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.
In india Manual scavenging has a link with the Dalit community. it is known `every Dalit is not a manual scavenger but all manual scavengers are Dalit`. India has seen the `caste discrimination` from decades. mostly the dalits has been discriminated.
It was estimated in 2019 that between 40 to 60 percent of the 6 million households of Dalit sub-castes are engaged in sanitation work: The most common Dalit caste performing sanitation work is the Valmiki (also Balmiki) caste.
VALMIKI CASTE:
Valmiki is a name used by a variety ofcommunities throughout India who all claim descent from the author of the Ramayana, Valmiki. The Valmikis can be classified as a caste or Sampradaya (tradition/sect).
In North India Valmiki, also called Chuhra or Bhangi, are considered Scheduled Caste. There they have historically faced exclusion and oppression in society, and are frequently affected by anti-scheduled caste violence and repression by members of other castes.They have traditionally been sewage cleaners and sanitation workers, and most of the manual scavengers in urban areas of northwest India, such as Delhi and Jaipur, are recruited from this community.
According to the 2001 Census of India, the Valmikis formed 11.2 per cent of the Scheduled Caste population in Punjab[4] and were the second-most populous Scheduled Caste in Delhi National Capital Region.The 2011 Census of India for Uttar Pradesh showed the Valmiki population, which was classified as a Scheduled Caste, as 1,319,241.
In South India the term is mainly used as a self-identification by the Boya or Bedar Nayaka caste, a traditional hunting and martial caste who are considered as Backward castes in Andhra Pradesh and Scheduled Tribe in Karnataka.
The Valmikis are mainly concentrated in Anantapur, Kurnool and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh and in Bellary, Raichur and Chitradurga districts of Karnataka, although they are spread all over the state. They also built a temple of Valmiki in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.In Andhra Pradesh they are known as Boya Valmikis or Valmikis.
MANUAL SCAVENGING ACT;
1993 Act banned manual scavenging in India, the 2013 Act provided for punishment for engaging any person for hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. The new draft takes the 2013 Act a step further and asks for complete mechanisation, and legal basis for punishment.
DESPITE THIS ACTS MANY DALIT WORKERS DIE EVERY YEAR. THE QUESTIONS MUST BE RAISE
WHY SHOULD THEY CLEAN YOUR SHIT?
WHY ONLY DALITS SHOULD CLEAN THE WASTE?
WHY ONLY VALMIKI`S SHOULD GO INSIDE THE NAALA`S FOR CLEANING?
IN A DEMOCRATIC,REPUBLIC,SECULAR COUNTRY LIKE INDIA THE CASTE DISCRIMINATION ACTS LIKE PARASITE FOR `CONSTITUTION` WHICH WEAKENS THE CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS FROM THE GRASS ROOTS.