A bill rooted in apology is the way forward
The 2012 draft bill broadens the definition of ‘manual scavenging’ and prohibits the employment of persons for hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. But it stops short of the apology that dalit rights groups demand
A death foretold
The tale of the progressive undermining of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis is a tale of intentional decay, writes Agrima Bhasin
The Railways in denial
Ten years after a PIL was filed against the Indian Railways as the biggest violator of the Manual Scavengers Prohibition Act with 172,000 open discharge toilets, the ministry continues to deny the practice of manual scavenging. This article traces the journey of the petition
Burning the basket of indignity
A yatra by 500 dalit and Haila Muslim safai karmacharis to motivate other women to give up the practice of manual scavenging and burn their brooms and baskets, will culminate in Delhi on January 31. The other leg of this journey requires a society that perpetuates this practice to shake off its caste bias
