The outcast, untouched, unseen victims of Swachh Bharat

We all would like to think that India as a country - the largest democracy in the world, has progressed by leaps and bounds over the 70 years of Independence, we would like to believe that with every passing day India is fighting casteism, accountability and every social evil, however, it is very disheartening to say that India still has a long way to go.

India will truly be considered progressive when each and every citizen of the country will be able to practice their fundamental rights, even the manual scavengers.

Manual scavenging is still prevalent in the country under the garb of names such as 'motor loaders' which do not reveal the pain and torture attached to the nature of the job, which is not only casteist but also prohibited under the Indian law. The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 and The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 or M.S. Act 2013 prohibits the dehumanizing practice where workers are made to carry waste and human excreta from pit latrines or dry latrines with basket and brooms, get inside sewer holes without any mask and safety precautions. Many have even lost
their lives in the process.

Oneindia spoke to Sunil Yadav, a manual scavenger, who is pursuing Ph-D in State, labour processes and Caste Identity in India: A Case Study of Scavenging Workers in Mumbai, from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. His ambition - to bring in development in the profession of cleaning, so that the workers employed are not deprived of their basic rights and dignity. Sunil was recently in the National Capital to attend a conference on improving laws and policies in the global labour laws, which was attended by representatives from 45 countries.

Hailing from the City of Dreams - Mumbai, the finance capital of India, Sunil Yadav started working as a manual scavenger or Safai Karmachari from the age of 25. Sunil recalled the horror that he went through on the first day of his work as a manual scavenger, he said, "I felt that it was worse than hell. I was knee-deep in garbage without any uniform. I did not know what I was supposed to do, I had to support my family anyhow. I thought about it the whole day, the smell of garbage was not going off."

Sunil's father suffered from 97% paralysis and his mom was earning a living for the family of six, that's when Sunil had to take up this dreaded job. Sunil said that his father was addicted to drugs and alcohol.

"I now realised why my father took to drugs and alcohol, what else would a man do after spending most of his day inside garbage?" Sunil said.

Sunil also spoke of the cruelty involved in the practice, wherein workers are not allowed to take breaks. He said, "Nobody cares about your life in this profession. Senior officers would make one person do the job of four people, and for all 30 days a month."

Moreover, according to data and reports, most of the people employed in the profession belong to a particular community - Dalits. Sunil said, "Only Dalits are working as manual scavengers and are intentionally chosen by others only for this job. Discrimination on the ground of caste is still very pervasive in the system."

He also pointed out at the problems women workers have to face regularly. He said, "India is a patriarchal country, we have huge gender-related problem in the profession. First they are women, and second they belong to the Dalit community, they are the minority in the minorities, they have to face sexual harassment almost on a regular basis."

He asked, "The way the profession functions at presents is absolutely against the labour laws. Are labour laws not applicable on safai karmacharis? Are we not citizens of the country ?"

Sunil expressed his frustration with the way the workers are treated and looked down upon by the senior officials in the profession, he said "In spite of having better qualifications that most in the senior level, I was denied the position of Labour Officer only because of my caste. A former municipal commissioner of Mumbai, IAS officer Sitaram Kunte once told him - If you people want to study, who will do the cleaning job?

Sunil also called out the cunning practices and strategies adopted to hide the dark business of employment of people in a profession that strips one off basic dignity of life. He said, ' We were included within the four pillars of labour categories only after the 1993 Act, even after that only the name of the profession was changed from that of manual scavengers to motor loaders, but nothing else. We still did the same job. We never had any increase in our salaries. The trainee labourers or the ones who were not permanent yet, do not even receive minimum wages."

"It is said that we voluntarily do this job, but who would want to drown in garbage voluntarily?" He asked.

Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat campaign, Sunil said, "Only cleaning dry leaves with big brooms will not keep India clean, please get into sewer holes with us and see how it feels."

When asked that in spite of being so highly qualified why does he continue to work as a manual scavenger, Sunil said, "I am at a point of life where I have struggled a lot, I have worked as a manual scavenger and I have also been able to continue my education along with it. Now I can't leave my community suddenly, my struggle is to be able to work for the dignity of those in the profession and ensure that they know about their rights and that they too have the right to dignity."

Sunil wants the implementation of technological advancements in this profession, he said, "Cleaning work is happening all over the world, but the workers there are not treated in this manner."

Along with implementation of technological advancements, he also wants
proper training and rehabilitation of workers, he said, "Along with bringing in new technology, workers must be trained and rehabilitated.

Technology must not snatch away the livelihood of people. As soon as technology will be incorporated, people from higher castes will also join the profession, but that again should not affect the employment of the ones who had been doing the job so far."

"BMC has machines but they are not being able to use them in the narrow lanes of Mumbai, we need scientific intervention," Sunil added.

Sunil said that he has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spread awareness on the issue.

Sunil's 10-year-old daughter studies in an international school, and he takes immense pride in the fact that his daughter, unlike him, speaks fluent English and also helps him with writing official letters. He also is educating is wife in Law. He said, "Awazein daabni nahi chahiye, uthni chaiye (Voices should not be suppressed, but raised)."

"I do not want to set an example, people expect a lot from me and I cannot leave the battle mid-way now," Sunil added saying that he gets calls from across the country hailing him as a source of inspiration.

Sunil has multiple degrees and qualifications and yet continues to fight for the rights of others who go through the daily torture because of lack of means, and more importantly lack of awareness.
Sunil indeed is an inspiration to the many. There are many Sunils in the country today, it's about time that we hear out their stories, their dream for a change, their fight for a New India.

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