CHENNAI, India ¨C Indumati Shivaraj¡¯s routine has been the same for more than a decade ¡ª at dawn she walks to her ¡°master¡¯s¡± house, mucks out the cattle shed, cleans the tools and sweeps the yard. Four hours later, she walks home.
Besides a cup of tea each day, Shivaraj, 45, gets about 3,000 Indian rupees ($40) a year and a few sacks of grains for her labor.
She is among thousands of Dalits ¡ª considered India¡¯s lowest caste in an ancient social hierarchy ¡ª who work for little or no pay in the homes of upper-caste families in Karnataka state under a custom called ¡°bitti chakri¡± that was recently outlawed.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.