He portrayed scavenging as dignified work. Gandhiji who believed in “Chaturvarna” and its division of labour, equated cleaning of excreta to a mother cleaning her son’s shit. But some scholars allegedly state that scavenging profession became popular after the advent of Muslim rulers, and the subsequent growth of urbanization during the British period.Īny discussion on manual scavenging will be incomplete if we don’t peep at the arguments and counter-arguments between Gandhiji and Babasaheb Ambedkar. In Bajasanei Samhita, the Chandala and Paulkasa have also been referred to as slaves for the disposal of night soil. Disposal of human excreta is one among the 15 duties enumerated in Naradiya Samhita for the slave. Its root lies in the traditional scared religious scriptures, particularly Naradiya Samhita and Bajasanei Samhita. But it’s a matter of grave concern that the definition in the 1993 Act didn’t clearly define who a manual scavenger is and surprisingly, the definition of the present 2013 Act excludes those persons working with protective gear from being considered a manual scavenger. Manual scavenging, a caste based occupation imposed on certain Dalit communities under the division of labour in the Hindu caste system, means not only picking up night soil from dry latrines but also extends its tentacles to those working on railway tracks, manholes, public toilets, sewage, and even those working with protective equipment or empty hands.
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