The ground reality
Manual scavenging continues to draw the attention of policymakers, judiciary, executive, civil society organisations and the media. In reality, however, it is still flourishing in urban India. Most people who make a living as sanitary workers in the cities belong to the Balmiki caste which has been doing this job traditionally. The article says that one of the major achievements of the colonial administration of the past and the ruling political parties of the present is moulding this community into accepting scavenging as their tradition. In fact, the state is the largest agency which employs and pays over a million scavengers.
With their new identity of safai karamchari given to them by the state, it may appear that they have earned a secular status in the society. That’s not all, social scientists call them ‘professionals of the city’ and the Delhi Municipal Corporation has named them swasthya kamgar (the health workers). But the reality doesn’t do any justice to these seemingly respectable identities.
A number of organisations like National Commission for Safai Karamcharis and media organisations working at the grassroot level have reported that in India, the state is the biggest offender in maintaining their status quo. The article argues that urbanisation has made the members of the marginal castes more closely identiﬁable with the scavenging occupation and the local authorities perceive scavengers--a majority of them, women--as indispensable functionaries of the state.
Social and economic exploitation
Traditionally, the marginal castes were assigned all the jobs perceived as unclean or dirty, such as the disposal of sewage and animal carcasses, and were viewed as unworthy of even being touched. Although, caste is not openly discussed now, urban scavengers continue to be discriminated as their ‘unclean work’ is identified with their caste.