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Last modification: What is Manual Scavenging?
(IDSN)

Manual Scavenging in India


Feb 21, 2019: Manual scavenging, social exclusion of past even today play crucial role India’s sanitation outcome (Counterview)
Why have government latrines been rejected by villagers for at least the last seventy years? The social scientists at the 1956 Ministry of Health conference discussed many possible reasons, including the fact that villagers’ beliefs about cleanliness and hygiene do not cohere with the germ theory of disease. They also pointed to the idea that, although villagers emphasize the cleanliness and purity of their homes and bodies, cleanliness of public spaces such as lanes and fields is not valued.

Sep 26, 2018: Sanitation worker deaths spark protests demanding an end to manual scavenging in India (IDSN)
Dalits in India have for centuries been forced into working without proper tools or protective gear to clean dry latrines, sewers and septic tanks, a practice known as ‘manual scavenging’. This is not only demeaning but also extremely dangerous work and activists have been campaigning for many years for the proper implementation of laws banning the practice and rehabilitating those who have been engaged in it. This past month it has been uncovered that in the Delhi municipality alone, there has been an alarmingly high number of deaths of sanitation workers lowered into the city’s sewers with no equipment to protect them. Activists are sending the message that India must #stopkillingus and that the caste-based practice must end now.

Aug 31, 2018: Modi Govt Has Not Released a Single Rupee for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (The Wire)
More than four years since it came to power, the Narendra Modi government has not released a single rupee for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. Not only that, the government is yet to spend almost half of the funds released by the previous UPA government.

Aug 15, 2018: Manual Scavenging Is Outlawed, Yet It’s A Humiliating Reality For Millions of Dalits (Youth Ki Awaaz)
Manual scavenging, the practice of carrying raw human excreta with bare hands, is often perceived as a practice that took place in the past or something that happens in rural India. Unfortunately, Manual scavenging is a dehumanising and humiliating daily reality in India taking place not only in rural areas but also in mega cities like Delhi.


Nov 14, 2017: UN Expert criticizes India’s sanitation drive for exacerbating manual scavenging (IDSN)
UN Expert Léo Heller has stated that the failure to end the practice of manual scavenging in India coupled with the construction of more non-flush toilets, is contributing to an increase in the discriminatory practice of manual scavenging.

Oct 26, 2017: UN water and sanitation expert to visit India in November (IDSN)
The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Léo Heller, will visit India from 27 October to 10 November 2017 to examine the extent to which people’s rights to safe drinking water and sanitation are being realized. IDSN and Jan Sahas have made a joint submission to the Rapporteur ahead of his visit drawing attention to the inhuman practice of manual scavenging that persist in India despite being banned.

Apr 11, 2017: Victory for 2,700 sanitation workers in Mumbai as Supreme Court grants them permanent jobs (scroll.in)
It has taken the workers 10 years to get relief from an exploitative contract system followed by the Mumbai municipal corporation.

Apr 12, 2016: Bhim Yatra gives hope to manual scavengers (IDSN)
For the past four months, activists have criss-crossed India to protest against manual scavenging. Their march – the Bhim Yatra – concludes in New Delhi tomorrow, on the eve of the 125th birthday of the great Dalit leader, Dr Ambedkar.

Mar 24, 2016: Drowning in liquid filth – in 21st century India (New Internationalist)
We pretend that people are not condemned to the caste system, Mari Marcel Thekaekara writes.
"In 1996, I listened in disbelief as Martin Macwan, a dalit leader, told a Delhi gathering, ‘I am ashamed that as a dalit, working with my people for over 10 years, I did not know that balmiki people still carry shit on their heads everyday of their lives.’ It was on the eve of 50 years of independence from British colonialism. The Indian economy, we were told at that time, was poised to take off. Indians were ready to take over the internet world. Silicon Valley was ours for the asking. Yet we couldn’t deal with our own excrement with a modicum of decency. Women scooped it up, of different textures, from large open gutters, with a tin sheet, a stick broom and their bare hands. These were semi-urban toilets."

Feb 1, 2016: The women who refuse to do India's dirtiest job (The Guardian)
"Every morning I would take a broom and tin plate to the homes of the upper caste thakurs to pick up their faeces. I would collect the waste in a cane basket and later throw it in a dumping ground outside the village."
As you watch a confident Ranikumari Khokar educate a group of boys and girls on how to file a police case, it is hard to imagine that this 21-year-old spent most of her adolescence working as a scavenger.

Jul 20, 2015: INDIA: Government dumps the Court’s Order in a sewer (Asian Human Rights Commission)
A total of 180,657 rural households continue to engage in manual scavenging in India, despite the inhuman practice being repeatedly outlawed by the Parliament and Judiciary. This is the state a year after the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), a flagship scheme of the incumbent government, covering 4,041 statutory towns, aiming to clean the streets, roads, and infrastructure of the country.

Oct 2, 2014: Desperate, disgusted but proud - India's human waste removers (CNN)
I normally don't dwell on what I am going to wear before I go on a shoot. It's usually something presentable, comfortable and preferably in a bright "TV" color that makes my cameraman Rajesh happy.
This time, though, I was perplexed.
I was about to film a story on manual scavenging.

Aug 25, 2014: Caste Forced to Clean Human Waste - 'Manual Scavenging' Persists With Local Officials’ Support (Human Rights Watch)
The Indian government should end “manual scavenging” – the cleaning of human waste by communities considered low-caste – by ensuring that local officials enforce the laws prohibiting this discriminatory practice, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The government should implement existing legislation aimed to assist manual scavenging community members find alternative, sustainable livelihoods.

Jul 4, 2014: India's sewer cleaners keep working despite ban on job (Los Angeles Times)
Dharamani Kale emerged from the manhole, sewage clinging to his body. Next to him, Sona Bai gathered filth in a small round basket and carried it on her head to the end of the street. The unpleasant process had started at dawn and would continue for at least 12 hours.

Jul 2014: Resource Handbook for Ending Manual Scavenging (ILO)
This Resource Guide will be a useful tool for government officials and other stakeholders such as trade unions in understanding the issues surrounding manual scavenging. It will also help the user in understanding the legislative changes that took place in 2013, and how public authorities can assist former manual scavengers by making use of the measures and tools put at their availability by the Government of India.

Mar 31, 2014: A landmark judgement in the fight to eradicate manual scavenging (IDSN)
The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that the continuance of manual scavenging in the country is in blatant violation of Article 17 of the Constitution of India by which, “untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden”. The court was emphatic about the duty cast on all states and union territories “to fully implement the law and to take action against the violators”.

Jan 24, 2014: New Law to Ban Manual Removal of Human Waste Disappoints (New York Times)
Last month, human rights advocates should have rejoiced after the central government enacted the most stringent law against what is euphemistically called manual scavenging, which is the removal of human waste with bare hands.

Dec 4, 2013: New Manual Scavenging Legislation: New Hope and New Challenges (IDSN)
India is introducing new manual scavenging legislation meant to eradicate the humiliating practice of manual scavenging, which perseveres despite being outlawed for decades. Indian civil society are welcoming the initiative to introduce new legislation, but are flagging that the proposed draft legislation is missing critical necessary aspects that must be included before legislation is introduced on the 6th December.

Sep 9, 2013: India passes bill on manual scavenging (IDSN)
A long awaited bill prohibiting manual scavenging was passed by the Indian parliament on 7 September. But two leading campaign organisations say that much needs to be done before the total eradication of this inhuman practice is achieved.

Aug 12, 2013: Knock the Door Campaign: Knocking the Door of Parliamentarian for Early Passage of Law on Manual Scavenging Eradication (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan)
Inhuman practice of manual scavenging is unabated till today despite having 20 year old law to prohibit it which is no longer effective. In order to effective total eradication of the practice, The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 3, 2012 by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr. Mukul Wasnik.

Aug 9, 2013: Scavengers threaten to block parliament (IDSN)
Hundreds of manual scavengers demonstrated in Delhi on 7 August against government apathy in abolishing the inhuman practice of manual scavenging. Unless legislation is introduced soon, they will return in their thousands and prevent parliament from functioning.

July 29, 2013: No exits from these tunnels of death (The Hindu)
Earlier this month, a group of men set forth to unblock a drain sewer in the basement of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi. Two of the men, Ashok and Chhotu, entered the sewer but did not return. The other two, Rajeshwar and Satish, went in to look for their colleagues. Three of the four men, assaulted by the poisonous rush of gases, lost their lives on the spot. Chhotu survived and was pulled out. Ashok, Rajeshwar and Satish became a statistic alongside other sewage workers like Robert and Shekhar who also died of asphyxiation while unblocking a sewage tank in a private hotel in Chennai in April this year.


Manual Scavengers in Erode district (YouTube, March 27, 2012)


Recent research exposed 146 manual scavengers found in Erode district, Tamil Nadu. Most of them belong to the Arunthathiyer community.
(Research study done by Rights education Development Centre (READ), Sathyamangalam)


More articles on manual scavenging:

Sep 26, 2018: Sanitation worker deaths spark protests demanding an end to manual scavenging in India (IDSN)
Dalits in India have for centuries been forced into working without proper tools or protective gear to clean dry latrines, sewers and septic tanks, a practice known as ‘manual scavenging’. This is not only demeaning but also extremely dangerous work and activists have been campaigning for many years for the proper implementation of laws banning the practice and rehabilitating those who have been engaged in it. This past month it has been uncovered that in the Delhi municipality alone, there has been an alarmingly high number of deaths of sanitation workers lowered into the city’s sewers with no equipment to protect them. Activists are sending the message that India must #stopkillingus and that the caste-based practice must end now.

Aug 31, 2018: Modi Govt Has Not Released a Single Rupee for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (The Wire)
More than four years since it came to power, the Narendra Modi government has not released a single rupee for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. Not only that, the government is yet to spend almost half of the funds released by the previous UPA government.

Aug 15, 2018: Manual Scavenging Is Outlawed, Yet It’s A Humiliating Reality For Millions of Dalits (Youth Ki Awaaz)
Manual scavenging, the practice of carrying raw human excreta with bare hands, is often perceived as a practice that took place in the past or something that happens in rural India. Unfortunately, Manual scavenging is a dehumanising and humiliating daily reality in India taking place not only in rural areas but also in mega cities like Delhi.

Nov 14, 2017: UN Expert criticizes India’s sanitation drive for exacerbating manual scavenging (IDSN)
UN Expert Léo Heller has stated that the failure to end the practice of manual scavenging in India coupled with the construction of more non-flush toilets, is contributing to an increase in the discriminatory practice of manual scavenging.

Oct 26, 2017: UN water and sanitation expert to visit India in November (IDSN)
The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Léo Heller, will visit India from 27 October to 10 November 2017 to examine the extent to which people’s rights to safe drinking water and sanitation are being realized. IDSN and Jan Sahas have made a joint submission to the Rapporteur ahead of his visit drawing attention to the inhuman practice of manual scavenging that persist in India despite being banned.

Apr 11, 2017: Victory for 2,700 sanitation workers in Mumbai as Supreme Court grants them permanent jobs (scroll.in)
It has taken the workers 10 years to get relief from an exploitative contract system followed by the Mumbai municipal corporation.

Sep 21, 2016: Despite Tamil Nadu’s impressive toilet coverage, manually disposing of human excreta persists (Counterview)
“My mother used to head out with a basket full of ash every day. She would visit dry latrines in the area one by one, sprinkle the ash on the night soil, scoop it up and carry the excreta-filled basket on her head to dump the contents into a small tanker. This was almost 40 years back in our ‘Singara (beautiful) Chennai’,” recounts Ravanayya. Born into a Madhari family, Ravanayya accompanied his mother, occasionally.
Though people no longer carry excreta on their heads anywhere in Tamil Nadu, the practice of manually handling and disposing of human feces is very much prevalent in many parts of the state, including the capital city of Chennai.

Sep 13, 2016: Eradicating manual scavenging: Safai Karamchari Commission’s 20-year lag in implementing law (Counterview)
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 came into effect across India on 6th December, 2013. Meanwhile, honorable Supreme Court of India gave landmark judgment to identify and award compensation of Rs 10 lakh to dependents in deaths of sewerage workers who died while cleaning sewerage and septic tanks since 1993 and strictly implement the provisions of the Act of 2013 on 27th March, 2014.
But, central and state governments have not acted/implemented the provisions of the Act of 2013 and the landmark judgment of Supreme Court. Manual scavenging is being practiced and is increasing in cities due to lack of proper sanitation facilities. Besides, state governments are not serious to identify such deaths of manhole workers and award compensation as per the ruling of Supreme Court of India.

Aug 30, 2016: Sanitation workers in Ahmedabad’s west zone are deprived permanent job and health facilities (Counterview)
A joint press conference was held on Monday at the office of Jan Sangharsh Manch in Ahmedabad by Gujarat Mazdoor Sabha (GMS), Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM) and Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samit (UDALS). Hiten Makwana, who is the leader of the safai kamdar (sanitation workers) of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) represented GMS while Nirjhari Sinha and Jignesh Mevani represented JSM and UDALs respectively. The press conference was held to talk about the ongoing strike by safai kamdars of AMC which started on 22nd August, 2016 and entered its 8th day on Monday.

Jul 28, 2016: Recognising moral energy, prodigious skill in movement to eradicate manual scavenging in India (Counterview)
Text of the statement by the 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award board of trustees while choosing Bezwada Wilson, convener, Safai Karmachari Andolan, as a recipient of what is popularly called the Asian Nobel Prize:
"Manual scavenging is blight on humanity in India. Consigned by structural inequality to the dalits, India’s “untouchables,” manual scavenging is the work of removing by hand human excrement from dry latrines and carrying on the head the baskets of excrement to designated disposal sites. ...."

May 12, 2016: Manual scavenging continues unabated in Gujarat, which declared itself free of the practice in 1992 (Counterview)
Video Volunteers, a voluntary organization involved in monitoring violations, discriminations and injustice through community video to bring the perpetrators to justice, has shot evidence from Gujarat on what happens when visual evidence of manual scavenging fails to move an official to act. It has appealed readers to sign a sign petition urging the Government of Gujarat to take punitive action against such erring officials. Text of the appeal....

Apr 20, 2016: Swacch Bharat invisibilizes caste-sanitation linkage, glamorizes broom among manual scavengers (Counterview)
The 125 day Bhim Yatra, which started from Dibrugarh and traveresed 30 states and 500 districts to reach Delhi, is now over. It culminated in a big rally coupled with people’s hearing, where families of those victims who died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks shared their plight. Interview with Bhim Yatra leader Bezwada Wilson....

Apr 12, 2016: Bhim Yatra gives hope to manual scavengers (IDSN)
For the past four months, activists have criss-crossed India to protest against manual scavenging. Their march – the Bhim Yatra – concludes in New Delhi tomorrow, on the eve of the 125th birthday of the great Dalit leader, Dr Ambedkar.

Mar 24, 2016: Drowning in liquid filth – in 21st century India (New Internationalist)
We pretend that people are not condemned to the caste system, Mari Marcel Thekaekara writes.
"In 1996, I listened in disbelief as Martin Macwan, a dalit leader, told a Delhi gathering, ‘I am ashamed that as a dalit, working with my people for over 10 years, I did not know that balmiki people still carry shit on their heads everyday of their lives.’ It was on the eve of 50 years of independence from British colonialism. The Indian economy, we were told at that time, was poised to take off. Indians were ready to take over the internet world. Silicon Valley was ours for the asking. Yet we couldn’t deal with our own excrement with a modicum of decency. Women scooped it up, of different textures, from large open gutters, with a tin sheet, a stick broom and their bare hands. These were semi-urban toilets."

Feb 1, 2016: The women who refuse to do India's dirtiest job (The Guardian)
"Every morning I would take a broom and tin plate to the homes of the upper caste thakurs to pick up their faeces. I would collect the waste in a cane basket and later throw it in a dumping ground outside the village."
As you watch a confident Ranikumari Khokar educate a group of boys and girls on how to file a police case, it is hard to imagine that this 21-year-old spent most of her adolescence working as a scavenger.

Jul 20, 2015: INDIA: Government dumps the Court’s Order in a sewer (Asian Human Rights Commission)
A total of 180,657 rural households continue to engage in manual scavenging in India, despite the inhuman practice being repeatedly outlawed by the Parliament and Judiciary. This is the state a year after the launch of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission), a flagship scheme of the incumbent government, covering 4,041 statutory towns, aiming to clean the streets, roads, and infrastructure of the country.

Nov 15, 2014: Instances of existence of dry latrines, manual scavenging in Vadhwan, Dudhrej and Sayla municipalities, Surendranagar district, Gujarat (Counterview)
A few days back, Navsarjan Trust activist from Surendranagar district, Gujarat, Natubhai Parmar snapped photographs suggesting the existence of manual scavenging and dry latrines in the municipal areas of several towns of the district. Based on these photographs, Navsarjan Trust’s programme director Kirit Rathod wrote a letter to Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel to act quickly against the existence of the despicable practice, called “shame of the nation” by Mahatma Gandhi. Contents of the letter, attached with some photographs: ....

Nov 3, 2014: India’s “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” and the filth of democracy: Reasons behind disdain for the lives of manual scavengers (Counterview)
No, the man pictured here has not entered the gutter as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s much hyped Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, or “clean India campaign”. Unlike the ad rush that shows posing with the broom, he could not have entered the gutter to preach the country about the virtues of cleanliness.
He is, in fact, indulging in a practice outlawed time and again by both the legislature and the judiciary of the country, most recently on March 27 this year. The Supreme Court had outlawed manual scavenging yet again and ordered all state governments to strictly enforce the provisions of Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act passed by Indian parliament in 2013. Yet the practice continues as exposed by this photograph taken by M. Srinath of The Hindu in Chennai, not some nondescript village tucked away in remote areas.

Oct 15, 2014: Swacch Bharat protagonists must remember: Gandhiji began his campaign by cleaning community latrine at Tolstoy Farm (Counterview)
It is cleaning season in India. Country’s prime minister has gone to town with a broom. He started the campaign to clean India by sweeping a Dalit neighbourhood of erstwhile untouchables, seemingly breaking many caste barriers. There are very few public defenders of caste system nowadays. After the affirmative action for lower castes in educational institutions and government jobs has begun to show some results, upper caste men and women, whose ancestors only three generations ago fought tooth and nail to not yield even an inch of their caste privileges, now cry and organise under the slogan of equality. Are we witnessing the spectacle of caste being swept away into the dustbin of history?

Oct 2, 2014: Desperate, disgusted but proud - India's human waste removers (CNN)
I normally don't dwell on what I am going to wear before I go on a shoot. It's usually something presentable, comfortable and preferably in a bright "TV" color that makes my cameraman Rajesh happy.
This time, though, I was perplexed.
I was about to film a story on manual scavenging.

Aug 25, 2014: Caste Forced to Clean Human Waste - 'Manual Scavenging' Persists With Local Officials’ Support (Human Rights Watch)
The Indian government should end “manual scavenging” – the cleaning of human waste by communities considered low-caste – by ensuring that local officials enforce the laws prohibiting this discriminatory practice, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The government should implement existing legislation aimed to assist manual scavenging community members find alternative, sustainable livelihoods.

Aug 18, 2014: Authorities’ subdued response to demand to end manual scavenging in Dudhrej, a small town in Surendranagar district, Gujarat (Counterview)
Dudhrej municipality in Surendranagar district of Gujarat is in news for quite some time following strong protests by contract workers against the despicable practice of manual scavenging. Organized under the Safai Kamdar Hakk Rakshak Samiti, which is supported by Navsarjan Trust, Ahmedabad, on August 14, 2014 they took out a rally in Surendraganar against the way the municipal authorities treat them while on work, and are forced to manually clean up human excreta despite the law banning it. Following the rally, the Samiti submitted a list of demands to the district collector, which included end to the contract system and implementation of the law that prohibits manual scavenging. The Samiti received a reply from the chief officer, municipality, to the memorandum.

Jul 4, 2014: India's sewer cleaners keep working despite ban on job (Los Angeles Times)
Dharamani Kale emerged from the manhole, sewage clinging to his body. Next to him, Sona Bai gathered filth in a small round basket and carried it on her head to the end of the street. The unpleasant process had started at dawn and would continue for at least 12 hours.

Jul 2014: Resource Handbook for Ending Manual Scavenging (ILO)
This Resource Guide will be a useful tool for government officials and other stakeholders such as trade unions in understanding the issues surrounding manual scavenging. It will also help the user in understanding the legislative changes that took place in 2013, and how public authorities can assist former manual scavengers by making use of the measures and tools put at their availability by the Government of India.

Mar 31, 2014: A landmark judgement in the fight to eradicate manual scavenging (IDSN)
The Indian Supreme Court has ruled that the continuance of manual scavenging in the country is in blatant violation of Article 17 of the Constitution of India by which, “untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden”. The court was emphatic about the duty cast on all states and union territories “to fully implement the law and to take action against the violators”.

Jan 24, 2014: New Law to Ban Manual Removal of Human Waste Disappoints (New York Times)
Last month, human rights advocates should have rejoiced after the central government enacted the most stringent law against what is euphemistically called manual scavenging, which is the removal of human waste with bare hands.

Dec 4, 2013: New Manual Scavenging Legislation: New Hope and New Challenges (IDSN)
India is introducing new manual scavenging legislation meant to eradicate the humiliating practice of manual scavenging, which perseveres despite being outlawed for decades. Indian civil society are welcoming the initiative to introduce new legislation, but are flagging that the proposed draft legislation is missing critical necessary aspects that must be included before legislation is introduced on the 6th December.

Sep 19, 2013: Change in sight: New law for manual scavengers in consultation mode next week (The Hindu)
In order to discuss the new law The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, and to provide inputs in framing model rules for effective implementation of the law, a consultation has been organised on September 25 in the Capital.

Sep 9, 2013: India passes bill on manual scavenging (IDSN)
A long awaited bill prohibiting manual scavenging was passed by the Indian parliament on 7 September. But two leading campaign organisations say that much needs to be done before the total eradication of this inhuman practice is achieved.

Aug 12, 2013: Knock the Door Campaign: Knocking the Door of Parliamentarian for Early Passage of Law on Manual Scavenging Eradication (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan)
Inhuman practice of manual scavenging is unabated till today despite having 20 year old law to prohibit it which is no longer effective. In order to effective total eradication of the practice, The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on September 3, 2012 by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Mr. Mukul Wasnik.

Aug 9, 2013: Scavengers threaten to block parliament (IDSN)
Hundreds of manual scavengers demonstrated in Delhi on 7 August against government apathy in abolishing the inhuman practice of manual scavenging. Unless legislation is introduced soon, they will return in their thousands and prevent parliament from functioning.

Aug 8, 2013: 'Stop Manual Scavenging': Manual scavengers protest against inhuman treatment (HardNews)
In the presence of hundreds of protestors and supporters from different organisations and networks, a group of safai karamchari women burned the baskets of indignities amidst slogan shouting and took a vow that they will not take up brooms and basket again as they wished to live a life of dignity and respect.

Jul 29, 2013: No exits from these tunnels of death (The Hindu)
Earlier this month, a group of men set forth to unblock a drain sewer in the basement of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in Delhi. Two of the men, Ashok and Chhotu, entered the sewer but did not return. The other two, Rajeshwar and Satish, went in to look for their colleagues. Three of the four men, assaulted by the poisonous rush of gases, lost their lives on the spot. Chhotu survived and was pulled out. Ashok, Rajeshwar and Satish became a statistic alongside other sewage workers like Robert and Shekhar who also died of asphyxiation while unblocking a sewage tank in a private hotel in Chennai in April this year.

Jul 16, 2013: Death, ghastly and needless (DNA India)
The stench of death enveloped the heart of Lutyens Delhi on Sunday evening. Three manual scavengers died inside a sewer at the prestigious Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. It was not just asphyxia from inhaling poisonous gases after entering a manhole that ended their lives. Their deaths were caused by the state. To be more precise, the utter, and contemptuous, failure of the state and central government to heed High Court (HC) and Supreme Court (SC) orders and its own laws outlawing the inhuman practice.

May 31,2013: Death in the gutter (Frontline)
That manual scavenging continues to be a national shame became evident once again when two Dalits died of asphyxiation while cleaning a sewage tank in a private hotel in Chennai in Tamil Nadu on April 20. Shekar (45) and Robert (47) were the latest casualties of the abhorrent system of workers entering drains to clear blocks manually. Between February 2011 and December 2012, 19 people have died in this manner in the State, 15 of them in the capital city alone.


May 3, 2013: Liberated manual scavenger women met UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan)
United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, recently visited India from 22nd April to 1st May 2013. During her visit, a delegation of liberated manual scavenger women from the organization Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan (RGA) met Ms. Rashida Manjoo and shared their issues regarding the practice of manual scavenging, the rehabilitation of liberated women manual scavengers, discrimination and violence against women manual scavengers. RGA also submitted a note on the situation and recommendations to address issues of Dalit women in India. Read the note....

Jan 31, 2013: Scavengers’ march sends message of hope (IDSN)
After travelling thousands of kilometres through 18 Indian states, the Maila Mukti Yatra – a march to eradicate manual scavenging – concluded today with an event in New Delhi. The attendance by high level officials from the Government of India as well as the United Nations is a measure of the Yatra’s success.

Jan 31, 2013: Pillay applauds Indian movement to eradicate ‘manual scavenging’ (OHCHR.org)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Thursday welcomed the strong movement that has been developing over the past few months in India to eradicate the practice known as ‘manual scavenging’ which, because of the stigma attached to it, has traditionally been carried out by Dalit women in a clear manifestation of discrimination based on caste and gender.

Jan 27, 2013: Update Maila Mukti Yatra (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan)
We are happy to share Update 4 of Maila Mukti Yatra with you. Maila Mukti Yatra has started with a nationwide call for total eradication of manual scavenging practice from Bhopal on 30th November 2012. Through the Yatra, Caravan of liberated women and social activist are able to liberate thousands of manual scavengers in different parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa; Yatra interned in Andhra Pradesh from Vijaynagaram on 22nd December 2012. During 22nd December 2012 to 17th January 2013 Yatra travelled in 54 districts of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Jan 24, 2013: The Disgusting Stench of Incredible India (Tehelka.com)
The railways still engages manual labourers to clean human excreta from its tracks. Does this shock you enough, asks Nupur Sonar.

Jan 2013: Burning the basket of indignity (Infochange News & Features)
A yatra by 500 Dalit and Haila Muslim safai karmacharis to motivate other women to give up the practice of manual scavenging and burn their brooms and baskets, will culminate in Delhi on January 31. The other leg of this journey requires a society that perpetuates this practice to shake off its caste bias.

Nov 30, 2012: Maila Mukti Yatra 2012-13: National March for the Total Eradication of Manual Scavenging in 18 states of India (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan)
Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan is organizing Maila Mukti Yatra 2012-13 (National March for the Total Eradication of Manual Scavenging in 18 states of India). This is a 10,000 km march. The Yatra will start from Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) 30th November 2012 and will culminate in New Delhi on 31st January 2013.

Nov 29, 2012: Dalits march against manual scavenging (IDSN)
A national march – the Maila Mukti Yatra - will cross India with a call for the total eradication of ‘the slavery of manual scavenging’.

Oct 3, 2012: Washing off this stain will need more (The Hindu)
The 2012 Bill on banning manual scavenging cannot achieve its objective without a roadmap for rehabilitation.

Sep 3, 2012: Bill to eliminate manual scavenging tabled in Lok Sabha (PluzMedia.in)
A bill that seeks to prohibit manual scavenging, rehabilitate those engaged in such inhuman employment and impose stringent measures to stop such practices was introduced in the Lok Sabha Monday.

Aug 31, 2012: Employers of manual scavengers to face prison (IDSN)
The Indian government is ready to introduce new legislation to end manual scavenging. The proposed bill includes tough penalties for those who continue to employ people as scavengers.

Jun 22, 2012: Manual Scavengers: The Dirty Picture (Part 2) (NDTV)
Manual scavenging, the shameful practice of scooping human excreta from dry toilets with brooms and metal scrapers, continues to persist in the country (, duration 19 min, 38 sec).

Jun 15, 2012: Manual Scavengers: The Dirty Picture (Part 1) (NDTV)
Manual scavenging, the shameful practice of scooping human excreta from dry toilets with brooms and metal scrapers, continues to persist in the country (, duration 18 min, 51 sec).

May 9, 2012: Parliamentarians in India raise their voices for the eradication of manual scavenging (IDSN.org)
Following a targeted campaign by the National Campaign for Dignity and Eradication of Manual Scavenging and other activists, Indian Parliamentarians are now taking the issue of manual scavenging up in Parliament.

Apr 27, 2012: Manual Scavenging highlighted by ILO and others in conferences, reports and a hearing (IDSN.org)
These past months have seen a flurry of activity to support the struggle to end the abhorrent practice of Dalits being employed to remove human waste from dry latrines manually which persists despite having been officially abolished by law in India since 1993. In India, the ILO has organised a conference to address this problem.

Apr 3, 2012: Census 2011 belies Gujarat's claims, 2,500 households still use manual scavenging (The Indian Express)

Mar 30, 2012: A blot upon the nation (The Hindu)
A national public hearing on rehabilitation of manual scavengers throws up several issues that need immediate redress to restore dignity to the community.

Mar 28, 2012: Uncompleted and unsuccessful rehabilitation of manual scavengers and their children in India (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan)
Brief Report on National Public Hearing on "Rehabilitation of manual Scavengers and their Children in India", 28th March 2012, Indian Social Institute, New Delhi

Mar 24, 2012: A law for atonement (The Hindu)
The new Bill on eliminating manual scavenging with stronger accountability mechanisms can be a major milestone in our journey for equality.

Oct 20, 2011: Liberated Manual Scavenger women met 64 Parliamentarians for new Legislation (Garima Abhiyabn/Jan Sashas)

Aug 25, 2011: The ILO and Manual Scavengers in India: Paving the way towards the elimination of caste discrimination (IDSN.org)
ILO: For millions of people, contemporary India has become a land of opportunities, and the largest democracy in the world has experienced a remarkable economic growth during the last decade. Yet, as India accelerates its pace towards development, many are left behind due to long standing caste-based discrimination in employment. ILO Online reports from Rajasthan, India.

Jun 23, 2011: India’s Prime Minister pledges to eliminate manual scavenging from every corner of India in 6 months (IDSN.org)
In a bold speech on the 17 June at the Conference of the State Welfare and Social Justice Ministers in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged ministers to be more vigilant and do everything in their power to implement the SC/ST act that is meant to protect the human rights of Dalits and Adivasis. The PM paid particular attention to the on-going issue of manual scavenging which he called, “One of the darkest blots on our development process”.

Apr 18, 2011: Two safai karamcharis die while cleaning manhole (The Times of India)

Apr 15, 2011: Lives Wasted In Gutters (India Unheard)

Mar 26, 2011: Scavenging Profession: Between Class and Caste? (Economical & Political Weekly)

Feb 19, 2011: NAC [National Advisort Council] forces govt to act on manual scavenging (Indian Express)

Jan 18, 2011: A historical battle for dignity for India's balmikis (Mari Marcel Thekaekara)

Jan 12, 2011: SC asks states to ban manual scavenging (Deccan Herald)

Jan 9, 2011: Imprisoned for life (The Hindu)

Dec 31, 2010: Resisting indignity (Frontline)

Dec 21, 2010: Documenting the truth of scavenging (The Hindu)
Declaring liberation from the inhuman practice of manual scavenging, the Safai Karamchari Andolan released a nation-wide survey titled “Truth in numbers” and screened a documentary film on manual scavenging here on Monday.

Dec 16, 2010: Enslaved by tradition: the manual scavengers of Vidisha (The Hindu)

Dec 2010: S.R. Sankaran: Champion of the safai karmacharis (Infochange News & Features)

Nov 29, 2010: UK Minister meets former manual scavengers (IDSN.org)
During a visit to India, the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Mr Andrew Mitchell, has interacted with Dalit community members in a village in Madhya Pradesh.

Nov 2, 2010: Manual scavengers: The government has 60 days to act (IDSN.org)
Manual scavengers from across India gathered at a mass rally in New Delhi Monday 1 November and demanded immediate government action to end manual scavenging once and for all, rehabilitate former manual scavengers and apologise for decades of suffering imposed on this group.

Nov 2, 2010: A revolutionary journey, a revolutionary mission (The Hindu)

Nov 2, 2010: Former manual scavengers demand apology from government (The Hindu)

Nov 1, 2010: Former manual scavengers to storm Delhi (Safai Karmachari Andolan)

Oct 31, 2010: Birsa Munda Marg
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 31, 2010: Culmination of Samajik Parivartan Yatra
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 30, 2010: Ending manual scavenging: Badaun cleans up its act (India Together)

Oct 27, 2010: Throwing off the yoke of manual scavenging (The Hindu)

Oct 22, 2010: Yatra for a new life of dignity (The Hindu)
A journey across the country against manual scavenging.

Oct 22, 2010: Savitri Bai Marg
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 18, 2010: Periyar Marg
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 16, 2010: Jai Bhim Marg
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 15, 2010: The 'untouchable' Indians with an unenviable job
(Andrew Buncombe, The Independent)
Bezwada Wilson began a crusade against manual scavenging. "... Everything is messed up. People say we are unclean, but who has made us unclean? We are cleaners; the person shitting in a dry latrine is the dirty person," he said. "For thousands of years we have been told we are dirty. Now people are shouting back, 'No, we are not dirty'".

Oct 7, 2010: From Ludhiana: Bassi Pathana Town - Fathegar Sagar dt
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 7, 2010: Birsa Munda Marg
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 7, 2010: Launching of Periyar Marg
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra.

Oct 4, 2010: In Punjab - Ecstasy in solidarity
Report of the Samajik Parivartan Yatra in Punjab.

Oct 1, 2010: Bus ‘march’ against manual scavenging (IDSN.org)
A march – or ‘yatra’ - for the eradication of manual scavenging in India was launched on 29 September. During the next few weeks, buses will carry campaigners from five different corners of India to the capital.

Sep 2010: Launching of Samajik Parivartan Yatra For Eradication of Manual Scavenging in India

Dec 29, 2009: March frees 500 women from manual scavenging (IDSN.org)
Maila Mukti Yatra - a march against the practice of manual scavenging – was completed in four Indian states during a 25-day period in November and December 2009.

Aug 13, 2009: Children speak up against manual scavenging (IDSN.org)
Dalit children in Gujarat will protest against being forced to clean toilets and septic tanks at the upcoming rally against manual scavenging, organized by Grassroots Dalit organization Navsarjan.

Jul 15, 2009: Supreme Court ruling brings India a step closer to ending manual scavenging (IDSN.org)
The campaign to end manual scavenging by the 2010 Commonwealth Games just got a push from a recent Supreme Court Decision, holding Government appointed District Collectors responsible for not eradicating the demeaning and hazardous practice.

Oct 7, 2008: So you think you've had a shitty day? Campaign against manual scavenging (IDSN.org)
On the World Day for Decent Work (Tuesday 7 October) Dalit Solidarity Network UK launched the 'Foul Play' campaign to demand the end of the human rights abuse of manual scavenging. Around 1.3 million manual scavengers in India clean up human excrement with their bare hands.

For more information on the Safai Karmachari Andolan (a movement to eradicate manual scavenging in India), see: http://safaikarmachariandolan.org/.

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