MANUAL SCAVENGING AS AN APOTHEOSIS OF

DEMEANING SELF :A 

STUDY OF THOTTIYUDE MAKAN and KAKKOOS
 
                                CHAPTER I
                          Introduction :

Manual Scavenging is a job that is highly dangerous Act. It is the act of cleaning sewers or
removal of waste from toilets without the use of safety equipment. The untreated human excreta
is removed from pit latrines or bucket toilets using buckets or shovels by hand. There are mainly
three forms of scavenging as defined by the International Labor Organization, that is septic tanks
cleaning, removal of human excreta from dry latrines and gutters and sewer cleaning. The
manual scavengers use basic tools such as a bucket lined with a sack and a handle. The manual
scavenger then carries the waste manually and takes it to the disposal sites. This act is regarded
as inhuman and a violation of the law. It constitutes problems that encompass domains of health
and occupation, human rights and social justice, gender and caste, and human dignity and right to
life. This practice is prevalent in many areas that lack proper sewage systems.
The term "manual scavenging" differs from the stand alone term "scavenging", which is one of
the oldest economic activities and refers to the act of sorting though and picking from discarded
waste. Scavengers usually collect from the streets, dumpsites, or landfills. They collect re-usable
and recyclable material that can be included into the economy's production process. The practice
is reported to exist in cities and towns across the Global South.
Manual scavengers are exposed to social violence and violence associated with caste
discrimination. Caste discrimination and the job conditions can cause them to be exposed to
physical violence. Furthermore, the culture in India on caste is on to justify the violence against
the lower caste people that do these types of jobs.
The manual scavengers are exposed to gases such as hydrogen disulfide, carbon (IV) oxide,
ammonia, and methane. Long exposure of humans to the hydrogen disulfide can lead to death by
asphyxia. The individual may also experience epileptiform convulsions and may fall unconscious
and later die. The gas is also associated with reducing of the eye sight. Another major health
concern for the scavangers is the musculoskeletal disorder such as the osteoarthritis.
Exposure to infections in the sewer is also common due to the numerous bacteria residing inside
the sewers. One of the common infections is the Leptospirosis which is an occupational disease
in people who are in contact with an animal such as the pigs and their refuse. The workers in the
sewer also come in contact with discharges from rodents that are found in the sewers and may be
infected withleptospirosis. Other health-related problems include dermatitis, Helicobacter pylori
infection that is highly responsible for causing gastric cancer, and respiratory problems. 
Most manual scavengers are stigmatized by the community only because of the nature of their
job. Theyare regarded as untouchable and are forced to accept their condition. This problem is
much deeper as their children are also discriminated against and forced to occupy the same work
that their parents had.
  Through this dissertation, I would like to discuss the problems faced by manual scavengers and
how society consider them,with the reference of thottiyude makan by Thakazhi Shivasankara
Pillai and the Tamil documentary kakkoos by activist Divya Bharathi. 
I divide my dissertation into five chapters. The first chapter is titled introduction that introduces
my topic. The second chapter will be about the enemy system theory which is used in this
dissertation. The third chapter deals with the representation of manual scavengers in ‘thottiyude
makan' by ‘Thakazhi Shivasankara Pillai'. And the next chapter will be about the casting system
in contemporary India, with the reference to the Tamil documentary ‘kakkoos'. And the final
chapter will be the conclusion.
The main objectives of this desserts dissertation will be to analyse the life of manual scavengers,
to discuss the role of caste in manual scavenging. The privileged society always considers
manual scavengers as untouchable, through this dissertation I would like to analyse why society
considers them untouchable. Governments are turning their face from the issue of manual
scavengers, they are not trying to give a better living to the scavengers, through this dissertation I
would like to analyse the steps that can be taken by the governments to help manual scavengers.
I will be working on this by using the enemy system theory. Enemy system theory is the
hypothesis that human has a deep root psychological need to dichotomise and to establish
enemies and allies. This phenomenon happens on individual and group levels. This is
unconscious and which feel the conscious relationship, especially in our group lives.
 

                           CHAPTER II 
               Enemy system theory

The Enemy System Theory was developed to help explain intractable conflict and was used to
explain the Cold War in the early 1990s before the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is a fusion of
developmental psychology and international relations theory. This theory presents some
important conceptualisations which help to create a sophisticated explanatory model of conflict.
It has been used to explain terrorism in Northern Ireland, but it has not been widely adopted to
explain the totality of the conflict. It is a key assumption of this study that use of concepts from
the Enemy System Theory and the Human Needs Theory offer a comprehensive and balanced
theoretical explanation of the conflict in Northern Ireland. It is hoped that this will further the
development of a paradigm shift away from the current debate on internal-external explanations,
and foster the development of a more comprehensive approach based on the fusion of micro and
macro approaches to conflict theory as an explanation of the conflict.
The Enemy System Theory (EST) was developed in the late 1980s by a group of psychiatrists
and international relations practitioners (former members of the American National Security
Council and the U.S. State Department), as a model to explain the complexities of group
behaviour, particularly with regard to antagonistic group relationships. The gist of the
Enemy System Theory is the hypothesis that humans have a deep rooted psychological need to
dichotomise and to establish enemies and allies. This phenomenon happens on individual and
group levels. This is an unconscious need which feeds conscious relationships, especially in our
group lives. This is especially important with regard to the formation of ethnic or national group
identities and behaviour. 
Identification with these ethnic or national groups largely determines how we relate to people
within our ingroups and with those of our outgroups. How the masses within each group perceive
themselves and their relationships with groups that they are associated with help to determine
whether their relationship will be based on cooperation, competition, or conflict. 
This is also determined by historic relations between these groups. Consequently, the theory
combines concepts from individual and group psychology, as well as international relations
theory. We can apply this enemy system theory in the character
of chudalamuthu in Thakazhi's Thottiyude Makan. 
Chudalamuthu’s behavior is different from his own people that give him repute. But he makes
his own people as his own people who give him repute. Humans have a tendency to discriminate
which leads to the establishments of enemies and allies. This phenomenon happens on the
individual and group levels. This is the crux of the world dynamics. Through this, the scavengers
tried to question their superiors to give them their actual wages. tries to get out of the scavenging
in one way or the other. He thought that the association does not help him to get out from
scavenging; it is useful for those who remain as scavengers. So, he joins hands together with the
president and overseer, who are his clan’s enemies and exploiters. With the order of the
president, Chudalamuthu and overseer Kesavapillai put their heads together to demolish the
union. Behind this action of Chudalamuthu is the deep-rootedpsychological problem, that the
society forced him to do the scavenging, and he does not want to remain as a scavenger. This
urge makes him dichotomize himself from his people and join hands with authorities. He
believes in his superiors, thinking only they can release him from the hateful work, but they have
no concern about his desire. Instead of treating them as his enemy, for his selfish reasons he
makes them his allies. But the superiors are clear in their idea of scalping the scavengers. 
Chudalamuthu considered his allies as filthy humans. He hated his job manual scavenging and he
didn’t want to be a manual scavenger. He always tried to imitate the privileged high- class
people .There were many groups for these manual scavengers, but Chudalamuthu was not a
member of that groups. Instead of helping his fellow beings, he tried to destroy his allies and
their groups. He hated being a scavenger, he didn’t want to bring his son as a scavenger so
he staysaway from his son.
We can take Chudalumuthu as the best example for this enemy system theory.

CHAPTER III 
Represention of manual scavenging in Thottiyude Makan 

Every year, hundreds of manual scavengers die, asphyxiated by poisonous gases. For some, it is
the most nauseating thing to do; for others, it’s the only way to make a living. From drains and
sewers to septic tanks and railway tracks, more than half a million manual scavengers across the
country are clearning, carrying and disposing of human excreta and everything else that one
flush down the toilet.
They force themselves into choked sewers and septic tanks; hang on for hours, scooping out filth
with bare hands and bearing the stench of sewage.
Pillai, popularly known as Thakazhi after his place of birth, was an Indian novelist and short
story writer of Malayalam literature. He wrote over 30 novels and novellas and over 600 short
stories.Born in Thakazhi village of Alleppey district, Pillai’s novels and short stories deal with
the life of peasants, fishermen, scavengers and Pulayas (Dalit caste in Kerala). He voices the
angst and frustrations of the oppressed sections of the society. “Pillai’s narrative power, his deep
insights into the ambiguity of things and his unsentimental eye, elevate the social commentary
into a moral fable.” (Tejpal India Today). 
He is a prolific writer who captures the subtleties of caste discrimination through the characters
in this novel. He writes, “A scavenger who cleaned up dirt was compelled to eat dirt.”(Asher 6). 
His work ruminates on the plight of the struggling of oppressed people in the society. The novel
starts with Ishukkumuthu’s “intentions of handing over the scavengers shovel and tin before he
dead.”(Asher 1) to his son Chudalamuthu who represents the new generation scavenger who
detests the job of cleaning latrines. Chudalamuthu, unlike his father, yearns for a better and
dignified life like that of the overseer and his superior. He is well aware of his caste and that
prompts Chudalamuthu into forming a union and later withdrawing from it. The death of the
three generation scavengers is pivotal in the socio-political scenario of the state. The unfulfilled
dreams of Chudalamuthu and Mohanan are an indicator of the caste biases experienced by the
outcastes.
Thakazhi’s Thottiyude Makan, came out in 1947, the year of India’s independence, as a great
literary revolution. Thakazhi wrote this novel when he was thirty-three, the age of mature
youthfulness and unfulfilled social dreams and idealism in a man’s life. The sources of incidents
in this novel are the unforgettable experiences of his life. He imbibed his attitude of compassion
to the downtrodden from his own experience in the municipal wards of Alleppey.
The novel tells the story of three generations though. The novel is short; it has the timespan of
saga. The story starts with the last days of Ishukkumuthu, Chudalamuthu’s father and it ends
with the death of Mohan, Chudalamuthu’s son, by police-firing.Chudalamuthu, the
principal character of the novel Thottiyude Makan, does not like the detestable work of a
scavenger, however, he is forced to take up the work when his father falls ill. When his father
dies, Chudalamuthu cannot find the money required for the burial. The dead bodyis buried in the
night soil depot, from where it is pulled out by dogs.
His father’s death turns out to be a lesson. So, he cherishes the ambition of moving up the social
scale. He keeps himself away from fellow scavengers.
In India, there are two types of societies – one is distancing themselves from the majority with
their superior complex in the name of caste, and the second is discarded by the whole society and
marginalized in the name of the same caste system as a lower caste. In this novel,
Chudalamuthuis is already brushed aside by the society. He wants to uplift his social status; due
to this desire, he gets rid of his own clan and tries to behave like, to imitate the upper caste
people. The experience that he had on in his father’s death pushes him to the state of isolation.
He builds a hut apart from the depot where the other scavengers dwell. He forced his wife Valli
not to speak with their neighbours and he didn’t like that the aunt of his wife coming to his
home, who brought her up from childhood.
His ultimate aim is to make his son someone other than a scavenger, so he didn’t sit and eat with
his son Mohan. He refused to touch his son when the mid-wife asked Chudalamuthu to take the
baby. Later he took the child, and then he immediately gave it back. Never before had he felt
such an aversion to himself being a scavenger. Chudalamuthu tells himself that his son must
grow up without coming close to a scavenger. He grooms himself not as an ordinary scavenger.
He never drinks, and he takes baths daily and wears a neat vest and shorts unlike other
scavengers. These qualities differentiate him among others. This gives him a chance to lead his
own clan and render them goodwill. But Chudalamuthu has his own plan. Chudalamuthu has
decided not to continue as a scavenger and his generation not to become scavengers. When he
got a chance to lead a union, with the plot of overseer Kesavapillai, dissolves the union;
he spoils the dreams of the whole clan for his own. As per the enemy system theory,
Chudalamuthu’s behavior is different from his own people that give him repute. But he makes
his own people as his own people who give him repute. Humans have a tendency to discriminate
which leads to the establishments of enemies and allies. This phenomenon happens on the
individual and group levels. This is the crux of the world dynamics. Through this, the scavengers
tried to question their superiors to give them their actual wages.
Chudalamuthu tries to get out of the scavenging in one way or the other. He thought that the
association does not help him to get out from scavenging; it is useful for those who remain as
scavengers. So, he joins hands together with the president and overseer, who are his clan’s
enemies and exploiters. With the order of the president, Chudalamuthu and overseer Kesavapillai
put their heads together to demolish the union. Behind this action of Chudalamuthu is the deep
rooted psychological problem, that the society forced him to do the scavenging, and he does not
want to remain as a scavenger. This urge makes him to dichotomize himself from his people and
join hands with authorities. He believes in his superiors, thinking only they can release him from
the hateful work, but they have no concern about his desire. Instead of treating them as his
enemy, for his selfish reasons he makes them his allies. But the superiors are clear in their idea of
scalping the scavengers.
Since Chudalamuthu wants to maintain relationship and goodwill with the authorities, he refuses
to talk with Pichandi who stood with him in all his good and bad times. Pichandi tries to reunite
the scavengers to form a union. He is aware of Chudalamuthu’s goal, the reason for the breaking
of the union, and how he let everyone for his selfish ends. Pichandi agrees to set up a union
again. When Chudalamuthu comes to know this, he feels relieved, but the overseer Kesavapillai
forces him to disrupt the union. Chudalamuthu circulates fake news that Pichandi has committed
a theft in Reddiyar’s house. This news spreads rapidly as fire and the fellow scavengers are cut
down again by the deceptive words of Chudalamuthu.
The tricks played by Kesavapillai work very seriously. Pichandi runs away from the village,
leaving his wife and children in the hope that his fellow scavengers would take care of them. But
they are ignored and their families are left alone. This is not new to this people; they have seen
the downfall of numerous families in the night soil depot. Most dishonestly Chudalamuthu let
down the simple people who had pinned their faith on him. Pichandi is most loyal to him, and to
put him down, Chudalamuthu makes an agreement with his superiors constantly working in
collusion with the agents of oppression and tyranny.
He lost all his moral values because of his unawareness of his own identity. Noting this, the
President and overseer used him to dissolve the union. Chudalamuthu’s dreams are vaporized
within a day, when Cholera shows its terrible face in Alleppey. When Chudalamuthu is gleeful
that he has become a watchman in the cemetery, the delectation was not sustainable.
Chudalamuthu and his wife Valli also become victims of the grievous disease, and they die
leaving their only son Mohanan alone.
Mohanan becomes a scavenger; unlike his father, he is aware of his identity and he is clear in
fixing his allies and enemies. He is wise to make a distinction between the exploiters and
exploited. He has an eidetic memory of his father’s money, hoarded by the President. Mohanan
immolates the president’s new building. Next day he leads a procession, now Pichandi’s son and
Sundiran’s son stand with Mohanan. They concur with the leadership of Mohanan. The main
thrust of the novel ‘ThottiyudeMakan’ is education. The protagonist of this novel Chudalamuthu
is not aware of the union which bestows the welfare of his clan. So, he acts against his own clan.
But Mohanan, unlike his father Chudalamuthu, is aware of adversaries and allies. Chudalamuthu
has his own reason, a deep rooted psychological need to detach himself from his clan, which was
engraved in him after his father’s death. He never thinks about the people who are all in the same
boat. But Mohanan is very aware of his establishment, of his opponent and allies.
Manual scavenging was banned 25 years ago with the passing of the Employment of Manual
Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, but it continues to find
practitioners. The occupation persists mainly because of the continued presence of insanitary
latrines. There are about 2.6 million insanitary latrines (dry toilets) that require cleaning by hand,
according to Safai Karmachari Andolan-an NGO that works towards abolishing manual
scavenging, and perhaps, the only one in the country. Sub-castes of Dalits-Valmiki or Hela- who
are at the bottom of the social hierarchy, take up this lowly job, not knowing that human faeces
and urine harbor a variety of diseases. They may carry Hepatitis A, E.Coli, Rotovirus, Norovirus,
and pinworms. The community risks infection by coming in contract with these wastes. That also
explains why sewer workers die as young as 40, falling prey to multiple health issues: Cholera,
Hepatitis, Meningitis, Typhoid and Cardio-Vascular problems. In fact, repeated handling of
human excreta without protection leads to respiratory and skin diseases, Anemia, Jaundice,
Trachoma and Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Manual scavenging is not only a caste-based but
also a gender-based occupation with 90 per cent of them being women.
Households with dry latrines prefer women to clean the excreta instead of men as they are
located inside the house. According to a Human Right Watch report, on an average,women get
paid as little as between Rupees 10 and Rupees 50 every month per household. It is much less
than men who earn up to Rupees 300 a day for cleaning sewer lines. 
In 2013, the Prohibition of Employment as manual scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act came
into force. However, according to Bezwada Wilson, this law leaves people “helpless”. ‘In the
earlier Act, the district magistrate had the power to solve all the cases, but that is not the case
with the current one. If the assignedpublic official is not doing his duty of identifying manual
scavengers and processing their rehabilitation, there is no mechanism to pull them up’.
Caste system in India since ages based on inequality, discrimination and injustice, in which the
most cruel and inhuman is the one that pertains to manual scavenging, a degrading ‘slavery’ for
the lowermost rungs amongst the caste system, where people are coerced to carry night soil
manually.Manual scavengers have been deprived of basic rights by the feudal society. They have
been forced to do dehumanized practice by clearing, carrying, handling and disposing human
excreta. Women are mostly engaged in manual scavenging. Manual scavengers are yet to be
liberated from historical injustices even after independence of India. Fundamental rights of
people are violated due to continuation of manual scavenging. Therefore, on the basis of Article
15, 17 and 21 of the Indian constitution following legislation has been enacted. Whereas Article
15 of the Indian constitution prohibits discrimination to any citizen on the ground of religion,
race, caste, sex or place of birth. However, manual scavengers are discriminated in the
society due to their caste and nature of work. Whereas Article 17: Untouchability in any form is
prohibited under article 17 of the constitution and any disability arising out of untouchability
shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law. However, those who are employed in
manual scavenge and those who released from manual scavenging are still facing
untouchability. 
Whereas Article 21 of the constitution provides right to life to every citizen, but the human rights
of the manual scavengers are violated at such extent that their right to life has been violated.
However, the directive principle of state policies under part 4 of the Indian constitution stated
that state shall secure a social order for the prohibition of welfare of the people. Thus, the state is
duty bound to liberate and rehabilitate manual scavengers from the practice of manual
scavenging and to rehabilitate those who have released from the practice of manual scavenging
has been deprived of opportunity for development due to discrimination by the society. Among
them, people who work as manual scavenger have been deprived of social justice.
Thakazhi Shivasankara Pillai has been hailed as a minute observer of human characters and
society. He sees the seamy sides of life and portrays them vividly. Based on his own experience
and observations of the lives of outcastes, peasants, soldiers and working people, he exposes
social hypocrisy, class struggle and exploitation, social and economic injustice and inhuman
atrocities. Pillai admits that, “ If the literary contributions made by me so far have any
significance of social concern, it was due to the influence of the particular conditions of the times
when I began to write consciously. “ Thakazhi’s Thottiyude Makan brilliantly reflects social
changes in Kerala and, indeed, in the wider world. Pillai has been the unflinching champion of
the outcastes. He wants to alleviate the sufferings of the downtrodden. He attains a status of
being the advocate of the downtrodden and the under privileged. His novels are explosive
sometimes because he openly expresses in a vehement way certain social maladies in his
writings.
Ishukkumuthu, Chudalamuthu and Mohanan of Thakazhi’s Thottiyude Makan are outcastes, they
are not allowed to rise in the society and secure material means for themselves. They are not
even permitted to lead an honourable and independent life. It is the social structure that enforces
them to sell their labour but compel them to live the disgusting life. Guptan Nair writes on the
characters of Pillai, “It was of course not Thakazhi’s intention to create unforgettable characters
so much as to portray a society. The characters are but members of cavalcade. They come and
go, but the cavalcade goes on.”
In Pillai’s Thottiyude Makan, Ishukkumuthu, Chudalamuthu and Mohanan are but one and the
same character in the society as they are shown to represent the three distinct stages in the
process of social transformation. The central theme is thus presented through three successive
generations representing three levels of awareness. The older generation of Ishukkumuthu is
docile and ignorant, and with its faith in tradition, he is averse to any change in the age old social
order. But the next one of Chudalamuthu with its widening consciousness hates the existing
social order and tries to escape it. The younger generation of Mohanan with its higher level of
awareness and revolutionary ardor seeks to destroy the old social order and to establish a new
one. The social concerns are catalysts that have enabled writers like Pillai to look at the lives of
the ill-placed generations of Indian. They show the evil forces which are the root cause of all the
major social problems facing the oppressed in the contemporary Indian society.

CHAPTER IV
      Casting the Cast System in Contemporary India: A Study of
kakkoos
Ancient and deep-routed caste discrimination has kept manual scavengers from escaping their
traditional role as waste cleaners. This work is mostly carried out by a subgroup of the Dalits. In
Tamil Nadu, these subgroups are Pallar, Paraiyar, Arunthathiyar, Kuruvas, Oltars or
Chakkiliyars. People who belongs to any of these castes are supposed to work as a manual
scavenger. They inherit this job by birth or marriage. DivyaBharathi, born and brought up in a
cotton mill workers community outside Aruppukottai, Tamil Nadu, is an independent
documentary film maker. Kakkoos is her first film on manual scavenging issue based on Tamil
Nadu. She was in the news recently when she was arrested in connection with her participation
in a protest against a Dalit student’s death due to negligence in a government hospital some years
ago. 
Kakkoos is a 2017 Tamil documentary which portrays the untold stories of manual scavengers
especially from various parts of Tamil Nadu. It depicts the picture of some humans who are
forced to clean the faeces of thousands of other humans who buys bread with the meager salary
they earns bythis‘occupation.’
“Only if we are taken care can your wellness be taken care of. Only because I stink, you go out
neatly. So only if we clean, you and family can live healthy.” (A scavenger in kakkoos).This
reminds us about the role of manual scavengers behind our healthy environment. But no one
thinks about this. Instead, they insult these workers by covering their nose and disgusting
gesture. The government claims that manualscavengers are asked not to take the faeces with their
bare hands. Adding to this, they claim that they ensure the safety of these workers by providing
them high quality tools. For reassuring these claims, they show the report of census which is
stated as those records taken from the scavenging workers.
But, Bharathi’s kakkoos shows the real face of the government who cheats the whole country
with their so called census report. There are scenes in kakkoos where the workers say that the
gloves provided to them give off such bad lingering odour that they rather clear the garbage and
dispose human excreta with their bare hands. They are provided with the least quality coats and
gloves looks very protective but it is highly suffocating.
Machines have been invented to spare human beings from undergoing the traumatic experience
of cleaning septic tanks. When Bharathi enquired about this, an environmental engineer from
Guindy replied that, “There is a machine, by introducing which none of the scavengers have to
work in the canals or manholes. But the metro stopped the approval by stating that the machine
costs huge amount which worth rupees 1 lakh.”
“Political morbidity is stopping technology from being introduced in this field. Only political
will can make it happen. That is why we call this a murder by government. The government does
not give any attention to these issues because the people who do the work are from Scheduled
Castes and marginalized communities. Their voices are not strong. They don’t have political
representation. Using machines requires money. For politicians, departments that fetch
commissions and vote banks are more important. They say issues like manual scavenging are not
national issues. The second issue is that society sees nothing wrong in a thotti doing scavenging
work. Peoplethink that is their job and there is nothing wrong with that (Bezwada Wilson).
“We are living like hell in our lives. It is a daily life and death affair.” (A scavenger in kakkoos).
The scavengers talks about the experience of lifting dead bodies from bus stands and railway
stations. The old people who are left in the bus stands or railway stations die without getting
food. Their body lays there for 3 or 4 days. It will be covered by worms and flies. It is only then
these workers get informed about this and they are forced to clean everything with their bare
hands. The hygiene of the workers seems to be of the least priority. These scavengers are not
only forced to clean the faeces, but also asked to ‘take care’ of those unclaimed dead bodies,
most of which reaches at the highest stage of decomposition. The disposal duty of dirty sanitary
napkins also come under their work list, which they claim as the worst duty than cleaning the
shit.
The community is also shown to be segregated in terms of accommodation as they are only
provided with homes away from the city. Such areas are maintained poorly as they hardly have
access to clean water or public transport. The colony, that government has allocated to these
people show their castiest face. When any of them tends to file a complaint stating these issues,
then they are asked to vacate from there. These workers who live there from generations do not
accept that, instead they accept their fate andsuffer till their last breath. Society associated
scavenging with untouchability and kept those people at the lowest strata of the caste hierarchy.
They are often impoverished and shunned by the society only because of their occupation which
they are forced to inherit either by birth or marriage. More than the disgusting odour of toilets,
they feel harassed by the exclusion from each and every corners of society.
When these people go to fetch water from common pipe, people from other castes do not dare to
put their pots down fearing that a mere contact with any of the scavengers’ pot can be
unhygienic. Two women scavenging workers went for a job in textiles. When the textile owner
came to know that these are scavengers, they ordered them to clean thetoilets. One worker took
water from the public tap and when he returned, an old lady cleaned the tap with soap before it
being used by others. While having tea from teashops, people sit in the doorsteps of the nearby
houses. If the house owner sees any of the scavengers sitting there, they pour water on the steps.
When another worker went in search of a house and when the house owner came to know that he
belongs to Chakkiliar community, he was not allowed to buy house. These are the modern forms
of 
untouchability. 
Since, 90% of the scavenging work is done by women, they face very shocking physical abuses.
Adding to the inhuman treatment, they are also often sexually harassed by the superiors. They
work even in the midnights without any safety. When asked, they said that the only safeguard is
their coat which makes people go away by covering their nose. In kakkoos, women workers
painfully talks about their health issue. Most of them are caught by uterus failure. Their uterus
has been dislocated due to their constant exposure to chemicals and heavy labour. They continue
to work hard even after undergoing major surgeries like hysterectomy, without being allowed
enough time to rest. This causes them to lead not just an unhealthy life, put a painful as well.
These workers wish to hide all these things from their children. One mother who works as a
scavenger shares that once when she hugged her son, he asked her not to touch him because she
is stinking. The child did not know anything about his mother’s job. But, hearing these words,
she burst out. When Bharathi asks them to try for other jobs they say that, God has created them
to do only this manual scavenging and they are branded for this job. None of them wish to bring
up their children as a scavenger. But the society won’t allow them to rise from the ditches.
“ None of us can really go to school because they don’t treat us the same way as other students.
When my parents are ill, the supervisor asks me to come and do their job.” These are the words
of an 18 year old child who was forced to clean the septic tanks instead of taking books in hands.
One shares that when she send her son to school for studying, the teacher called him for cleaning
the septic tank of their school. “I say this with a lot of sadness. But even after 30 years, I don’t
think that my children will be allowed or be able to do anything other than this dirty work.” (A
manual scavenger from Madurai). The persistent practice of untouchability towards the
scavenging community has continuously hindered the progress of the community whether it is in
terms of education or in health. In few of studies, it wasnoted that the children of scavenging
community face extreme discrimination in school by teachers as well as peer groups. Most of the
children drop out due to extreme poverty and are engaged in manual scavenging whether it is
cleaning septic tanks, sewers just like their ancestors. Narayanaswamiin his study conducted with
the children of scavengers in Tamil Nadu notes that 24 % of the children dropped out the school
out of which 3/4th were boys and 1/4thwere girls. The author also notes that unfavorable attitude
of teachers towards the children of manual scavengers and branding them as the children ‘unfit’
for education and in result children develop an aversive feeling towards their school as their
behavior is criticized and condemned by teachers.
On one hand, the government provides reservation and on the other hand, continues to privatize
all sectors, thereby making these reservations unfunction. When one of the scavengers apply for
a job with his school certificates, they will be asked for presenting their caste certificate and if
the officials come to know that he belongs to Chakkiliar then he won’t get any job. “They brand
us as garbage and shit pickers and toilet cleaners and no one gives us job.” One young worker
once lifted a rotten corpse from Vaiyapuri pond and the news has been published in the media.
After that incident, society marked him as a corpse lifter and was not allowed to apply for any
other jobs.Audience get shocked by seeing a shot in kakkoos where one man self-immolated
himself just because he was dismissed from his job. When enquired about this, the workers
replied that, by doing this for many generations, they don’t know any other work and this is the
only way to lead their life.
The worst of all is that, the government has privatized the business of toilet cleaning, which
means that, instead of being employed as government employees, a large chunk of these people
work on contract basis. This adds to their misery as they are deprived of all measly benefits for
which they are entitled. The workers add that, the CA, overseer and the supervisor becomes the
rule and these workers as considered as slaves. “It took our government 48 years to even realize
manual scavenging inhuman. Such is the  reality of our nation.” (A scavenger in kakkoos).
Bharathi does not leave anything ambiguous in her movie. She clearly depicts that these people
didn’t happen to find themselves in this situation by chance. They have been systematically kept
in it for one reason and that is caste. They are forced into an occupation which oppresses them
further, instead of acting as a tool of liberation. Therefore, Bharathi claims that no laws could
ever better their current living conditions until the annihilation of caste takes place and she holds
everyone in the society as responsible to this issue.
Divya Bharathi has 27 cases of ‘malakuzhikolaikal’ or septic tank killings during the course of
her shooting. Law banning dry toilets was enacted as early as 1993. But no case has been filed
under that for the past 20 years. The 2013 law has been enacted after a great struggle. But that
too is facing challenges. There is a rule that, if a manual scavenger dies, the court order is to
provide 10 lakhs relief to their families. In kakkoos, she also brings out the story of families who
are cheated by the government in providing this compensation. One worker from
Thiruvanmamali was dead while cleaning septic tank and out of the provided 10 lakhs
compensation, 1.5 lakhs was taken away by a Dalit movement activist. In 2015 December,
Balakrishnan and Shankar Dalayan from Parai group died while cleaning the septic tank of a
private concern in Karur. The case filed for seeking relief is still pending in the standard high
court.
Another worker who died by inhaling hazardous gas and the news was hidden by the officials. In
Ramananthapuram district, the Panchayat president of Kadaladi assigned Balamurugan to
manage the working of public toilet there. But they have not been paid their salary for 5 years. In
2016 April, Balamurukan died. But the officials did not register this as a case claiming that
Balamurukan’s family cleaned the toilet voluntarily. Hence, instead of giving 10 lakhs, they gave
only 3 lakhs, out of which 50, 000 was taken by a Dalit movement activists as commission. Babu
was a manual scavenger who died while cleaning the septic tank of an inspector’s house. His
wife burst out and says that he laid in the septic tank for an hour as no one came forward to lift
him out of the ditch. Thus he died. 
Bakkiyaraj died while cleaning the septic tank of Namakkal CMC college and his relatives were
forced to sign on a paper which states that it was an accidental death. After mediating the case,
they gave 2.5 lakhs alone. Even in the central government institution of NLC, they use their own
labourers illegaly to clean septic tanks. Solainathan was a worker who died in the septic tank of a
private residential apartment, they refused to give relief for his family. After 2 days of struggle,
they agreed to give the 10 lakh compensation. Bharathi portrays that, “If we sit on the roads in
protest, we can get the relief at the earliest.
Kakkoos echoes the voices of scavengers notonly in Tamil Nadu, but also from all over the
world. In her last shots, she brings about the issues of the outstate labourers from Andra Pradesh
and Maharashtra who have been brought to work for the second and third divisions of the
corporation of the state. They have erected sheds made of thin tin sheets inside the dumping
depot for them to stay. The injustice towards outstate labourers is clear from the story of the
septic tank death in Sattur. Bharathi shares that, when they went to Sattur hearing the death
news, they find no one to lift the dead body. Then, her film crew did it. Then she came to know
that the person belongs to Bihar and that company falsely registered that he died while cleaning
this open water tank. The next day, they cremated the body as destitute corpse.
These deaths have been reported by media as deaths that happened while cleaning water tanks, as
it is illegal to hire humans to clean septic tanks. In spiteof the overwhelming evidence, none of
the officials or contractors have been arrested for any one of these deaths. When Bharathi herself
went to file complaints, she was turned away as they were unwilling to file an FIR. When she
took things further, the court ended up ordering an investigation on her for trying to file a
complaint.
“There are laws prohibiting cleaning shit with bare hands. Under the atrocities act, there is
provision to tee level of death penalty. But no one have been ever arrested for this crime. But if
you dare to cut the sacred thread of the Brahmins, you will be prosecuted under NSA (National
Security Act).” (Punitha Pandian). 
Bharathi calls for the mechanization of scavenging. She arrests that the laws should be strict and
instead of getting caught into trade unionism, the left movements should raise the politics of
annihilation of caste. She asks the Dalit movements and left movements to join hands to attain
true liberty for this people. She asks the scavengers to revolt against this work to get out of the
sack of caste. “His body was filthy, the mortuary staff refused to put his body in a freezer
because he was Cahkkiliyar. None of us could even come near the body because of the smell of
sewage and death. But Mahalakshmi was waiting and lying all over him and at moments talking
with him as if he was still alive. This moved me immensly.” (Divya Bharathi). This was the
incident that opened Bharathi’s eyes and prompted her to make this film. It is clear that the
community has been failed by not just the government law, education system and religion, but by
humanity itself. Taking this into account, the fact is that, Tamil Nadu does not even appear on
the top five states where manual scavenging is the most prevalent. This report is highly
horrifying. After a recent screening in Chennai, Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Bezwada
Wilson was lost for words. “It is difficult to speak after watching this documentary,” said
Wilson, the national convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan. This documentary is a 360-
degree picturisation of the lives of sanitation workers in our country. There is no angle that has
not been covered. In October2015, two labourers died after entering a septic tank in Madurai. For
at least three days, several workers protested on the streets demanding justice. It was only then
that she learnt about the 2013 legislation prohibiting manual scavenging. But that too is facing
challenges. 
Bharathi discovered that although manual scavenging is outlawed across the country, it continues
to be widely practicedin Tamil Nadu. She collected over 90 hours of footage over a year, which
was edited down to an under 120-minute expose of institutionalized discrimination, caste
prejudice and governmental apathy, Bharathi hopes to evoke anger, rather than sympathy,
through her documentary. Manual scavenging has its roots deeply embedded in the caste system,
which is unique to the Indian context. Common notion is that, the caste system is no longer
relevant in India but the film shows compelling evidence about society’s conscious efforts to
perpetuate caste.
The film has received critical acclaim from various quarters Vijay Sethupathi, a renowned Tamil
actor was impressed by the movie and paid for the post production expenses. Kakkoos was
embroiled in controversy from the start. It was denied certification by CBFC, India and denied
screening, leading to its release.
“When you have no one to clean, only then do you build a proper toilet. That’s not happening
here, because, there is a community that can be made to clean it,” Ganguly, the New York-based
group’s South Asia director said. It is just appalling, so no one is going to dispute that manual
scavenging must end. But then, they need to make it happen.This can be attained either by
boycotting the job or by protesting against the officials for the exploitations.

                            CHAPTER V
                          Conclusion

Manual scavenging is a stark reality of contemporary India. The aim of this project was to
understand the socio-economic status of scavengers residing in several parts of the country
(mainly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu). This paper includes men and women who are or have done
manual scavenging at some point in their lifetime. Manual scavenging is a forced caste-based
occupation and an ascribed status acquired by an individual by birth. This project revealed some
shocking points in the context of the existence of manual scavenging which is further to the open
defection practiced and non-availability of sanitary toilets in many homes. The government
benefits or any policies or schemes haven’t been able to mobilize the community in a wider
context, those who were cleaning the unsanitary toilets are cleaning the sanitary now. Their
access to alternative occupation beside their ascribed occupation is still a lacuna, therefore there
is a caste-based occupation, if many are not cleaning unsanitary toilets, they are still cleaning
sanitary toilets, continuing their inherited occupation based on their caste. Therefore, it is
extremely imperative to mobilize the wider community and spread sensitivity. Education should
highly be promoted while personality and life skills training to be initiated by the government
education system. To improve the living and working condition of manual scavengers’
alternative livelihoods to be provided and financial training to be imported as well as besides
abolishment of sanitary toilets education should highly be promoted.
Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai’s major interest in his fictional writings was to draw a true picture of
the class struggle and the resultant emergence of a new social order. The unique contributions
made by Thakazhi through his fictional literature for the realization of the new social order will
ever be remembered. 
Divya Bharathi’s hard-hitting documentary kakkoos (latrine) captures the life-threatening
working and living conditions of manual scavengers and sewer cleaners in Tamil Nadu. .Her
focus is mainly on the government who exploits these workers and claims that the safety
measures are done. She also brings out the fact that manual scavenging is not a job, but caste
violence and a crime against humanity. 
Manual scavenging still survives in parts of India without proper sewage systems. It is thought to
be most prevalent in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Some
municipalities in India still run public dry toilets. The biggest violator of this law in India is the
Indian Railways which has toilets dropping all the excreta from trains on the tracks and they
employ scavengers to clean it manually. In  Bharathi’s kakkoos, there is a shot which clearly
shows the picture of scavengers cleaning the shits without any tools. 
The issues and concerns of manual scavengers have been raised and reflected on and by the
international forums, especially the United Nations (UN), in recent times. In 2007, the special
rapporteurs constituted by the sub-commission on the promotion and protection of human rights
studied the issue of discrimination based on work and descent at a global level. The report of the
special rapporteurs, contains draft principles and guidelines for the effective elimination of
discrimination. Based on work and descent, is one of the major developments in evolving norms
and standards regarding discrimination based on work and descent or caste. Discrimination
(Employment and Occupation)Convention, 1958 which deals with the issue of work-related
discrimination and promotes the equality in employment and occupation and also this convention
states that government needs to adopt the laws for combating discrimination through creation of
educational programs for equal opportunity, adoption of national policy on equal opportunity,
full cooperation with employers and workers organization. This convention also states
government to establish a national agency on equal opportunity along with repeal of inconsistent
laws and practices. Social origin is one of the grounds of prohibited discrimination and ratified
by India on June 3, 1960. Regarding forced labour, International Labour Organization (ILO) has
adopted Forced Labour Convention, 1930 to suppress the use of forced or compulsory labour in
all its forms. In 2007, the annual report of the committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination of the UN expressed serious concern about the deplorable conditions of manual
scavengers in India stated, “The committee notes with concern that very large numbers of Dalits
are forced to work as manual scavengers.”
Since manual scavengers belong to the backward section of society, they are entitled to some
special rights under the Indian constitution. This includes Right to equality, Equality of
opportunity in matters of public employment, Abolition of untouchability, Right to practice any
profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business, Protection of life and personal
liberty, Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour etc; Right to work, to education
and public assistance in certain circumstances, Just and humane conditions of work; Promotion
of educational and economic interest of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker
sections; Duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve
public health and Constitution of a national commission for Scheduled caste.
On the basis of these reports, it can be concluded that despite several governmental initiatives the
plight of manual has not shown much improvement. Though policy makers have initiated several
social welfare reforms directed towards manual scavengers, but have considerably failed to
ensure their success on ground. Actual satisfaction of basic needs and amelioration of the
scavenging community has not only been ignored by the policy makers but even the organized
schedule caste movements have failed to address the cause of manual scavengers.
This occupation remains a serious concern with regard to the issues related to human rights.
Even though legislations, considerable budgetary allocation, and economic assistance programs
for the scavenging communities has been put in place. But the most vital pre-requisites which
required are the rigorous enforcements and scrutiny measures required to ensure proper
implementation of laws and effective use of budgetary allocation. Lastly, awareness among the
public to discourage degrading occupations like that of manual scavenging is inevitable.
Some of the constructive recommendations that can be adopted in this regards includes the
linking of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(MNREGA) and other
social Justice and Empowerment, the Ministry of Rural Development, the Ministry of Drinking
Water and Sanitation, the Ministry of Housing and Poverty Alleviation, the Ministry of Urban
Development, the Ministry of Railways have key roles to play in the eradication of the practice
of manual scavenging and rehabilitation of freed families. Moreover, the Ministry of Women and
Child Development and the Ministry of Labour also have an important role because a number of
women are engaged in manual scavenging. Thus, a coordination committee should be formed
with representation from all eight ministries so as to work together. With regard to private
authorities, role of NGOs, Bhaaghidari and RWAs should be enhanced by making them an
extension of the public authorities for the purpose of enforcing the Act because in cities manual
scavenging usually takes place in residential colonies and industrial areas.
Since community initiative is important for abolishing manual scavenging. Therefore,
communities should discourage and stop subletting the service like sewer cleaning with the
scavenging community. Moreover, individuals should also pledge to adopt sanitary practices and
vow to not encourage or employ manual scavengers for such menial tasks.
National monitoring system and social audit must be conducted. That is, the government of India
should form a national level monitoring committee which regularly monitors the practice of
manual scavenging. This committee may consists of representatives from ministries, public
representatives from civil society organizations. Since implementation of acts is of vital
importance, therefore, a high level social audit of PEMSR Act, 2013 and all allied schemes
should be conducted by Controller Auditor General of India. Such audit will enable the executive
and lawmakers to acquaint themselves with the loopholes in the system and ensure effective
implementation of the law. Moreover, for the identification of manual scavengers in India must
be expeditiously conducted by constituting a high level state committee.

Work cited
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Dec. 2013. Web. 25 Aug 2014.
Kakkoos. Dir. Divya Bharathi. Leftside Media.2017.film. Sivasankara Pillai, Thakazhi.
Thottiyude Makan. India, 1947.print.
"Manual Scavenging In India". Legalserviceindia.Com, 2000,
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-3848-manual-scavenging-in-india.html.
"Theoretical Framework For Conflict Resolution". Journals.Sagepub.Com,
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1088767916643827
Wilson Bezwada. “Look at my hands, look at my life. “ Hindu: 24 Dec. 2017. Kozhikode ed. A6.
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