Urban India has changed dramatically over the past few decades. Our cities are more prosperous, our homes more comfortable, and our lifestyles more modern than those of previous generations. Yet beneath this visible progress, some older attitudes continue to survive in ways that are often difficult to acknowledge. A few recent discussions within my own residential society brought this reality into sharp focus. One discussion centred around a domestic worker who had left a part-time arrangement to accept a full-time position elsewhere. The response from some residents was revealing. There was an expectation that the community should somehow regulate such movement, as though the worker’s freedom to choose a better opportunity was negotiable.

The same discussion produced another suggestion that was even more troubling. Some residents argued that domestic workers should not use the same lifts as apartment owners. The argument was presented as practicality and convenience. Yet beneath........

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