By Ram Puniyani

INDIAN SOCIETY is riddled with many evil practices, some of which are tantamount to atrocities on Dalits and other deprived sections of society. Manual scavenging — the removal of human excreta by humans, with the minimum aid of brooms, metal scrapers and buckets — is an atrocity of one the highest levels imposed on a fellow human being. This practice was officially supposed to have been banned in 1993 by the Government of India. Official lapses and apathy apart, surveys by activists working against this practice show that, even now, over 14 lakh scavengers still suffer ignominy and nearly 95% of these workers are women.