"A community in need for help, for decades, Let's see their real life"
The Devipujak community (Waghari), a nomadic community from Gujarat practices the century old barter trade of exchanging old clothes for utensils (In Mumbai, we call them Bhandiwala, bartanwale, junakapadawala, chidiwala etc), they collect old clothes roaming around city and door to door, since six generations now, to operate the entire trade of second hand clothes across the urban spaces of the country.
The Devipujak community (Waghari) are traditionally a Kathiyawadi community from the Saurashtra region of Gujarat states with 18 sub-castes.The Devipujak community (Waghari) are recognised as not just a nomadic community but a denotified group. A few communities were criminalized by the British through the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 on basis of their trade, belief,culture,tradition,outlook,forest product collection,selling and hunting. In spite of the Indian constitution revoking this Act in 1952, the nomads are still stigmatised and referred to as thieves, abusive slag, marginalised to lowest social status this behavior of main stream society leads them to lack of education,Orthodox believe, traditional thought,child marriage etc. This community still faces slang language, insulting terms used by upper cast even presently in rural villages areas their conditions are lower than SC and ST community in India.
The community has created its livelihood with meager average monthly returns of Rs 4000 to Rs 6000 for a household of four. In return for ensuring that India’s old clothes do not pile up in its landfills and for providing affordable clothing for the poor, the community faces absolute dejection, constant struggle to hold a fixed market in the city, meagre economic returns and no recognition as the recyclers of urban India. Their markets are never a part of the urban planning programs and hence are often uprooted in the city beautification processes.
However, despite the discrimination faced from urban residents, municipal planners, police officials and residential authorities, the traders have constantly evolved their profession. New generation little educated young boys moving away from exchanging utensils for old clothes adding old mobile,electronic products in their buying list, few of The Devipujak community (Waghari) have now set up shop to directly collect old clothes from the customers in lieu of cash. Online buying of old clothes, picking up old clothes from home, these positive changes coming with the new generation coming to year's old textile recycling business.
