CENTENNIAL TRIBUTE: Remembering Heart of Humanity, H.N. Wanchoo on His 100th Birth Anniversary

He devoted his life to safaiwalas and the downtrodden. His soul was Jammu and Kashmir.

Dr Amit Wanchoo
Today is the 100th birthday of my grandfather, Shri Hridai Nath Wanchoo, whom I would call Daddy. His every birthday would be celebrated with sanitation workers/Safaiwalas/Masheiks (Sweepers), who were also called Khaakraubs. Hridai means heart, and Mr. Wanchoo truly had a heart to identify and understand human sufferings, emotions, love, and pain. This heart of H.N. Wanchoo would always recognise and remember the services of Safaiwalas. On his birthday, I salute all the Safaiwalas/Sanitation workers for their commendable work every day and wish them a bright and prosperous future in the coming years.
Shri Hridai Nath Wanchoo, all along his life, fought for the rights of Safaiwalas/Masheiks, the downtrodden, workers, and labourers in Jammu & Kashmir. The only thing that would give him solace and happiness was working 24×7 for uplifting the living standard of these hapless souls. I have closely noticed his love and respect for Safaiwalas/Mashkys/sanitation workers. He would consider them as his extended family, and they equally loved him. Every evening, I would see him at home, busy on his Remington typewriter, doing major documentation work for these Safaiwalas.
My grandfather would always place Safaiwalas/Mashkys higher than bureaucrats, politicians, eminent citizens, or religious leaders. Mr. Wanchoo would fight all levels of bureaucracy for their rights and dignity. He had a strong belief that a day will come when Safaiwalas’ children will be studying and working in the best offices in J&K. He would often question, “How many of us can do the work of a Safaiwaala for just one month?” Handling human excreta and transporting the same on their heads for disposal in those days was pathetic. He would often say that they prevent us from major diseases and health hazards, risking their own lives while on the forefront.

A Testament to Character:
Hridai Nath Wanchoo was an ethical, humane, and honest soul. Once, during his second daughter’s marriage, the discussion at home was about who would first welcome the Groom (Maharaaz) with a garland (Pooshimaal). Everyone in the family suggested names of elderly relatives, neighbours, senior bureaucrats, politicians, and others who were invited. But to everyone’s utter surprise, grandfather had something else in mind.
On the day of the marriage ceremony, when the baraat arrived, my grandfather handed over the welcome garland to a Safaiwaala, who was also heading their union. The Safaiwaala welcomed the groom with lots of love, emotion, and hugged him. Grandfather smiled, his eyes full of divine light. Everyone in the gathering was surprised, and many didn’t like this act, but Daddy knew that no one else was higher in stature than the Safaiwalas.
His love for Safaiwalas/Mashkys was selfless and infinite. My grandfather had adopted many children of Safaiwalas, whose education and daily needs were managed by him. One of his favourites was Ayesha from Khanyar, who was his dearest daughter. She has been a great, dutiful daughter who worked hard to fulfill his dream. For Daddy, all these kids were like a treasure; he would teach them, train them in various skills, and they all were an important part of our extended family.
During evening dinners, we would all as a family talk and discuss many things. Daddy would generally ask his daughters about various new brands and products like clothing, soaps, hair oils, etc., for boys and girls. He would purchase them and give them to me for gift packing, and later they were distributed among the children of Safaiwalas.

Championing Education: The Workers School:
Safaiwalas and their children have faced discrimination from Kashmiri society in various sectors, including education. As is the present precedence in Kashmir, even in those days, school or college admission would depend a lot on family background and the profession of your parents. Children of Safaiwalas were often avoided by good schools because of their background or meager financial resources. Mr. Wanchoo fought for their rights at a personal level, organizational level, and even in courts.
These episodes were regular and would deeply disturb Mr. Wanchoo. Finally, he felt the need of establishing a good private school for Safaiwalas and founded WORKERS SCHOOL at Batamaloo. This school admitted children of Safaiwalas, Mashkys, Anganwari workers, and other downtrodden sections of society. Needy students were provided school uniforms and books. H.N. Wanchoo engaged his daughters, their friends, and relatives with sound academic backgrounds as teachers on a voluntary basis at Workers School, Batamaloo.
Workers School gained recognition and, under his supervision, scaled great heights. Today, Workers School is illegally encroached upon by a local influential resident of Batamaloo. In spite of letters, complaints, and reminders to all commissioners of Srinagar municipality, nothing has happened in the last 20 years. Locals of that area tried their best, but corruption and nepotism in our bureaucracy have been successful in diminishing the prospect and growth of a school for Safaiwalas. Workers School Batamaloo is next to the present-day Batamaloo dispensary.

Sundays of Service and Learning:
Sunday used to be a special day at Workers School. Grandfather would get ready, and both of us would leave on his favourite Raleigh bicycle in the morning. He would never travel in a car, even when his son would request him umpteen times. He preferred a bicycle or walking. At Jawahar Nagar, we would first purchase delicacies from Billoria Sweets Shop. Every Sunday, the owner of the shop would make special preparations and pack them with love for all the guests and children of the school. Believe me, from Jawahar Nagar to Batamaloo, it would take us around two hours or even more. After every ten steps, Grandfather would be greeted by someone, and then the discussion would start, either about some complaint, personal issues, or other related talks.
Everyone in school had his or her responsibility, and honestly, those days the work culture was much better than present times in Kashmir. Our health and hygiene awareness session would start in the morning in the school building. Daddy would see patients, give them medicines free of cost, and classify patients who needed hospital admission. I have personally seen him treating them, doing dressings in case of injuries, pus, and frostbites. I would be surprised by his medical and diagnostic skills.
Grandfather had learned baseline medical skills during his tenure at J&K Red Cross Society, starting in 1948/49. After the morning medical session, we would have light entertainment and interactive sessions. I would always be given the role of preparing and presenting weekly current affairs news in English. Daddy would guide me, and then I would write the script neatly on my four-line English copy. The same things were also translated into Kashmiri. We would also have interactions and discussions on various topics, and many of us enjoyed these sessions. The whole idea was to educate Safaiwalas and their families about the latest happenings around the world.

Unwavering Integrity:
One of the major strengths of Mr. Wanchoo was his strong belief in truth and honesty. My Grandmother, Mughlani ji, would often share her first experience when her husband was appointed as Khilafarzi officer in Srinagar municipality. Mr. Wanchoo’s in-laws purchased a plot at Rajbagh and started constructing walls. Normally, one had to seek permission from the municipality in those days, and you could not bypass the approved plan. However, the officers in charge didn’t oppose, thinking they were the in-laws of the Khilafarzi officer.
In the evening, Grandfather came to know about this and he lost his temper. At once, he contacted the officer in charge and gave him a two-hour ultimatum to dismantle the structure or face suspension. I remember our black-coloured heavy landline telephone, no. 3091, ringing continuously with calls from relatives. But no one in the family could tell grandfather not to go ahead with the demolition. After two hours, at 12:30 AM, he visited the site and stayed on till the whole structure was demolished. He was deadly against the culture of corruption and nepotism. Because of his honest attitude, he did suffer many times and even fought bureaucracy tooth and nail at all levels. In the municipality and public life, he was famous for his upright nature, and no bureaucrat or politician would ever approach him for undue favours.

A Legacy of Care and Advocacy:
Safaiwalas in winters would be working in freezing temperatures without any protective gear. This would result in major infections in their extremities, skin, and chest diseases. Their working conditions were pathetic, and job security minimal. Hridai Nath Wanchoo fought for providing protective gear to Safaiwalas, regularizing their jobs, providing them insurance, jobs for their family members in case of causality, and insurance cover. He also organized and raised an emergency fund for Safaiwalas/Mashkys, which they used in health emergencies, educational support, marriages, or home renovations.
Today, I have restricted my writing only to Safaiwalas; maybe next time I will share his other life stories with all of you.
H.N. Wanchoo was assassinated on 5th December 1992 at Balgarden, Karan Nagar, Srinagar. We are trying our best to fulfill his dreams for the needy and downtrodden. 2025 is the centenary year, and we would be doing many social initiatives in various fields with support from friends and well-wishers.
Happy Birthday, Daddy!!! We love and salute all Safaiwalas/Sanitation workers for their fabulous work. May you all be safe and healthy.

(The author Dr Amit Wanchoo is a Social activist and Grandson of Shri H.N.Wanchoo)