In Covid times, have we, the urban middle class, become practitioners of a new class “untouchability”? As coronavirus spreads, we are perpetually in search of an enemy. First it was the Tablighis who were held responsible for spreading the virus — the bearded, kurta-clad stereotype of the “Muslim” feeding easily into majoritarian scare-mongering. Next it was the slum-dweller in Dharavi who was the main “culprit”, with hutments seen as hotbeds of infection. Then, the lakhs of migrant workers walking home were seen as violating social distancing norms. Then “outsiders” in colonies, even visiting health workers were blamed. The latest victim of middle-class paranoia is the entity at the centre of India’s long-simmering class war — the domestic help.
The Covid 19 Read More
