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It was 8.30 pm in the town of Madhuban in Jharkhand, and Itwari Soren and Ramesh Murmu sat listless outside a lavish Jain mansion.

The two, who are palanquin bearers and belong to the Santal Adivasi community, were waiting for shops on the town’s main road to close so that they could sleep.

“We sleep on the roads with just our gamchas to lie down on,” said Itwari, referring to the towel also often used as a headscarf. “The mosquitoes keep biting us and if it rains, we get drenched. There are several guesthouses around here for pilgrims, but no facilities for us doliwale to stay.”

The two had not had any work that day in mid-May, or in fact that week. “This is the off season. The peak season is between March and October when Jain pilgrims visit in flocks,” Itwari said. “Then, we compete to book passengers and carry them up the hill.”

The hill he was referring to is the highest point in Jharkhand, and goes by two names. To Jains, it is Parasnath Hill, named after Parsvanatha, the twenty-third of 24 Jain tirthankaras, the central spiritual figures of the religion. Jains know the sacred site atop the hill as Sammed Shikarji and believe that...

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