Manual Scavenging: The Incessant Battle Of Indian Law Against The Polluted Occupation

Ankit Adhikari, BA LLB, Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

Dr. Khaleeq Ahmad, Assistant Professor at Law College Dehradun, Uttaranchal University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand

ABSTRACT

Manual scavenging is an evil which has been incessantly fighting against the Indian legislation. This article illuminated the misfortune this polluted occupation. Manual Scavenger is described as a person engaged or employed, at the commencement of this Act or at any time thereafter, by an individual or local authority etc. for cleansing and disposing of human waste, excretal substances and faecal waste in an insanitary latrine or in open pot- holes or manholes. This dehumanizing occupation majorly affects various communities, primarily those from lower castes, who have been systematically discriminated against and excluded from society for generations. The manual scavengers are deprived of basic human rights such as those granted by the part III of the Constitution of India. Although the Indian Legislature has enacted effective legislation for the prohibition of manual scavenging, however it is still persistent in India, and this indicates the challenges faced in eradicating this practice. One of the major factors contributing to the incessant existence of manual scavenging is the deep- rooted caste-based discrimination in the Indian society. Manual scavengers are predominantly from lower castes like the Dalit community who are discriminated and are confined to occupations considered unclean and degrading. The banned occupation of manually cleaning, handling and disposing of human excrement from dry latrines sewers and septic tanks has been persistent in defying the Indian legislation gracefully. Through this article, we shall bring out the subconscious mind of the society which has kept this polluted occupation alive since centuries now.

Keywords: Manual scavenging, NCSK, Sewage deaths, Safai karamcharis, Rehabilitation.