PERSPECTIVES

rather symptomatic of the many other

Silencing Caste, “silences” and “erasures” which had
accompanied its launching.
Sanitising Oppression The launch of this top-down initiative
had witnessed “erasure/cleaning” of a
Understanding Swachh Bharat Abhiyan totally different kind, where even the
legacy of Mahatma Gandhi was “re-
duced” to cleanliness, obliterating his
Subhash Gatade lifelong struggle against colonialism and
communalism of every kind and for an

I
The Hindu notions of purity and nterrogating swachhata (cleanliness) inclusive polity. It was a very oblique
pollution, inextricably linked along the fractures of caste, gender, way of appropriating his image by the
labour, public health, and the organ- Sangh Parivar, who had never felt com-
with the caste system and the
isation of city life/death in the context of fortable with his politics, and yet wanted
practice of untouchability, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India him as an icon, albeit in a sanitised form.
underlie the unsanitary practices Campaign), a campaign launched by the In fact, the thrust of the campaign ap-
in Indian society. These beliefs Narendra Modi government in 2014, peared to project a samras (harmonious)
becomes important today. Looking back, picture of our society, where cleanliness
perpetuate the oppression of the
one feels rather surprised that the or the lack of it was connected with our
“polluted castes,” who are forced euphoria generated around this campaign kartavya (duty) towards Bharat Mata
to undertake manual scavenging, by the propaganda machinery of the (Mother India). The oath administered
unclog manholes and clean other government, duly aided by the media, by the Prime Minister to everyone who
had even overwhelmed a section of its joined this campaign was: “Ab hamara
people’s filth. The availability
long-time critics, and they were all kartavya hain ki gandagi ko dhoor karke
of cheap Dalit labour to do praise for the scheme’s “novelty” and Bharat Mata ki sewa karein” (Now, it is
these dehumanising jobs can be “innovativeness.” Now that the euphoria our duty to serve Mother India by re-
cited as one of the reasons why has died down, photo sessions are over, moving the dirt). Simple slogans defi-
and the celebrities who were vying with nitely look attractive or catchy, but there
development of toilet facilities
each other to hold the broom before the is always a possibility that they fail to
and a modern garbage and camera have migrated to other more capture the larger complex reality and
sewage management system interesting “causes,” one can look at perpetuate historical asymmetries, in-
have been neglected so far. the whole initiative in a much more justices and varied forms of casteism.
objective manner.
As long as the Swachh Bharat ‘In Search of Dignity and Justice’
When the campaign was launched,
Abhiyan attempts to delink the Sanjay, a ragpicker, who lives in Meh- Before we start, perhaps it would be
relationship between caste rauli with his parents, exclaimed while opportune to take a look at the lives of
and sanitation, its lofty goal watching ministers, bureaucrats and those engaged in cleaning. A small photo
others holding jhadoos (brooms) on the essay, a visual narrative, titled “In
of cleaning India will
television screen, “These are the same Search of Dignity and Justice” by the
remain unachievable. people from whose houses we pick up well-known photojournalist Sudharak
garbage every day. This is part of our Olwe seems to be an eye-opener (2013).
life. We don’t really understand why He has focused his lens on conservancy
The article is based on a presentation at they are making such a big deal about it” workers of Mumbai. According to this
a workshop on “Understanding ‘Swachh (Joshi 2014). Sanjay is part of a vast pop- narrative, there are around 30,000 con-
Bharat Abhiyan’: Caste, Public Health, and ulation of ragpickers in Delhi, who are servancy workers/sweepers who work
the City” organised by Department of Gender
largely invisible but play a major role in for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corpora-
Studies/School of Human Studies, Ambedkar
University, Delhi, held on 24 and 25 February the garbage management of the city. We tion. He writes:
2015. The author would like to specially thank know that without them the city can All of them are Dalits, belonging to the low-
the anonymous referee, who read the paper easily come to a halt. The government, est rung of the caste system. They have lit-
carefully, gave important suggestions and however, is in complete denial of their tle or no education. Without exception, all of
made useful comments, which helped him them despise their work. They are completely
presence even though it is ready to reap
revisit the presentation in a new manner. ignored or looked down upon with disgust
the benefits of their hard work. The com- by the rest of the society. They have to work
Subhash Gatade (subhash.gatade@gmail.com) plete marginalisation of the likes of San- in the midst of filth, with no protective gear
is a journalist and writer based in Delhi.
jays in the Clean India Campaign was not even access to water to wash of the slime.

Economic & Political Weekly EPW OCTOBER 31, 2015 vol l no 44 29

PERSPECTIVES
Most of them are alcoholics1 and live in pov- culminated in a big public meeting at It also underlined the fact that most of
erty, in dismal housing...The workers abuse the Constitution Club, New Delhi. the workers who work in sewers die be-
their wives and children. And when the hus-
bands die, the despised job passes to the wid-
As a part of the campaign, we distri- fore retirement. The average lifespan of
ows. The despair continues (Olwe 2013). buted a handbill titled “City Sewers or a manhole worker is about 45 years. If a
Death Traps?.” The pamphlet contained worker does not die inside a manhole
He further adds “I want the citizens to details of the deaths of two workers— but due to illnesses contracted while do-
see the workers and to acknowledge Ala and Umesh—on 12 June 2004, while ing the job, then there is no monetary
their presence and contribution.” He they were cleaning the sewer at Samay- compensation. For undertaking the haz-
states that the aim of his photography “is pur Badli, a locality in Delhi, and then ardous job, the worker gets a paltry “risk
to give a call to action, to urge fellow hu- moved on to the “powers that be who allowance,” which for example, is Rs 50 in
man beings through my pictures to never appear to be unduly disturbed Delhi. In developed countries, manhole
change the picture” (Olwe 2013). with such deaths.” It also questioned the workers are provided with proper safety
The pictures presented here—life sto- media, which is “always on the prowl for equipment before they descend into the
ries of the conservancy workers and the sensational news” but remained silent gutter. According to the Tehelka report,
apathy of the rest of the society towards over such deaths. It also mentioned why manhole workers there are protected in
their work—are definitely not soothing none of the safai karmacharis (sanita- bunny suits to avoid contact with contami-
to the eyes. But one has to remain patient, tion workers) were even provided ele- nated water and sport a respiratory appa-
ratus; the sewers are well-lit, mechanically
and not merely look at the pictures but mentary tools such as rope, box, oxygen
aerated with huge fans and therefore are not
look beyond them, reminding ourselves cylinder, mask, etc, at the time of de- so oxygen deficient. In Hong Kong, a sewer
of the stark fact that millions of people scending into the gutters. It ended with worker, after adequate training, needs at
in this country—who are equal citizens a few questions about sewer workers not least 15 licences and permits to enter a man-
of the republic—are condemned to live a getting adequate compensation in case hole (Anand 2007).
subhuman life in the second decade of of death or injury and why nobody was In contrast, in India
the 21st century, so that the rest of the prosecuted for such deaths. the manhole worker wears nothing more
society looks “clean.” Also, it is high time Believe me, when I was rereading the than a loincloth or half-pants. In Delhi, since
that we acknowledge the “contribution handbill, I felt that we were really naive the directives of the National Human Rights
they make for our health and survival, at as far as the issue was concerned. Naive Commission in October 2002, the majority
of the DJB’s permanent workers wear a ‘safety
the cost of their own health and sur- about the gravity of the situation as it
belt’. It’s a joke. This belt, connecting the
vival” (Olwe 2013). exists and also about the remedies worker through thick ropes to men standing
which were and still are offered to ame- outside, offers no protection from the gases
City Sewers or Death Traps? liorate it. and the sharp objects that assault the worker.
The brief visual narrative by Sudharak Incidentally, just three years after our At best, it helps haul them out when they
faint or die (Anand 2007).
Olwe reminded me of my own blood- brief intervention in 2007, Siriyavan
curdling experience when we decided to Anand did a story in Tehelka titled “Life The report emphasised that it is not
do something about deaths in sewers. In Inside a Black Hole,” where he discussed the lack of funds or technology which
2004, numerous such deaths were re- how “Beneath the glitter of India are poses a problem. If technology could be
ported in various newspapers, and we dark alleys in which are trapped poison- used to launch satellites, then why can
felt perturbed about it. First we collated ous gases and millions of Dalits who do it not be used for managing garbage
a report—a very rudimentary one to be our dirty job in return for disease and and sewage?
frank—based on an initial survey to know untouchability.” Few facts in the report
India’s urban planners, designers and tech-
the working conditions of the sewer work- were mind-numbing to say the least. nologists have never felt the need to con-
ers. We also met a few families who had According to Anand, ceive a human-friendly system of managing
lost their young sons in sewers, talked to garbage and sewage. Instead, they rely on an
At least 22,327 Dalits of a sub-community unending source of disposable, cheap, Dalit
officials of the Safai Karmachari Commis- die doing sanitation work every year. Safai labour (Anand 2007).
sion and also interacted with activists Kamgar Vikas Sangh, a body representing
who were in the know of things. And as sanitation workers of the Brihanmumbai Perhaps the hiatus which separates
a second step, we decided to launch a small Municipal Corporation (BMC), sought data the “almost invisible sewer worker,”
under the Right to Information Act in 2006,
campaign to communicate to the “civil mostly belonging to the Dalit caste, and
and found that 288 workers had died in
society” that in Delhi alone a 100 work- 2004–05, 316 in 2003–04, and 320 in 2002–
the articulate sections of our society and
ers were sacrificed at the altar of sewer 03, in just 14 of the 24 wards of the BMC. their complete indifference to the pain
every year and that this silent genocide of About 25 deaths every month. These figures and agony the manhole workers face, is
workers was a blot on democracy and do not include civic hospital workers, gutter best reflected in a Radio Mirchi tele-
cleaners or sanitation workers on contract.
should not be allowed to continue. To vision commercial which was aired a few
Compare this with the 5,100 soldiers—army,
send our message across, we distributed police, paramilitaries—who have died be-
years ago (Anand 2007). The said adver-
handbills, staged a street play and also held tween 1990 and 2007 combating militancy tisement was on air for close to two
street corner meetings. This initiative in Jammu and Kashmir (2007). years, where a man inside the manhole
30 OCTOBER 31, 2015 vol l no 44 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
 PERSPECTIVES

was heard singing the song Yeh suhana Methar, Chuhra in Delhi, Dhanuk in Bezwada Wilson, who is working for
mausam, yeh khula aasmaan, kho gaye Uttar Pradesh, Han and Hadi in Bengal; the liberation of manual scavengers
hum yahaan, haye, kho gaye hum ya- Mehtar and Bhangi in Assam; Methar from their “profession” under the ban-
haan... (This lovely weather, these wide in Hyderabad; Paki in coastal Andhra; ner of Safai Karmachari Andolan for
open skies, we are lost in the bliss, oh, Thotti in Tamil Nadu; Mira, Lalbegi, many years, writes in a foreword to the
we are lost here) (Anand 2007). Chuhra and Balashahi in Punjab (2005: 3). book India Stinking
Viewers could see a paan-chewing Names may be different, but they How can one feel proud of cleaning the
man in a safari suit wondering share the same fate: they belong to the worm filled, stench producing shits of mil-
bottom of the Hindu social hierarchy lions every day? Instinctively closing our
what keeps the man down in the manhole
nostrils, filling our chests with what fresh air
so happy that he should sing. Zooming in and are untouchables. Under the caste
we can muster before entering these toilets,
on the trousers and footwear left beside hierarchy, castes that consider them- we safai karmcharis suffer from the worst
the manhole cover, the tagline said: “Mirchi
selves superior do enjoy a wider range of kinds of respiratory and skin infections.
Sunnewaale… Always Khush”. Conceived by
Prasoon Joshi of Mc-Cann Erickson, the ad
choice of occupations. But the erstwhile ..many would tell us how at the age of eight
untouchables, today’s Dalits, have the or eleven they were introduced to this work;
went on without a murmur of protest from
how for many days they could not bring food
viewers or civil rights groups (Anand 2007). least desirable occupations—removal of
to their lips; how the stench of shit was con-
human excreta, cleaning, sweeping, stantly in their nostrils; how they were con-
Shocking Indifference leatherwork, skinning of dead animals, stantly spitting out the shame and the indig-
Can we ask ourselves why nobody pro- removal of human and cattle corpses, nity (Ramaswamy 2005: viii).
tested or even raised questions about rearing of pigs, etc. And one witnesses
this advertisement? Would similar stig- this social hierarchy existing within oth- Government Indifference
matisation of a race or community in er religious communities in the country Not that there have not been attempts by
one of the advanced countries generate as well. the government to eradicate this prac-
a similar reaction? In a country where Few years back, three short films on tice, but these have been half-hearted
around 22,000-plus people die every the practice of manual scavenging by a and have exhibited its indifference. For
year—one can debate the figures—in young director P Amudhan (2005) from example, the Government of India prom-
the process of unclogging our sewers Southern India had made waves. One of ulgated the Employment of Manual
and many more die before they reach these films titled Vande Matarm—A Shit Scavengers and Construction of Dry La-
the age of retirement, we have no qualms Version had A R Rahman’s popular song trines (Prohibition) Act in 1993, but it
in “imagining” that someone working in “Vande Mataram” playing in the back- took four years to notify it in the Gazette
a sewer is “enjoying” his work. ground, while a women manual scaven- of India (1997). No state bothered to
The only “explanation” possible for ger from Madurai went about perform- promulgate the act till 2000. And one
this state of affairs is that caste and re- ing her task.2 This music video was a notes that within 20 years of its exist-
lated discriminations have become so conscious attempt to question the pseu- ence, not a single government official
common and ingrained in our psyche do-patriotism of the people and a society has been convicted for allowing this
that nobody finds anything abominable. which allows such heinous practices like practice to continue. In fact, it was
Perhaps this unique system of hierar- scavenging on casteist lines. This music observed that the main violators of the
chy—legitimised by the wider society video had caused quite a furore, and the law were government authorities them-
and sanctified by religion—which has then Tamil Nadu government had to act selves. The Indian Railways continued
condemned a section of its own people against the local collector of the district to resist its implementation under the
to the “profession” of cleaning, sweeping where the film was made, supposedly specious plea that the cost factor has to
and scavenging, has become a part of for turning a blind eye towards this in- be taken into consideration if the prac-
our thinking. It is a reflection of the human practice. tice has to be eliminated.
deeper malaise afflicting the country. Everybody knew that it was just an As if to acknowledge the failure of this
India, which yearns to become a “eco- eyewash. The practice is widespread all act, the government passed a new legis-
nomic superpower” in the 21st century, over India. According to official figures, lation, the Prohibition of Employment
has half of its population defecating in India happens to be the number one as Manual Scavengers and Their Reha-
the open and lakhs of people still engaged country as far as open defecation is con- bilitation Act, 2013 or the MS Act, 2013 in
in the “profession” of shit collection. In cerned, where more than 60 crore peo- September 2013 and issued a govern-
fact, we have designated communities ple have no sanitation facilities at home, ment notification for the same. The leg-
who have been “forced” into this dehu- and they either go out in the fields or use islation views the provision of protective
manising profession since centuries. dry latrines to relieve themselves. Ac- gear to the workers and observance of
These designated communities go by cording to official figures, more than safety precautions as an alternative to
many names in various parts of the 6.76 lakh people3—95% of them women mechanisation (Hindu 2013). According
country. As Gita Ramaswamy describes —who are engaged in what is known as to the act, those using protective gear
in her book India Stinking, these com- manual scavenging, that is, “lifting and and devices as may be notified by the
munities are known as Bhangi, Valmiki, removal of human excreta manually.”4 central government would not come
Economic & Political Weekly EPW OCTOBER 31, 2015 vol l no 44 31
PERSPECTIVES

under the definition of a “manual scav- With the emergence of caste and un- have undertaken the task of demolition
enger.” This is nothing but an escape touchability—Ambedkar dates its origin of dry latrines and rehabilitation of
clause for local and railway authorities to 400 CE—no need arose to revisit the manual scavengers. Further they are in-
to continue to deploy workers for manu- setback suffered by sanitary engineering volved in exposing and criticising the
al scavenging (Hindu 2013). because a section of people was assigned casteist mindset of the government. In
the duty to collect excreta. The equation 2012–13, the Government of India allot-
Caste and Neglect of Sanitation between excreta and “pollution” in Hindu ted Rs 100 crore for the rehabilitation of
Interestingly, people in other South Asian society has led to the scandalous neglect manual scavengers, but in that entire fi-
countries have better access to sanitation of sewage management. Gita Rama- nancial year, the authorities did not
facilities. Figures from the United Nations swamy, throws light on this situation: bother to spend even one rupee on reha-
Human Development Report 2001, as cited In large parts of western world, the connec-
bilitation. And nobody was held ac-
by Ramaswamy (2005) in her book, are tion between human excreta and disease is countable for that. Various organisations
quite revealing in this regard (Table 1). well established. Human excreta is the prin- have approached the judiciary for inter-
Table 1: Access to Sanitation cipal vehicle for the transmission and spread vention in the implementation of laws
of a wide range of communicable diseases....
HDI Country Population with Sustainable Access meant for prohibition and rehabilitation
Rank to Improved Sanitation (%) In India, excreta is seen as impure....Tradi-
1990 2000 tional practice has failed to keep up with sci-
of manual scavengers.
142 Pakistan 36 62 entific disposal of excreta, leading to skewed We can see that their appeal to the
127 India 16 28 practices, particularly in the matter of hav- scavenger community to leave the “un-
138 Bangladesh 41 48 ing someone else to clean up behind us. clean profession,” which has stigmatised
Excreta avoidance is ritualised: the bath is
96 Sri Lanka 85 94 them for centuries together, or the
Source: Ramaswamy (2005: 16). taken after defecation... Caste Hindu society
did not ever mind that public places were
jhadoo chhodo, kalam uthao (leave the
Note that apart from India, the caste soiled by excreta but insisted that inside of broom, take up the pen) slogan raised by
system and its attendant discriminations the house should be free of excretions... many conscious individuals has its ori-
is either weak or more or less absent in Given such ritual avoidance of excreta, and gins in the historic satyagraha led by
the reality that excreta cannot be avoided
the other three South Asian countries. Ambedkar in Mahad in 1927. Here Dalits
after all, caste Hindu society, not surpris-
Can we then say that India fares poorly ingly, found the solution in ‘polluted’ castes
and many like-minded people from
in improving access to sanitation be- who would manually handle excreta. Scav- other communities marched to a local
cause of the dominance of caste system? enging and caste are thus intimately linked lake (called Chavdar Talab) to challenge
Did people in India always have (Ramaswamy 2005: 14). the diktat issued by the upper-caste
poor access to sanitation facilities? The people that Dalits could not draw water
sophisticated sanitation and drainage Rumblings Within from it. In the ensuing conference of the
system in place during the Indus Valley The ongoing narrative may just create untouchables, which met at Mahad, it
civilisation can be educative in this an impression that there has been no re- was decided that no untouchable “shall
connection. sistance from the Dalit communities to skin the dead animals of the Hindus,
People during the Harappan times the continuing oppression. Nothing can shall carry it or eat the carrion.” As
“had waterborne toilets in each house, be further from the truth. Ambedkar explained the situation in
which were linked by drains covered by In fact, one notices fresh rumblings one of his articles
burnt clay bricks” (Pathak 1995). This within the community to challenge the The object of these resolutions was twofold.
drainage system had manholes and age-old “profession,” and a large section The one object was to foster among the Un-
chambers. But the science of sanitary of the youth are ready to discard the touchables self-respect and self-esteem. This
was a minor object. The major object was to
engineering suffered a setback with the profession. Movements like the Safai
strike a blow at the Hindu Social order.
decline of the Indus Valley civilisation. Karmachari Andolan and others have The Hindu Social Order is based upon a divi-
“From then on, the toilets in India re- organised the demolition of dry latrines sion of labour which reserves for the Hindus
mained primitive and open defecation at various places, and there have been clean and respectable jobs and assigns to
became rampant” (Pathak 1995). occasions when people have spontane- the untouchables dirty and mean jobs and
thereby clothes the Hindus with dignity and
The later day religious texts, Narad ously come forward to collectively burn
heaps ignominy upon the untouchables. The
Samhita or Vajasaneyi Samhita, mention the broom and basket which is used in resolution was a revolt against this part of
that one of the duties of slaves is “dis- scavenging. the Hindu Social Order. It aimed at making
posal of human excreta” (Ramaswamy Members of the Safai Karmachari the Hindus do their dirty jobs themselves
2005). Hiuen Tsang, the Chinese Bud- Andolan, community-based organisa- (qtd in Ramaswamy 2005: 99).
dhist scholar who visited India from 630 tions, non-governmental organisations The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is an at-
AD to 645 AD mentions in his travelogue (NGOs) or even well-meaning individu- tempt to popularise the broom once again,
that division of society was based on als, who are active in the community, rather glamorise it, and thus cleverly by-
caste, the concept of untouchablility ex- are working towards exposing the prev- pass the voices of resistance. Interest-
isted, and the Chandalas or Sudras had alence of manual scavenging in different ingly in his hurry to “do a Gandhi,” Modi
to live outside villages. forms in all states of the country. They launched the campaign from the same
32 OCTOBER 31, 2015 vol l no 44 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
 PERSPECTIVES

Valmiki Basti in Delhi where Gandhi and the absence of other openings for employ- onerous impositions as voluntary purposes
ment (Ramaswamy 2005: 64). of life, by appeal to their failings is an out-
had stayed for a while, without bother-
rage and a cruel joke on the helpless classes
ing that such a move would further stig- Coming back to Modi’s remarks— which none but Mr Gandhi can perpetuate
matise the community. While the media these got published in the Times of India with equanimity and impunity. In this con-
did not bother to question the venue in November 2007 and were translated nection one is reminded of the words of Vol-
chosen by the Prime Minister to start his and republished in few Tamil news- taire ... ‘Oh! mockery to say to people that
the sufferings of some brings joy to others
campaign, many close watchers of the papers. There was a massive reaction of and works good to the whole. What solace
situation did not feel surprised as they Dalits in Tamil Nadu for calling their is it to a dying man to know that from his
knew how Modi looks at this occupa- menial job a “spiritual experience.” decaying body a thousand worms will come
tion, which finds mention in his book Modi’s effigies were burnt in different into life’ (qtd in Ramaswamy 2005: 96).
Karmyog, where he calls it as some kind parts of the state. Sensing trouble, Modi Also apart from the prevalence of the
of “spiritual experience”.5 Talking about immediately withdrew 5,000 copies of notions of pollution and purity, which are
safai kamdars in one of his speeches, the book, but still stuck to his opinion. important cultural beliefs responsible for
Modi said: Two years later, addressing 9,000-odd the prevalence of insanitary practices, an
I do not believe that they have been doing safai karmacharis, he likened the safai added complication has also arisen be-
this job just to sustain their livelihood. Had karmachari’s job of cleaning up others’ cause of the different manner in which
this been so, they would not have continued dirt to that of a temple priest. He said, “A different religious communities in the
with this type of job generation after gen-
priest cleans a temple every day before country defecate. Mihir Sharma in his
eration….At some point of time, somebody
must have got the enlightenment that it is
prayers, you also clean the city like a book Restart: The Last Chance for the Indi-
their (Valmikis’) duty to work for the happi- temple. You and the temple priest work an Economy tells us that for defecating
ness of the entire society and the Gods; that alike” (Shah 2012). 80% rural Hindus use the fields while only
they have to do this job bestowed upon them It would have been enlightening for 50% Muslims do so. Up to 40% Hindus who
by Gods; and that this job of cleaning up
Modi if he could have browsed through have access to ‘working government latrine’
should continue as an internal spiritual ac-
Ambedkar’s writings just to know how won’t use it, whereas only 7% of Muslims
tivity for centuries. This should have contin-
who have similar access will defecate out-
ued generation after generation. It is impos- he had reacted when Mahatma Gandhi
side (qtd in Bajpai 2015).
sible to believe that their ancestors did not had similarly called “scavenging as the
have the choice of adopting any other work noblest service to society” and had said Interestingly his is not the first study
or business (Modi 2007: 48–49).
“How sacred is this work of cleanliness!” of its kind which brings out the differ-
When I was reading extracts from (1925). In response to Gandhi’s views, ences in toilet habits between the two
Karmyog, I thought there was a strange Ambedkar said communities. A paper by Michael Geruso
commonality between the observations and Dean Spears titled “Sanitation and
To preach that poverty is good for the Sh-
of the Barve Committee formed in 1949 udra and for none else, to preach that scav-
Health Externalities: Resolving the Mus-
to look into the grievances of the manual enging is good for the untouchables and for lim Mortality Paradox?” also underlines
scavengers and the Malkani Committee, none else and to make them accept these the fact that
which was formed in 1965. The Barve
Committee had even made the offensive Journal Rank of EPW
suggestion that the scavengers do not Economic & Political Weekly is indexed on Scopus, “the largest abstract and citation database
consider their work dirty and in fact of peer-reviewed literature,” which is prepared by Elsevier NV (http://tinyurl.com/o44sh7a).
even blamed the victims: Scopus has indexed research papers that have been published in EPW from 2008 onwards.
Ancestors of these Bhangis were just field la- The Scopus database journal ranks country-wise and journal-wise. It provides three broad sets
bourers of a low caste, but never did the work of rankings: (i) Number of Citations, (ii) H-Index and (iii) SCImago Journal and Country Rank.
of scavenging. Some of these people took to Presented below are EPW’s ranks in 2014 in India, Asia and globally, according to the total
the dirty work of cleansing the latrines for cites (3 years) indicator.
the sake of profit. Slowly this developed into
● Highest among 36 Indian social science journals and highest among 159 social science
a monopoly. The stage was reached when
the Bhangis wanted to exploit this monopoly journals ranked in Asia.
and a sort of customary right was thus de- ● Highest among 36 journals in the category, “Economics, Econometrics and Finance” in the
veloped. By force of habit the Bhangi lost his Asia region, and 36th among 835 journals globally.
self-respect to such an extent that he did not ● Highest among 23 journals in the category, “Sociology and Political Science” in the Asia
consider the dirty work of cleansing latrines region, and 15th among 928 journals globally.
as a curse from which he should endeavour
● Between 2008 and 2014, EPW’s citations in three categories (“Economics, Econometrics,
to extricate himself (Ramaswamy 2005: 64).
and Finance”; “Political Science and International Relations”; and “Sociology and Political
Commenting on the “customary Science”) were always in the second quartile of all citations recorded globally in the
rights” of scavengers, the Malkani Com- Scopus database.
mittee said: For a summary of statistics on EPW on Scopus, including of the other journal rank indicators,
please see http://tinyurl.com/qe949dj
Scavenging has been a way of life for the
EPW consults referees from a database of 200+ academicians in different fields of the social
family. A fatalistic attitude pervades the
sciences on papers that are published in the Special Article and Notes sections.
whole outlook due to the lack of education

Economic & Political Weekly EPW OCTOBER 31, 2015 vol l no 44 33

PERSPECTIVES
prevalence of open defecation (hereafter “Impact of Caste Discrimination and fact, the government seemed so keen to
OD) is particularly high among India’s Hindu Distinctions on Equal Opportunities: A give a clean chit to itself that it adopted
majority. Data from the most recent wave of
Study of Gujarat,” authored by scholars a two-pronged approach to tackle the
the National Health and Family Survey of
India show that as of 2005, 67% of Hindu from the Centre for Environment Plan- uncomfortable situation in which it
­
households defecate in the open—e g, in ning and Technology University (CEPT) found itself. Apart from commissioning
fields, near streets, or behind bushes. In led by R Parthasarathy, which calls caste the above-mentioned study, it constituted
comparison, only 42% of the relatively poorer discrimination a matter of “percep- a committee under the chairmanship of
Muslim households do so (2014).
tions.” In his blog “True Lies” senior jour- the then minister for social justice,
They further add that nalist Rajiv Shah has provided a detailed ­Fakirbhai Vaghela, and secretaries of dif-
Ramaswami (2005) and Bathran (2011) at- critique of this study.6 ferent concerned departments to refute
tribute the modern persistence of OD among To put in a nutshell, the CEPT report the findings of the report. The govern-
Hindus in India to the persistence of the
was the state government’s response to ment instructed its officers to get affida-
Hindu caste system: the ritual avoidance of
excreta is maintained not only by keeping an exhaustive study titled “Under­ vits from the Scheduled Caste residents
defecation away from the home, but also by standing Untouchability” done by a of villages stating that untouchability
relegating its cleanup to the untouchables Ahmedabad-based NGO Navsarjan Trust did not exist.
(2015). in collaboration with Robert F Kennedy Commenting on the government re-
Center for Justice and Human Rights in port, Rajiv Shah says that “the nearly
Sanitising the Discourse on Caste 2009. The report demonstrated with 300-page report....far from being a re-
The “silencing” or “sanitising” of the dis- concrete data the wide prevalence of un- view of ‘Understanding Untouchability,’
course on caste in the packaging and touchability both in public and private is more of an effort to justify the evil
presentation of the Swachh Bharat spheres in rural Gujarat. It is important practice” (Shah 2012). As opposed to the
­Abhiyan reminds one of the manner in to note that the results of the Navsarjan survey of 1,589 villages done by Navsar-
which the Gujarat government made un- study were widely covered by the media. jan, the CEPT team surveyed just five vil-
touchability “disappear” on paper in the Worried that the findings of the report lages. “They were made to dig out a
state sometime back, despite its persis- might dent the well-cultivated image of a plethora of caste-wise data on agricul-
tence on the ground. samras Gujarat under Modi, a panicky ture, irrigation, employment and distri-
One should have a look at the Gujarat state government asked the CEPT to bution of government schemes.” But
government-sponsored report titled the ­review and verify Navsarjan’s findings. In “they refused to collect any data on
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34 OCTOBER 31, 2015  vol l no 44  EPW   Economic & Political Weekly
 PERSPECTIVES

‘caste discrimination’ ” (term used in lieu with the media-propelled image of the to Indian Administrative Service officials at
various points of time and was published by the
of untouchability), citing that “‘opinion- best-governed state, occupying number Gujarat government in 2007. Gujarat State Pe-
based survey’ is an unsound academic one position in the country where devel- troleum Corporation, a top-ranking PSU was
roped in to fund the book.
practice when people’s behavior is in- opment is concerned. 6 For further details, see Shah (2012).
volved” (Shah 2012).
The reluctance of the scholars to Concluding Remarks References
even mention the untouchability word The implementation of the Clean India Anand, Siriyavan (2007): “Life Inside a Black
Hole,” Tehelka, Vol 4, No 44, http://archive.
can be gauged from the observations Campaign involves tremendous human tehelka.com/story_main36.asp?filename=
made by a leading sociologist Ghanshyam as well as financial resources. “The gov- Ne081207LIFE_INSIDE.asp, accessed on 18
Shah, who has also written a critique ernment reaffirmed its pledge while pre- February 2015.
Bajpai, Kanti (2015): “At Your Convenience,”
of the CEPT report “Understanding or senting its second budget for a cleaner 28 February, Times of India Blogs, http://blogs.
Ignoring Untouchability? How Gujarat India and recommitted itself to achieving timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toi-edit-page/at-
your-convenience/, accessed on 19 February
Government-sponsored Study Examines a target of building 6 crore toilets across 2015.
Discrimination in a ‘Very Casual Way’.” the country in five years” (Times of India Bathran, Ravichandaran (2011): “Indian Sanitation,”
Ecconomic & Political Weekly, 17 December.
Ghanshyam Shah observes 2015). This initiative will cost the gov-
Gandhi, M K (1925): Navjivan, 8 January.
CEPT has completely ignored to study the ernment Rs 62,009 crore; out of this Geruso, Michael and Dean Spears (2014): “Sanita-
practice of untouchability. Perhaps for them amount, a sum of Rs 14,620 crore will be tion and Health Externalities: Resolving the
like the GOG it is a non-issue. And, they have Muslim Mortality Paradox,” July, https://laits.
contributed by the government and the utexas.edu/~mlg2296/images/MuslimSanita-
carried out mainly a socio-economic survey
remaining will be raised from the corpo- tion.pdf, accessed on 19 February 2015.
in five villages. The authors do not feel the Hindu (2013), “Get Serious,” 13 September, http://
need to argue why they have confined their
rate sector and other sources (Times of www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/get-se-
study to socio-economic survey. Why have India 2015). It is also being said that rious/article5120916.ece, accessed on 18 Febru-
they not correlated socio-economic data main goal of the programme is to end ary 2015.
Joshi, Mallica (2014): “PM’s Swachch Bharat
with the presence or absence of untouchabil- open defecation in the country, as nearly Abhiyan Has No Place for Delhi’s 3 lakh Rag
ity? (2013). Pickers,” Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 3 Octo-
half of India’s 1.2 billion people have no
ber, http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi/
While the CEPT experts could not dis- access to toilets. pm-s-swachch-bharat-abhiyan-has-no-place-
cover untouchability in the five villages All this sounds good and very soothing for-delhi-s-3-lakh-rag-pickers/story-OkoeV6i
QGBphQflM7Mp13M.html, accessed on 4 Octo-
covered, the Navsarjan team which vis- to the ears of the non-resident Indians ber 2014.
ited all the five villages studied by the (NRIs), who are worried about the image Modi, Narendra (2007): Karmyog, Government of
CEPT, “found how the dalits live under India carries in the comity of nations. Gujarat.
Olwe, Sudharak (2013): “In Search of Dignity and
subjugation and a state of helplessness But all these efforts might fail to pro- Justice,” Galli: Visual Narratives, I October,
as they know that the government duce results, because there is a con- http://sudharakolwe.com/project/dignityand-
justice, accessed on 18 February 2015.
would not protect them if they assert for scious attempt not to address the key P Amudhan (2005): Vande Matarm—A Shit Ver-
their rights” (2013). issues. It appears that Modi seems to be sion, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
dEPeOpJnBd4.
In fact, an important omission from in a big hurry to leave an impact on his-
Pathak, Bindeswar (1995): Paper presented at In-
the CEPT report was that of Valmikis tory. And he just might be successful like ternational Symposium on Public Toilets held
themselves, who are considered lowest his predecessors. Today we associate in Hong Kong on 25–27 May, http://www.su-
labhtoiletmuseum.org/history-of-toilets/
in the social ladder under a varnacracy. garibi hatao (remove poverty) with Indira viewed on 10 October 2015.
As opposed to these worst victims of un- Gandhi or the “Age of Computers” with Ramaswamy, Gita (2005): India Stinking: Manual
Scavengers in Andhra Pradesh and Their Work,
touchability, the report focuses on the Rajeev Gandhi. Similarly, future genera- Pondicherry: Navayana.
Vankars, a “socially acceptable” Dalit tions would remember or associate the Shah, Rajiv (2012): “Modi’s Spiritual Potion to Woo
community involved in weaving. “Clean India Campaign” with Modi, who Karmayogis,” 1 December, “True Lies”, Times
of India Blogs, http://blogs.timesofindia.india-
The omission of Valmikis in a report heads a country considered one of the times.com/true-lies/entry/untouchability-and-
commissioned by the government can- dirtiest in the world. modi-s-babus, accessed on 18 February 2015.
Shah, Ghanshyam (2013): “Understanding or Ig-
not be considered inadvertent. Their noring Untouchability? How Gujarat Govern-
work still remains confined to sweeping Notes ment-sponsored Study Examines Discrimina-
tion in a ‘Very Casual Way’,” Counterview.org,
and cleaning; collecting and handling 1 A caveat is needed here. It needs to be under- 13 November, http://counterview.org/2013/
lined that reason for their being alcoholic is
dust, garbage and filth of the cities, basically because of the nature of their filthy
11/13/understanding-or-ignoring untouchability-
gujarat-government-sponsored-study-examines-
towns and villages to make them live- job only and it has not to do with their choice. discrimination-in-a-very-casual-way/, accessed
able for other dwellers. And in the pro- In private interaction with few sewer workers, on 18 February 2015.
they explained why they take alcohol. Accord- “Sanitation of the Indus Valley Civilization,” Wiki-
cess, they face daily humiliations and ing to them, without it is impossible to “enter pedia, https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Sani-
even death due to “accidents” or get af- the sea of filth.” tation_of_the_Indus_Valley_Civilization, acce
2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEPe ssed on 18 February 2015.
flicted with occupational diseases. This OpJnBd4. Times of India (2015): “Budget 2015: Swachh an
is a reality which cannot be ignored any- 3 Figures released by Ministry of Social Justice Idea! Cess, Sop for 6cr Toilets Target,” 1 March,
more. Perhaps, the scholars might have and Empowerment, Government of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/budg-
4 According to unofficial figures, the number et-2015/common-man/Budget-2015-Swachh-
felt that the sheer presence of Valmikis crosses 13 lakh. an-idea-Cess-sop-for-6cr-toilets-target/article-
in a government report was not in sync 5 The book was a compilation of Modi’s speeches show/46416537.cms.

Economic & Political Weekly EPW OCTOBER 31, 2015 vol l no 44 35