Auto Driver 1482: Sardar's Caste Problem?!
I met Sardar yesterday when I took his auto from one end of the city to another. One way of categorizing the Chennai auto drivers is those who talk and those who don't. Sardar belongs to the former category. This category requires very little prompting from the customer to start talking, so did he. But, why do I bother writing about my encounter with Sardar? Because of his current problem. He went to admit his son to a school and they asked him to produce a 'caste' certificate. Sardar is a Muslim born and brought up in one of the lower income areas of North Chennai and is not aware of being anything else other than a Muslim all his life. He does his prayers, he tried to be sincere in his vocation ('started driving auto when the minimum was 4.40 and tried to carry on without 'sudu meter', but, had to give up because it was not viable') and has worked hard to make a living. He does not know under what category of 'caste' he belongs. He told this to th...