viable alternatives. “They are economic destitutes staring at the harsh realities of hunger and homelessness, with many lugging their vehicles barefoot over heated, uneven roads in searing weather. Imposing a ban on these rickshaw-pullers, many of whom are in their sixties or seventies, may perhaps be in line with the right to live with dignity, but, in the process, it goes against their right to live itself. Would this be acceptable in a country that models its policies on the socialist doctrines of welfare states even though it has precious little going in terms of social security as in developed economies?” he asks.
Over a century ago, when these hand-pulled rickshaws began plying, the streets were not crowded as now as only the gentry had cars. Today, chaos rules the streets with traffic jams reducing speeds to ridiculous levels. A 2006 study pointed out that the average speed in Kolkata’s streets was just 6 to 8 km an hour. No wonder many opt to use the rickshaw that adroitly meanders through traffic. But car users are none too happy with this as they argue that these rickshaws clog the streets, slowing traffic. Sarkar points out: “Hand-pulled rickshaws are favored by many as the cheapest mode of travel over short distances. Parents find it an ideal and reliable proposition for transporting schoolchildren. They are also handy while going to the nearby market and during rains. What would the citizens of Kolkata do without them?”
Since 2005, various governments have tried to give the city a modern, contemporary feel and the earlier Left Front government tried to take rickshaw-pullers off the streets. It had, in fact, decided to ban these rickshaws as it said it was a travesty of human dignity. No fresh licenses for these rickshaws were issued since 2005 by the Kolkata Municipality. In 2006, it tabled the Calcutta Hackney-Carriage (Amendment) Bill in the assembly. There were loud protests, not just from rickshaw-pullers, but from avid Kolkata lovers who felt that it was intrinsic to the character of the city. It was challenged and the Calcutta High Court decreed a stay on the legislation.
The move was obviously hastily done without giving any thought to what would happen to thousands of rickshaw-pullers, many of whom were the sole bread-winners of their families. Apart from that, there was a side industry where many people repaired these rickshaws or made spare parts for it.
However, there is hope these rickshaws will continue but in a different form. Mukhtar Ali, general secretary, All Bengal Rickshaw Union, told India Legal: “The Left government, which was to represent the poor, actually did nothing for us poor rickshaw-pullers. In fact, it wanted to remove us from Kolkata. When the Trinamool Congress came to power, we wrote to the chief minister pleading that our livelihoods should not be snatched away as we have been around for over a hundred years. Mamata Banerjee met us in December 2014 and suggested that pulling rickshaws was strenuous and it would be best to replace them with electric rickshaws sometime in early 2016.”
Initially, only a few of them will hit the roads but the ultimate plan is to replace all 5,934 licensed rickshaws. It is believed that more than 25 percent of hand-pulled rickshaws in Kolkata run without licenses. This is their biggest fear—all of them will be rendered jobless and will have no alternative but to go back to their states. No concrete rehabilitation package has been worked out as yet.
In the meantime, these poor, emaciated and aged rickshaw-pullers continue plying their trade, barefoot and hungry.