MANUAL SCAVENGING -A FLAGRANT VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Victor

John.K, Assistant Professor in History,

PG & Research Department of History, Govt Arts College, Tiruvannamalai

Email: victorkvj@yahoo.com

Dr. Jayaselvadoss, Associate Professor in History, PG. & Research Dept of History, Voorhees College, Vellore -01

By

The manual scavenging means manual removal of excreta (night soil) from "dry toilets", i.e., toilet without the modern flush system.

Use brooms, small tin plates, and baskets carry on the head to disposal grounds sometimes several kilometers from the latrines.

Manual scavenging is not limited to clearing clogs in sewers.

Manual scavenging is said to have started in 1214 in Europe when the first public toilets appeared.

Manual Scavenging in India

The inhuman practice of manual scavenging is continuing in India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari even after six decades of independence.

In India it is difficult to determine when the manual scavenging was actually started.

Dry latrines are constructed and maintained by villages, municipalities, corporations and even the Indian railways.

In 1992 - 5,88,000 , in 2002 - 7, 87,000 2002-03 - 6, 76,000 were engaged in scavenging. .

Studies proved that the practice of manual scavenging is associated with caste-based discrimination.

However, a committee under Shri I.P.D . Salappa on the sweepers said that besides the Scheduled Castes, there are Muslims, Christians, Lingayats, Kurumbas, Mudaliars, etc ., engaged in this profession.

The fact is majority of them are Dalits

Manual Scavenging in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu the manual scavenging work is mainly carried out by Arunthatiyar community.

Mainly concentrated in the western districts namely Coimbatore, Erode, Tirupur, Karur, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri,etc.

They are also identified with different names such as Chakkliar, Thoti, Madiga,etc.

Tamil Nadu is one of the states adopted the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993. It approved the Act in 1995, but started implementation only in 2001.

The Tamil Nadu Scavenger Welfare Board was established on 11.06.2007 to improve the socio-economic and educational development of scavengers, under the chairmanship of Minister for Adi Dravidar Welfare.

Till 31.05.2009, 31587 members have been enrolled in it and 913 persons have benefited.

Survey conducted among 164 women engaged in manual scavenging in 12 districts in Tamil Nadu during 2008-09 by an NGO

Do you find the work dehum anising Yes 164

Are you in this work because you are a dalit Yes 164

Are you doing this because you are a wom an Yes 164

Do you feel you are forced to do this work Yes 164

Have you experienced untouchability Everyday 164

H ave you experienced abuse of any kind physical or verbal Both 164

Our children are asham ed of us and pretend not to know us in front of

their peers 164

Thanks Dr. Deepthi Sukumar, NGO

Manual Scavenging and the Constitution of India

It assures it’s citizen justice, equality, liberty and fraternity

The “Fundamental Rights’ and the set of ‘Directive Principles’ fall in accordance and support to United Nations declarations on human rights.

In pursuance of clause (1) of Article 252 of the Constitution, Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 was enacted by the parliament.

Schemes for the elimination of dry latrines and rehabilitation of manual scavengers were passed in March 2008.

Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Bill 2012, in the parliament on September 3, 2012

International Law and Manual Scavenging • right to life, liberty, and

security of person” (Article 3)• right to be free from torture or

cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 5)

• right of equality before the law (Article 7)

• right to effective remedy for the violation of fundamental rights (Article 8)

• right to be free from attacks upon a person’s “honour and reputation”(Article 12) and so on.

The UDHR

protects the

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), protect against discrimination of “any kind”. It also states against torture, degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest, detention, and promotes equality in the courts and equal protection of the law

Violation of Human Rights

Manual scavenging is a human right violation that is quietly carried out every day in the streets of India.

Right to Equality – ‘Article 16 (1) and (2) guarantees equality of opportunity to all citizens in the matter of appointment of any office or any other employment under the state.

Right against Exploitation – The International Labour Organization’s Fundamental

Conventions, Forced Labour Convention’s, Article 2(1)says, “forced or compulsory labour” shall mean all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.

Right to Life – Article 3 of UDHR states that ‘everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security .

Right to Have Free Choice of Employment Article 23 of UDHR says that 23 (1) everyone has

the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment;

Right to Health The right to health has been treated by the Supreme

Court of India as part of the right to ‘life’ in Article 21. Article 47 says, it is the “duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health”.

Right to Food and Freedom from Hunger, Clothing and Housing or Shelter Article 25 of UDHR says (1) everyone has the right

to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing

Suggestion

For the purpose of policy formulation and programme development, a comprehensive strategy of prevention, protection participation, recovery and rehabilitation should be developed.

Legal actions should be initiated against those local bodies which recruits manual scavengers.

The government must provide alternative livelihood to the manual scavengers, skill-based training should be given to those who give up manual scavenging.

The self-help groups which are active in villages should be empowered such a way to make awareness programmes and should help the scavengers to start small businesses.

The NGOs should sensitize other sections of the society and involve them in the cause of abolishing manual scavenging.

Conclusion

Human rights are not an imposition from outside but they are an indigenous construction. Human rights are the fundamental rights or otherway round.

It is the duty of the government to fulfill the rights of the people as it is bound to international treaties and obligations.

Lakhs of dalits, Muslims, Christians, Lingayats, Kurumbas, Mudaliars, etc, most of whom are women, are still forced to continue in this inhuman practice.

They suffer from the inhuman pain of scavenging human faeces and go through the agonizing pain and humiliation of discrimination, occupational health hazards of peril, untouchability and social exclusion.

Continuance of this inhuman practice of manual scavenging is a curse not only on those involved in this practice but on the country and putting an end to it is the responsibility of the country as a whole.

Thank You