A villager who raises his voice for labourers’ rights and juggles multiple jobs to make a living inspires a development management student to be courageous and just. The lead image shows Grishma Kajbaje and her friend during a field visit.
Sushil is a daily wage labourer. I met him while walking the small lanes of Dariapur Patti village with my friends. He was sitting outside his house and reading a newspaper. He looked at our team with curiosity. So I stopped to have a chat with him.
I learnt that he was the eldest son of his family and the son of his father’s fourth wife. He has four sisters and a younger brother who is a doctor in Kannauj. His father was a bamboo basket weaver and worked as a labourer. Sushil’s childhood was filled with struggle, living in poverty.
He studied till the fifth standard from the only government school in his village and his secondary education in Kannauj. He worked as a child labourer on farms and construction sites and helped support the family with his earnings.
Despite hardships and at the risk of losing his job in an agro-products company, he raised his voice against labour exploitation. Now he does whatever works he can, to make a living.
Sushil was appointed in the company as a night watchman, earning a wage of Rs 2,600 after 16 hours of work from 4 pm to 8 am.
After three months, because of his dedication and work ethic, he was promoted to be a salary receipt accountant, with a wage of Rs 3,000. Since this money wasn’t enough to support his family, Sushil simultaneously worked at a construction site.
In addition he took a loan and bought a wheat flour mill to sell flour in the village, grinding wheat flour from 2.30 am to 7 am. He then went to a cold storage unit at 10 am, working there till 5 pm, sometimes even beyond that. But no extra wages were paid even if one worked beyond 8 hours.
Sushil raised his voice and made many complaints to the company owner about such labour exploitation. Another three years of hard work went by when the company promoted him as a bill accountant. Again he experienced and observed that labourers were not given holidays on Sundays and festive occasions. Double shifts also earned no extra wages.
Sushil complained again, but they didn’t take him seriously. Sushil applied for the role of an accountant when the position became vacant. He cracked the exam and cleared the interview. He was a permanent registered employee after seven years of working there. Even though his salary was officially increased to Rs 8,000, he continued to be paid Rs 3,500.
The company made labourers sign blank papers and debited vouchers in their names. This time, it went beyond Sushil’s tolerance. He convinced all the labourers to put their foot down and not take this treatment. The owner fired Sushil and blamed him for being responsible for the protest. He even filed a case against the workers in the civil court.
Even though Sushil lost his job, he did not give up as he continued to fight for justice for all the labourers in the company.
Having lost his primary livelihood, Sushil bought a small piece of land with some loans and started growing potatoes and maize. He sells milk from the cattle he owns, sells wheat flour in the morning and looks for daily wage labour during the rest of the day. He ensures that he pays his debts on time and timely renews the loans, maintaining his self-respect.
“Voice, courage, and hope are the three important elements to survive in today’s world,” said Sushil.
Sushil believes women and young people are game-changers of our country. He fought for 11 years for his sister in a domestic violence case, making sure that her in-laws were jailed and punished.
He motivates his daughter to become a doctor and serve the country and wishes for his son to join the Indian Army.
His biggest source of inspiration is his wife, who has continued to support him despite their many hardships.
Sushil inspires me to raise my voice against injustices in the world.
He makes me believe there is hope for our country if we are ready to be courageous and work hard.
The lead image at the top of this page shows Grishma Kajbaje and her friend during a field visit (Photo courtesy Grishma Kajbaje)
Grishma Kajbaje is pursuing a post graduate programme in Indian School of Development Management.
