In an era when India’s personal grooming and salon industry is booming, a sharp question has surfaced: Where are the Hindu barbers?
Not too long ago, fifteen young men, hailing from a village inhabited entirely by the Hindu Nai jaati, approached Sewa Nyaya Utthan (SNU) Foundation with this message:
“This was our traditional work. But today, the Muslim section of our jaati group [commonly called hajjam] dominates the industry. We have been sidelined. We want to return – not as employees, but as entrepreneurs,” Anil Sain, from Nai Nangla village in Gurugram, told SNU.
Nai Nangla home to less than 100 families and is located about 50 kilometres from New Delhi. All families use the surname Sain as is the tradition in the jaati to identify themselves after the 15th century mystic poet and saint Sen Bhagat who hailed from the community.
This month, SNU launched a bold new intervention to help the youth enter the salon industry.
Phase 1: Skill Training Sponsored
In the first phase, SNU fully sponsored a professional month-long salon training course for these 15 men through a reputed grooming institute. The training covered haircutting, shaving, hygiene, customer handling, salon management, and modern styling techniques.
Besides the men, training of 25 women from the same village was also sponsored by SNU simultaneously as they expressed a desire to join the beauty and grooming industry as well.
On Wednesday, SNU founder Swati Goel Sharma distributed training completion certificates to all during her visit to Nai Nangla. “This is not just a training initiative,” she said. “It’s a conscious attempt to rebalance the scales where an entire group felt pushed out of their own legacy.”
Phase 2: Business Launch Next
The next phase is already underway.
SNU is preparing to support the setting up of salons across Delhi-NCR for the trained youths, through a combination of seed capital, mentoring and logistical guidance.
SNU is also raising funds for the project.
The project follows an earlier visit to the village by National Human Rights Commission Member Priyank Kanoongo. After he made an appeal to social organisations to help the youth from the village in their ambition, SNU was the first to respond.
