Bhim
Yatra
Jai Bhim
We,
the safaikaramcharis, have launched a country wide yatra – The Bhim Yatra, a journey of pain and anguish, to tell the country
and the government to ‘STOP KILLING US’ in
dry latrines, sewers and septic tanks. The Bhim Yatra will criss-cross across
the country for 125 days in 500 districts in 30 states from 10th December 2015 and end in
Delhi on 13th April 2016, on the eve of the 125th birth centenary of our
great leader Dr. B.R. Ambedkar. Our honourable parliamentarians are “celebrating” while
millions of us across the country are being forced into manual scavenging and
sewer holes to die. We have been denied the right to dignity in both life and
death.
Why, The Bhim Yatra ?
Since
1982 we have been raising our voice against this violence and discrimination. We
organised, mobilised and campaigned against this atrocity and for the
demolition of the dry latrines, the visible structures of the inhuman caste
system and its link with this dehumanising occupation.
In
1993 the parliament passed the “The Employment of Manual Scavengers and
Construction of Dry Latrines (prohibition) Act 1993, with
imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine of Rs 2,000. This law was never
implemented and no convictions were made during the 20 years it was in force.
The government made many false promises to eliminate this heinous practice. Nothing
happened. We consistently exposed the lies and hypocrisy of the government
surveys and schemes. In 2000 when the government counted only 679,000 manual
scavengers, we came out with 1.3 million in randomly selected states and
districts. The Prime Minister and chief ministers made token statements of
setting deadlines. 1995, then 2000, then 2003, then 2005, then 2010, and then
2012… Nothing changed!
In 2003 we filed the Public Interest Litigation in the
Supreme Court. There was an ironical pattern in the government
responses. First, a total denial of existence of manual scavenging, next
partial admission when we produced photographic evidence and finally, faking compliance
by dubiously destroying only those places, presented in our evidence.
In 2007, with the solidarity and
support of civil society groups and public leaders, we launched the Action 2010
campaign to end manual scavenging by December 2010. Nothing moved. So we
started out on the historical bus yatra in October 2010. This Samajik
Parivartan Yatra which was the first of its kind, journeyed the entire country.
Many Women and men came out from manual scavenging and led the Yatra which
ended in Delhi with a mammoth public meeting. The women in the Yatra took the
stage and their powerful speeches shook the nation.
Apart from these social actions,
we submitted memorandums to the President, Prime minister, ministries,
statutory bodies and National Advisory Council. The memorandums demanded for
the implementation of the 1993 Act and a rehabilitation package. The NAC passed
a resolution on 23 October 2010 to end manual scavenging by 31st
March 2012. After the Yatra, the then
Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment invited us for a discussion. We met
him on 30th December 2010 and submitted the nationwide data that we
collected during the yatra. Following this meeting, the Ministry of Social
justice and Empowerment convened the national consultation on 24th and
25th January 2011 which resulted in the setting up of four task
forces - to review the act, conduct a national survey, revise the
rehabilitation package and sanitation solutions. The President of India in her speech to the parliament at
the start of the budget session, in March 2012 announced the draft for a new
bill for prohibition of manual scavenging. The Government
of India passed the new ‘Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and
their Rehabilitation Act 2013’ in September 2013
and issued Government notification in December 2013.
Further, after
12 long years, the Supreme Court passed the Judgment order on 27th
March, 2014 on the writ petition
(civil) no. 583 of 2003, Safai Karamchari Andolan & Ors Versus Union
of India & Ors., directing all the State Governments and the Union
Territories to (i)fully implement and take appropriate action for
non-implementation as well as violation of the provisions contained in the 2013
Act, (ii) to prevent deaths in sewer holes and septic tanks and make the manual
cleaning of sewers and septic tanks a crime even in emergency situations and
(iii) to give compensation of Rs.10 lakhs to families of all persons who have
died in manholes and septic tanks since 1993. But even one year after, many deaths have
occurred in sewer holes across the country. Safai Karamchari Andolan has reported 1327 sewer and septic
tank deaths. Less than 3 percent have received compensation.
The
government is absolutely negligent in implementing the Prohibition of
Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013 and the
Supreme Court order. When deaths occur, FIRs are never filed. Only after heavy
pressure and agitation, FIRs are filed, as death due to negligence and never
under the Manual Scavenging Prohibition Act and SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities
Act. This blatant violation of the constitution is taking away the lives of the
safaikaramcharis in sewers and septic tanks.
It is extremely disturbing that
these deaths which are increasing day by day seems to be intentional.
The parliament held a discussion
on "commitment to the constitution" to mark the 125 birth centenary
of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar when they have utterly
failed in protecting the constitutional rights of the manual scavengers. They are
just empty rhetoric devoid of all meaning and purpose. It is a scandal and
shame that such events are held within the sanctity of the parliament.
The Bhim Yatra is a
journey of intolerance of the violence, discrimination and violation of our constitutional and
fundamental rights. This journey is to expose the hypocrisy in the speeches and
actions of the leaders and the shame of manual scavenging still rampant in the
21st century. The Bhim Yatra will simultaneously spread Ambedkar’s
ideas of social justice, liberty, equality and fraternity while proclaiming his
war cry ‘educate, organise and agitate’.
The
Bhim Yatra was launched from Vishva Yuvak Kendra, Delhi on 10th
December, 2015 and started from Dibrugarh, Assam on 11th December, 2015.
The journey will move continuously for 125 days from one state to another,
covering 30 states and 500 districts and will end on April 13th 2016
in Delhi. Please be part of this yatra.
“ Ours is
a battle not for wealth; nor for power, ours is a battle for freedom; for
reclamation of human personality.” Dr.B.R.Ambedkar
Jai Bhim!
P.S We will send you updates on the Bhim
Yatra.
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