Manual scavenging still prevalent across India, activists and survivors challenge government claims

By A Representative 

Women engaged in manual scavenging gathered in the national capital to counter the Union government’s official stance in Parliament that the practice has been eradicated in India.

Representing communities across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Jammu and Kashmir, the women joined former judges, jurists, and civil society activists to launch ‘India @ 80’—a nationwide, year-long campaign organized by the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) aimed at eliminating manual scavenging and dry latrines.

Survivors offered direct testimonies refuting official reports. Mussi Devi, 70, from Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, said she has spent her life cleaning human excreta and hopes to see an end to the practice in her lifetime. Anguri Bai from Madhya Pradesh recounted entering the profession at age 14 under family pressure, while Chanjotiya Devi from Bihar demanded rehabilitation and state interventions to ensure the next generation is spared the practice. Muzzafar Ahmed Sheikh, representing Jammu and Kashmir, noted that dry latrines remain prevalent yet unaddressed across parts of the Kashmir valley.

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan Lokur criticized official inaction, arguing that government submissions in Parliament do not reflect the ground reality. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia called the continued existence of dry latrines across dozens of districts a profound national failure, while former Patna High Court judge Justice Anjana Prakash noted that statutory bans alone remain ineffective without sustained structural enforcement and political will.

Jurist Usha Ramanathan and SKA activist Deepthi Sukumar emphasized that the persistence of manual scavenging stems directly from caste-based discrimination, patriarchy, and bonded labor practices, requiring the state to treat the matter as an enforcement of civil rights under anti-untouchability frameworks.

SKA national convener Bezwada Wilson issued an ultimatum to the central government, demanding a time-bound implementation plan to rehabilitate remaining workers and demolish all remaining dry latrines.

"Even eight decades after independence, workers are forced to travel to Delhi to offer physical proof of their existence because courts and governments refuse to acknowledge the evidence presented to them," Wilson said.

The launch event was attended by prominent academics and activists, including economists Jayati Ghosh, Atul Sood, and Reetika Khera; human rights lawyer Vrinda Grover; RTI activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Nikhil Dey; and author Githa Hariharan, all of whom joined the call for immediate governmental accountability.