Skip to main content

Gujarat manual scavengers end protest: No assurance to rehabilitate workers from caste-based occupation

Surendranagar collector negotiating with Manjula Pradeep
By Our Representative
Gujarat’s manual scavengers, belonging to Doodhrej municipality of Surendrangar district, ended their nearly month-long protest against the authorities after the latter handed over a written assurance that their major demands, especially those related to providing them with fair wages and necessary safety equipment, would be met. This, the letter hopes, would take care of the issue that the workers have to manually clean up human excreta. The assurance follows Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust director Manjula Pradeep’s meeting with Surendranagar district collector KB Bhatt, who agreed the manual scavengers’ plight was being “ignored.”
A perusal of the eight-point assurance, however, suggests that the authorities have not concede to the main demand of the manual scavengers that they should be rehabilitated in occupations other than the caste-based ones they are condemned to do for generations. The most important “concession” they could extract was, no action would be taken against any of the protesting workers, a few of whom were “sacked”. Another assurance relates to action to be initiated officials who “misbehaved” and “forced” them to manually clean up dirt.
It may be recalled that recently the Washington-based Human Rights Watch singled out Gujarat, along with Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, where manual scavenging is rampant, despite protests against it. One of the demands of the Safai Kamdar Hakk Rakhak Samiti, Surendranagar, was that anti-atrocities Act, as also the new law banning manual scavenging in all its manifestations, should be applied on the municipality authorities. There is no reference to any of the two laws in the written assurance.
At the dharna site just before the negotiations
The assurance contains a clause under which, once the contract system comes to an end, the municipality would employ the workers directly. This has given them the hope that their years old temporary work would end. Till then, the contract system, under which they are employed through the outsourcing method, would continue. The letter assurances the workers that they would get minimum wages, that they would get receipts of provident fund being deducted from their wages, and that the contractors would have to ensure that the workers are not maltreated by appointing competent inspectors to oversee the work.
The “assurance” followed week-long dharna by manual scavengers outside the Surendranagar district collector’s office following two protest rallies, which met with resistance from the authorities, who sacked five of the workers. The protest was being carried out under the banner of the Safai Kamdar Hakk Rakshak Samiti, Surendranagar, and supported by Navsarjan Trust activists. Naturbhai Parmar, a senior activist, told Counterview that a committee had been formed to ensure that there was no misbehaviour with women workers. This was part of the constitutional obligation, which had not been fulfilled so far.
The assurance admitted that in Doodhrej town there was a lack of public toilets, one reason why people who did not have individual toilets in their residence, were forced to go in the open. “We have taken a decision to build 6,000 toilets in the municipality area”, the letter handed over to the leaders of the protest said, adding, “Each household which does not have individual toilet would be given Rs 8,000 as subsidy.

Comments

TRENDING

Avoidable Narmada floods: Modi birthday fete caused long wait for release of dam waters

Counterview Desk  Top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has accused the Sardar Sarovar dam operators for once again acting in an "unaccountable" manner, bringing "avoidable floods in downstream Gujarat."  In a detailed analysis, SANDRP has said that the water level at the Golden Bridge in Bharuch approached the highest flood level on September 17, 2023, but these "could have been significantly lower and much less disastrous" both for the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, if the authorities had taken action earlier based on available actionable information.

Biden urged to warn Modi: US can declare India as worst religious freedom offender

By Our Representative  During a Congressional Briefing held on Capitol Hill, Washington DC, Nadine Maenza, former Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), has wondered why the Biden administration should raise issues of mass anti-minority mob violence  -- particularly in Haryana and Manipur -- with Modi. Modi should be told that if such violence continues, the US will be “compelled by law” to designate India as one of the world’s worst offenders of religious freedom, she urged.

From 'Naatu-Naatu' to 'Nipah-Nipah': Dancing to the tune of western pipers?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Some critics have commented that the ecstatic response of most Indians to the Oscar for the racy Indian song, “Naatu-Naatu” from the film, “RRR” reeks of sheer racism, insulting visuals and a colonial hangover. It was perhaps these ingredients that impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, one critic says.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

Asset managers hold '2.8 times more equity' in fossil fuel cos than in green investments

By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi*  The world’s largest asset managers are far off track to meet the  2050 net zero commitments , a new study  released by InfluenceMap , a London-based think tank working on climate change and sustainability, says. Released on August 1, the Asset Managers and Climate Change 2023 report by FinanceMap, a work stream of InfluenceMap, finds that the world’s largest asset managers have not improved on their climate performance in the past two years.

Evading primary responsibility, ONGC decides to invest Rs 15,000 crore in sick subsidiary

By NS Venkataraman*  It is reported that Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will infuse about Rs 15,000 crore in ONGC Petro-additions Ltd (OPaL) as part of a financial restructuring exercise. ONGC currently holds 49.36 per cent stake in (OPaL), which operates a mega petrochemical plant at Dahej in Gujarat. GAIL (India) Ltd has 49.21 per cent interest and Gujarat State Petrochemical Corporation (GSPC) has the remaining 1.43 per cent.

'State-sanctioned terror': Stop drone attack on Adivasis, urge over 80 world academics

Counterview Desk  A joint statement, “Indigenous Peoples’ Un-Freedoms and Our Academic Freedom: A Call for Solidarity”, endorsed by over 80 signatories, including international academics, activists and civil society organizations, as well as diasporic Indian academics and researchers, working with Adivasi (indigenous) communities in India, has made an urgent appeal to prevent future drone bomb attacks by the Indian state on Adivasi villages.

Sales, profits of Indian firms 'deteriorate', yet no significant increase in cost pressures

By Our Representative  The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad's (IIM-A's) latest Business Inflation Expectations Survey (BIES), a monthly exercise, has said that while cost perceptions data does not indicate significant increase of cost pressures, sales and profits of the Indian firms have deteriorated.