Liberation and Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers

Abstract

In India even today, scavengers and sweepers still carry out the basic sanitary services in cities and towns. While many are employed by local urban authorities to clean the sewers and sweep the streets, a significant number still work in their traditional occupation. This means that scavengers are still cleaning latrines by hand and carrying night soil in baskets on their heads. Such socio-economic conditions for scavengers still persist despite various articles in the Indian constitution, which stipulate that the state should promote the economic and educational interests of Scheduled Castes and protect them from discrimination and exploitation. This article talks about the plight of manual scavengers in Indian society. It also cortically analyses the policies and programs of manual scavengers.