In India, manual scavengers, who clean dry latrines, face severe social discrimination as they belong to the lowest stratum of India’s caste-based society – formerly known as “untouchables”. Though a law was passed in 1993 to prohibit manual scavenging, there are 794390 dry latrines cleaned by manual scavengers, mostly women, in India (2011 census).

Since its inception in 1970, Sulabh International, under the leadership of Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, launched a nation-wide movement to alleviate the plight of manual scavengers. His interventions have liberated over 200000 women from manual cleaning of toilets. Whilst the success of a specific five-point intervention programme designed to rehabilitate and economically empower them can be prominently seen in two towns of Rajasthan: Alwar and Tonk.

Sulabh Movement: the beginning

In 1968, young Bindeshwar Pathak had joined the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations – a committee that was set up to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 100 birthday. Gandhi aspired for an India where the plight of India’s downtrodden – formerly known as “untouchables” – could be alleviated. Young Pathak was sent to a town called Bettiah in Bihar to live and understand the sufferings of a community that was almost treated as an outcast owing to its untouchable status. It is here that Pathak learnt about the gross discrimination that the community faced in their day to day lives. But there was one moving incident that left a lasting impression on Pathak following which, he vowed to work for the betterment of the community across India.

I was joining my friends for a cup of tea in Bettiah town when I saw a boy in a red shirt being attacked by a bull. As people rushed to save him, someone in the crowd shouted that the boy was from a colony where the ‘untouchables’ lived. Upon hearing this, everyone backed away and abandoned him. We quickly ran to help and took him to a hospital, but unfortunately, the boy did not survive. That day, I vowed to dedicate my life to the emancipation of people labeled as ‘untouchables.’

– Dr Bindeshwar Pathak

Social inclusion of manual scavengers

Alwar and Tonk, the two towns in Rajasthan, serve as successful models of how Dr Pathak’s affirmative measures drastically improved the lives of women who worked as manual scavengers. Sulabh’s concerted efforts relieved them from their sub-human occupation of manual cleaning of dry latrines. Later, with the help of skill development programmes aimed at income generation thousands of women were rehabilitated into the mainstream society.

Dr Pathak envisioned that to be able to free women from their inhuman job of being manual scavengers there has to be a strong women economic empowerment programme. Realistically, it wasn’t possible to get rid of the caste system that sustained untouchability, but income in the hands of women through skill development programmes could enhance her status and change the power dynamics both in society and within the household.

Sulabh’s five-point programme

The first step was to relieve them of the work of cleaning human excreta by converting the dry pit toilets into Sulabh twin-pit pour-flush toilets.

Then a vocational training centre was set up. It was named Nai Disha meaning new direction. Sulabh strongly believes that education is the key to human development. The women were taught how to read and write. To encourage the women to come to the training centre, a stipend in cash was handed out for three months and later once they learnt to sign their names, they were paid in cheques. This encouraged them to open bank accounts and also encouraged savings. They gradually had control over the money – this first step of making them financially independent.

To empower them economically, Sulabh further trained them in different areas. The women who underwent the training at the centre gradually acquired self-confidence enabling them to take up self-sustaining professions.

All the women in Alwar and Tonk, who previously worked as manual scavengers in the town, have been rehabilitated and trained as beauticians or in food processing, sewing or embroidery. They have also taken courses in personality development.

Dr Pathak says: The problem of ‘untouchables’ is as much economic as it is socio cultural. Traditions take time to change and require the will and initiative of all sections of society. Skill development is crucial for someone who is illiterate and from the oppressed class. By giving them an alternative livelihood, they are liberated from an inhumane job. Their dignity is restored and they are gradually accepted by society.

Tackling social discrimination through non-violence

Dr Pathak was determined to break the concept of “twice born”. The idea was to drive the message that all humans are born equal. He helped the former untouchables to perform those rites and rituals in temples that were forbidden for the community. For example, they were not allowed to enter temples. 1988, Dr Pathak challenged the formulaic tradition and personally lead hundreds of “untouchable” women to Nathdwara temple.

Affirmative actions, such as those I initiated, hold deep symbolic significance. They were intended to uplift the entire community, not just individual members. While skill development and education are crucial, not everyone can fully utilize these resources due to varying talents and circumstances. However, when a whole community is empowered, the dynamic shifts—others aspire to emulate that success, and the community becomes a model to follow. This was the vision behind Sulabh’s intervention. In a diverse society like India, our approach needed to be twofold: first, to innovate toilet technology, and second, to implement skill development and economic empowerment programs. Our work has particularly benefited manual scavengers, who have been the greatest beneficiaries of these initiatives.

~ Dr Bindeshwar Pathak

There was some resistance but instead of taking a confrontationist attitude, Dr Pathak took the path of persuasion and successfully convinced the priests to allow the women to enter the temple. This was a historic moment which was hailed by the then prime minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.

Changing social attitudes
Learning new job skills gave the women a degree of financial independence. They were also motivated constantly by Dr Pathak, who often visited them at their homes. His support and love strengthen their determination to move ahead in life.

There was a social acceptance to their newly acquired. The upper caste Brahmin families that barred them entering their homes, now availed their services as beauticians. There have been examples where the rehabilitated women were invited to marriages of upper-case families. This demonstrated a change in the attitude of people in these two towns, which inspired communities on other town to accept and bring about a change.

Clarion call from freedom and equality

The former manual scavengers also got the opportunity to attend the World Toilet Summit in 2007 in Vigyan Bhawan. Prince of Orange of Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, now the King of the Netherlands, gave them an audience on that occasion. Further he facilitated their visit to be a part of the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (UN- ECOSOC) proceedings at the United Nations, New York.