#StopKillingUs: Safai Karmachari Andolan protests against manual scavenging deaths at Jantar Mantar

By A Representative

The Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), a movement fighting for the rights of sanitation workers, held a powerful protest at Jantar Mantar today, demanding an end to manual scavenging and the rising deaths of sewer and septic tank workers.

Led by national convenor Bezwada Wilson, hundreds of sanitation workers and activists gathered to condemn the government’s inaction and denial of the persistent caste-based atrocity of manual scavenging. Despite laws banning the practice, dry latrines still exist in 36 districts across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Jammu & Kashmir, forcing marginalized communities, particularly women, into degrading and hazardous work.

Deaths Continue Despite Government Claims

In the last five years, 419 sanitation workers have died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks. Just last week, on March 16, 2025, a worker died, and two others were hospitalized after being forced to enter a manhole by the Delhi Jal Board in New Friends Colony.

The government’s National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE), launched in 2023-24 with a ₹97.41 crore allocation, has failed to prevent these deaths. SKA questioned why, despite claims of spending ₹55,000 crores on sanitation infrastructure and building 110 million toilets, manual scavenging persists.

Government in Denial

Protesters slammed the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for repeatedly denying the existence of manual scavenging in Parliament. “This is a violence against our community,” said Wilson. “The government is fudging data and protecting perpetrators instead of stopping these caste atrocities.”

Call to Action

The protesters demanded:

- Immediate eradication of dry latrines

- Strict enforcement of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers Act, 2013

- Proper rehabilitation and compensation for affected families

- Mechanization of sewer cleaning to end hazardous manual labor

The rally ended with a resounding call: “Stop Killing Us!”

Activists urged citizens and media to witness the truth and join the fight to end this inhuman practice.

Comments

10,000 students deprived of classes as Ahmedabad school remains shut: MCC writes to Gujarat CM

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) has written to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, urging him to immediately reopen the Seventh Day Adventist School in Maninagar, Ahmedabad, where classes have been suspended for nearly two weeks. The MCC claims that the suspension, following a violent incident, violates the constitutional right to education of thousands of children.

Gujarat minority rights group seeks suspension of Botad police officials for brutal assault on minor

By A Representative A human rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat, has written to the Director General of Police (DGP), Gandhinagar, demanding the immediate suspension and criminal action against police personnel of Botad police station for allegedly brutally assaulting a minor boy from the Muslim community.

On Teachers’ Day, remembering Mother Teresa as the teacher of compassion

By Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ It is Teachers’ Day once again! Significantly, the day also marks the Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta (still lovingly called Mother Teresa). In 2012, the United Nations, as a fitting tribute to her, declared this day the International Day of Charity. A day pregnant with meaning—one that we must celebrate as meaningfully as possible.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Gandhiji quoted as saying his anti-untouchability view has little space for inter-dining with "lower" castes

By A Representative A senior activist close to Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) leader Medha Patkar has defended top Booker prize winning novelist Arundhati Roy’s controversial utterance on Gandhiji that “his doctrine of nonviolence was based on an acceptance of the most brutal social hierarchy the world has ever known, the caste system.” Surprised at the police seeking video footage and transcript of Roy’s Mahatma Ayyankali memorial lecture at the Kerala University on July 17, Nandini K Oza in a recent blog quotes from available sources to “prove” that Gandhiji indeed believed in “removal of untouchability within the caste system.”

'Govts must walk the talk on gender equality, right to health, human rights to deliver SDGs by 2030'

By A Representative With just 64 months left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global health and rights advocates have called upon governments to honour their commitments on gender equality and the human right to health. Speaking ahead of the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), experts warned that rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes are threatening hard-won progress on SDG-3 (health and wellbeing) and SDG-5 (gender equality).

Is U.S. fast losing its financial and technological edge under Trump’s second tenure?

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra* The United States, along with its Western European allies, once promoted globalization as a democratic force that would deliver shared prosperity and balanced growth. That promise has unraveled. Globalization, instead of building an even world, has produced one defined by inequality, asymmetry of power, and new vulnerabilities. For decades, Washington successfully turned this system to its advantage. Today, however, under Trump’s second administration, America is attempting to exploit the weaknesses of others without acknowledging how exposed it has become itself.

What mainstream economists won’t tell you about Chinese modernisation

By Shiran Illanperuma China’s modernisation has been one of the most remarkable processes of the 21st century and one that has sparked endless academic debate. Meng Jie (孟捷), a distinguished professor from the School of Marxism at Fudan University in Shanghai, has spent the better part of his career unpacking this process to better understand what has taken place.

Counterview

Search This Blog