From: Shiva Shankar <sshankar@cmi.ac.in>
Date: Sun, Oct 17, 2010 at 5:42 PM
Subject: A defining moment in the history of India!
To:
Samajik Parivartan Yatra
(For Eradication of Manual Scavenging in India)
Manual scavenging is the most obnoxious and inhuman practice violating
the dignity and human personhood of safai karmacharis. It involves the
engagement or employment of sections of people to manually dispose
human excreta from dry latrines with bare minimum aids such as
scarappers, brooms and baskets.
Manual scavenging is integrally linked with caste system and is
imposed on certain dalit sub-caste groups particularly on their women.
As a result all persons engaged in manual scavenging are dalits, and
of them 82% are women.
Manual scavenging continues to persist even today after it has been
banned 17 years ago through the 'Employment of Manual Scavengers and
Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act 1993. A major reason
for its continuance is the attitude of state local body authorities
towards the condition and plight of safai karmacharis. They seem to
tacitly agree with the casteist ideology that assigns unclean
occupations to dalits and hence have totally ignored the 1993 Act. At
the same time they justify their inaction alleging that the safai
karmacharis are quite content doing manual scavenging.
Safai Karmachari Andolan
Safai Karamchari Andolan, is totally opposed to the casteist ideology.
It is a national campaign movement of safai karmacharis committed to
liberate all safai karamcharis from manual scavenging and restore
their dignity and personhood.
Since 1996, we the safai karmacharis are engaged in a protracted
struggle to eradicate manual scavenging and liberate all safai
karmacharis. We have been employing different strategies in our
campaign - taking surveys to identify dry latrines, users and those
forced into manual scavenging, filing petitions and complaints with
government officials at different levels, educating and sensitising
the civil society and dry latrine users, filing of public interest
litigation in the supreme court and networking with individuals, media
and civil society organisations to form solidarity and pressure
groups. Safai Karamchari Andolan has substantial evidence in 18 states
of India of the prevalence of manual scavenging.
We filed the PIL in Supreme Court in 2003 along with 18 other
organizations and individuals in which we named the state governments,
Central government ministries and departments as respondents. So far
there have been 21 hearings. There has been a noticeable pattern to
state official responses. First, a total denial of any existence of
manual scavenging in their respective jurisdictions, next partial
admission, when we produced sample photographic evidence and finally,
claiming complete compliance by dubiously destroying only those places
which we presented as samples. In some cases, they even misinterpreted
the Act to intimidate and threaten safai karmacharis. The state local
body officials have never used the provisions of the Act to take legal
action against the owners of dry latrines.
Such responses by state bodies and the Apex Court's order prompted us
to undertake an extensive sample survey which is essentially the
Government responsibility. We have conducted the survey in 274
districts of 18 states and have documented 7065 cases of persons
engaged in manual scavenging.
The survey process has added to the numerical strength of the SKA
movement with Community Resource Persons (CRPs) and volunteer
enumerators and a host of other community members dedicating
themselves and pledging eliminate manual scavenging in their
respective districts and states.
All in all our campaign over the last few years has built up
tremendous pressure on the government to implement the 'Employment of
Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act
1993'. It has opened a vision of a manual scavenging free India. And
since 2007 SKA is engaged in an intensive strategic programme called
'Action-2010' to eradicate manual scavenging completely from India by
December 2010. Our national bus yatra is part of this intensive
effort.
Samajik Parivarthan Yatra(Social transformation Rally) for Eradication
of Manual Scavenging
Today we are flagging off the historical 'Samajik Parivarthan Yatra'.
It is a strategic programme of Bus Yatra which starts from five
different corners of India, will traverse through several districts in
20 states and finally culminate in New Delhi with a large rally.
The Bus Yatra begins on 30th September from the following five points
and culminates in Delhi on 29th October:
1. Jai Bheem Marg : J&K,Punjab,HP,Haryana,Rajasthan,Gujarat,MP,UP and Delhi
2. Birsa Munda Marg : Assam,West Bengal,Jharkhand,Bihar,U P and Delhi
3. Periyar Marg : Tamilnadu,Karnataka,AP,Maharashtra,MP,UP and Delhi
4. Jhalkari Bai Marg : Odisha, Chattisgarh, M P, U P and Delhi
5. Savitri Bai Marg : Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi
The longest route travels for 30 days.
Social Actions during the Yatra :
§ Street meetings
§ Community meetings
§ Public meetings in state Capitals and all prominent locations on the
basis of existence
§ of manual scavenging
§ Rallies
§ Dharnas
§ Burning the Baskets
§ Meetings with local, District and state officials
§ Press meets
The historical Samajik Parivartan Yatra would be significant for the
following reasons:
The yatra, mainly liberated safai karmacharis will for the first time
be linked with one another and journey together.
The yatris will in district after district motivate and inspire others
who are still engaged in manual scavenging to free themselves from the
obnoxious practise and regain their sense of dignity.
Along the way, the yatris will reach out to the civic body
administration and authorities appealing for the last time to fulfil
their duties of implementing the provisions of the 1993 Employment of
manual scavengers prohibition Act.
At the point of culmination in New Delhi, the yatris will in large
numbers raise their voices to demand the government of India to
demonstrate its will to liberate and rehabilitate all those engaged in
manual scavenging by ordering the administrative structures to do the
needful immediately.
Our Demands
An official apology from the Government of India for violating the
human dignity and human rights Safai Karmcharis for over 3 thousand
years.
Eradicate Manual Scavenging
Ø Demolish Dry Latrines
Ø Implement the 1993 Act Strictly.
Ø Punish Violators of the Act 1993
Ø Punish Dry Latrine Owners and all those who forced safai karmacharis
for cleaning shit under the SC/ST Atrocity Prohibition Act 1989.
Rehabilitation Package
Ø Release Immediate relief of Rs. 10,000 for safai karmacharis
Ø Provide minimum 5 Lac rupees to safai karmacharis to take up
dignified occupations.
Ø Provide 5 Acre fertile land to safai karmacharis for dignified livelihood
Ø Give Antyodaya Card to safai karmacharis
Ø Provide houses to safai karmacharis
Ø Provide special pension for single safai karmachari women.
Ø Provide special pension for aged safai karmacharis
Ø Provide free education with monthly scholarship to all
safaikarmachari children for as many generations as their parents had
worked as safai karmacharis.
Ø Provide job oriented technical education with residential facility
and Job placements to the dependent youth of safai karmacharis .
Ø Provide support for dignified livelihood to safai karmachari women
in accordance with their choice of livelihood schemes.
Ø Register the assets created for safai karmachari women in their name only.
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