These photographs were taken by the Ahmedabad-based Dalit rights NGO Navsarjan Trust's senior activist, Natubhai Parmar, on November 13, two days after India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report slammed the Gujarat government for the failure of its “Swachh Gujarat” (Clean Gujarat) campaign and existence of “several cases” of manual scavenging, banned in the country. The snaps were taken in three towns, Surendranagar, Wadhwan and Sayala of Gujarat, and a grim reminder that there is no impact of the Swachh Bharat campaign in Gujarat and manual scavenging continues unabated, despite official denials. CAG had also regretted that though the Gujarat government was asked to take "appropriate and swift action" to verify "each and every case" of manual scavenging, CAG did not provide a satisfactory answer to Government of India.
We as a nation with Manu Smiriti and apartheid has yet to learn Dignity of human beings. We can shout and blame other nations about our poverty but cannot blame our cast system and some of our superstitions except on ourselves.
ReplyDeleteWhy is that we in India are not capable to invent equipment to clean human waste? Do we think that such innovation will bring no fame but shame.
We have to break away from this cycle of untouchability. Modi can have many AARTIS at Kashi but will that wash our sins of inhumanity. WHY NO VOICE FOR PEOPLE WHO SERVE US AND KEEP US HEALTHY