Dalit Candle Company, the story and why we love their candles by Kati Kaia
We think we know about class, living in the UK. But the Indian caste system, in place for over 3000 years, is rigid and leaves many behind. Most in need are the Dalit people, formerly referred to as ‘untouchables’, who are not even considered to have a caste by the more traditional parts of Indian society.
The idea for Dalit Goods came about as a result of a trip to India by Life Association director Simon Hawthorne. Whilst there he began to notice a large number of smashed clay pots around the slum areas of Mumbai. These clay pots turned out to be drinking pots which for thousands of years the Dalit people have often been forced to drink from and then smash on the ground as a sign of their supposed untouchability. It is this powerful symbol of oppression that inspired Simon to launch our range of Dalit branded products.
It is their goal to design and supply ethically sourced and environmentally sensitive products and provide employment to Dalits in India.
For over 3000 years the Dalits – or Untouchables – have been positioned at the bottom of India’s society and are subject to the most aggressive and dehumanising abuse. They are born into a culture that devalues them from birth with society considering them lower than animals. The term ‘Dalit’ literally translates to downtrodden or oppressed and there are 250 million Dalits who are exposed to this injustice.
We believe that the injustice of the Dalits is the biggest human rights issue in the world today.
In the hands of the Potter
Around 150 years ago, when Mumbai was largely swamp land, migrant potters from Gujarat arrived and have been there ever since. Some 300 families now live in the Dharavi slum, one of Asia’s largest and believed to be the most densely populated place on earth with 1 million people living within a square mile.
They are Dalits, formerly known as untouchables and considered outside India’s caste system. Only Dalits do this kind of work as it is considered unclean because they handle dirt from the earth. But we see things differently: As if by magic, from a lump of mud, in the hands of a skilled potter a small work of art appears that will go onto grace perhaps the table or window sill of elegant homes in England and abroad.
They are then hand poured by Dalit ladies in our own, small production unit – Before being packed and shipped to England. It’s a great story but one that doesn’t end there. The work of Dalit Candles helped provide a loving home for children like Rahul who we have named one of our candles after. He was only 4 when his father was killed in a railway accident. With his mother unable to support him he was adopted into our boys home in Mumbai and has lived there ever since. Now 16 Rahul is achieving good results in his studies and at weekends enjoys helping with the candle business.
