Sanitising India or Cementing Injustice? Scrutinising the Swachh Bharat Mission in India

S. Shekhar
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Abstract

Occupational competence and division of labour in India have historically been linked to social institutions of caste, class and gender. Labour related to sanitation and waste disposal has perpetually been assigned to the most backward caste groups. The reality of the caste system and the revulsion of upper caste groups from any physical contact with dirt and human waste, or with people dealing with waste and sewage, has had many implications for the state of sanitation and cleanliness in India. The national policy on sanitation and its flagship program the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), seems to ignore this caste reality and the conditions of people involved in waste and sanitation-related activities. SBM focuses on infrastructure building for ownership and access of toilets and not on dealing with sludge and sewage, conditions of sanitary workers and their rehabilitation. The technology used in the toilets being constructed, their sustainability, safety and retrofitting needs also requires critical assessment. Any policy for a sanitised India or Swachh Bharat will only be successful if it considers the notion of caste, of ritual pollution associated with human waste and dirt in India and removes the shackles of caste that have chained few marginal communities to such occupations, thereby making the enterprise of sanitation and cleaning in India truly egalitarian and democratic, in the sense of opportunities and participation.
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净化印度还是巩固不公正?审视印度的“清洁印度”使命
在印度,职业能力和劳动分工历来与种姓、阶级和性别的社会制度联系在一起。与卫生和废物处理相关的劳动一直被分配给最落后的种姓群体。种姓制度的现实,以及上层种姓群体对任何与污垢和人类粪便,或与处理废物和污水的人进行身体接触的反感,对印度的卫生和清洁状况产生了许多影响。国家卫生政策及其旗舰项目“清洁印度使命”(SBM)似乎忽视了这种种姓现实,以及参与废物和卫生相关活动的人的状况。SBM的重点是建造拥有和使用厕所的基础设施,而不是处理污泥和污水、卫生工人的条件和他们的康复。正在建造的厕所所使用的技术、它们的可持续性、安全性和改造需求也需要进行严格的评估。只有考虑到种姓的概念,考虑到印度与人类排泄物和污垢相关的仪式污染,并消除种姓的束缚,才能使印度的卫生和清洁事业在机会和参与的意义上真正平等和民主,任何清洁印度或Swachh Bharat的政策才能成功。
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