I am the son of the son of Mahatma Gandhi but Dr Bindeshwar Pathak is the son of his soul. If we were to go to meet Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, he would first greet Dr Pathak for the noble work that he is doing and then meet me. Dr Pathak has restored human rights and dignity to people engaged in the manual cleaning of human excreta which they carried as head-load.
What Abraham Lincoln did for Blacks in America, Dr Pathak has done for scavengers in India. Both are great redeemers.
The centre of Sulabh is everything I imagined and much more. A centre of inspiration, liberation and human vitality. I will remember forever this visit and remain a disciple and willing promotee of their wonderful ideas and activities in an area most people are too shy even to talk about. Nearly everything which works began with an idea and a small group of people committed to work to realize it. Thank you Dr Pathak and your co-workers for your inspiration and achievements.
I read with great sympathy your account of the situation of the scavengers community, and I congratulate you on the work which you are doing on its behalf. I am sure your International Saint Francis Prize for the Environment was richly deserved.
The Sulabh movement is indeed a reminder and jolt to conscience. It is performing the double task of socially rehabilitating the suffering segment of our society and providing healthy and clean municipal life. It deserves all support.
Dr Pathak’s work is very seminal. It is humane and educative
As a staunch defender of the environment, UNEP is honoured to pay tribute to your commitment and we hope that this recognition ‘Global 500 Roll of Honour’ will encourage you to continue your work. Please accept my heartfelt congratulations.
For his social reform movement, Dr Pathak can be compared to Dayanand Saraswati and Raja Ram Mohan Roy.
