From Shadows to Spotlight: Unveiling the Saga of Manual Scavenging in India

With the announcement of “The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993,” the practice of manual scavenging became illegal in India. The manual scavenging problem as a practice is prolonged because of the lack of technological progress and political and administrative will to implement reformative laws on the ground. The Indological text has a particular interpretation of manual scavenging, constituting the basis of caste ideologies and practices. Using qualitative data, the present study encapsulates the transformation of manual scavenging from an overlooked issue to one that demands attention and understanding. It sets the tone for a comprehensive exploration of the historical, social, and policy dimensions surrounding manual scavenging in India. The paper argues that most of the legislative and executive decisions have landed on the terrain of totemism, purity & pollution and are heavily ritualised in the ideological framework, contributing least to the practice.