Livelihood, Resources, and Strategies for Survival

Abstract

Abstract This chapter describes the traditional occupation of the dhobis in terms of the resources, techniques, and skills that they require and their transition from a caste-based jajmani kind of relationship to a modern economy, but one where the dhobi–grahak (client) relationships still maintain some of their earlier moral codes. The informal economy is embedded historically in social norms and values that tend to persist even in the cash-based market economy. The historically derived skills of the dhobis ensure them a space within the larger economy that is almost monopolistic and which serves to nurture their community identity. This chapter describes the dhobi’s relation to their clients with case studies and analyses how the social rationality of the dhobis prevents them from assuming a Dalit identity, preferring rather to stay within a system that ensures them of their livelihood.