The ancient tradition of Jainism precedes Buddhism. An outgrowth of Hinduism, its central tenets hold that every living thing is sacred. Taken to its logical extension, some of the remaining orthodox worshipers hold that they cannot eat tubers (because the process of harvesting it, such as carrots or onions, could kill the germs or micro-organisms in the soil. As a result, all of the people (and more) that you see in the photos taking your shoes, selling goodies, cleaning and removing spider webs, etc., are hired Hindis.