By Amit Kumar, TwoCircles.net
Manual scavenging, a curse of the caste system, remains one of the most degrading jobs in the country for the Dalits. Despite several attempts made by various Dalit-Bahujan organisations to end this practice, it continues unabated in almost all parts of the country. But this has not deterred Bipin Solanki, a 36-year-old from Surendranagar, Gujarat continues to fight the evil practice through all forms of practice through the medium of videos, documentaries and using legal measures as and when necessary.
Solanki, who belongs to the Bunkar (Scheduled Caste) learnt very early in his life that the Dalits and Bahujans of the society had to fight extra-hard for even the most basic facilities. “While growing up, we realised that even something as basic as drinking water was a struggle for our communities. The same applied to education, roads, even health facilities,” says Solanki. Given the tight economic conditions at home, education was a challenge; but he nevertheless completed his schooling in Surendranagar. As he enrolled in Gandhinagar University for his graduation, he decided to work also, and given his upbringing, he naturally focussed on working on Dalit-Bahujan issues. “From 2005 to 2008, I worked as part of a joint initiative between Navsarjan Trust and Video Volunteers, making small documentaries that highlighted the plight of Dalits and Bahujans of our state, and especially Surendranagar,” says Solanki. During this period, he also completed his graduation and LLB from Gandhinagar University. Talking about his degree in law, Solanki says, “It became pretty clear to me very clear that if we are to fight injustices against our communities, the legal route remains the most assured and effective way. The Constitution remains the biggest weapon bestowed upon us to fight oppression and especially casteism.”
During these three years, Solanki delved deeper into the plight of manual scavengers. “Unlike other states where there is a chance that some manual scavengers and Safai Karamcharis might be from non-Dalit-Bahujan backgrounds, in Gujarat this profession remains only for the Valmiki community,” he says.
In 2010, during a program for Video Volunteers, he met Yasho Salve from Mumbai, and the two married soon after. Both had been working with marginalised communities for a long time now, and the two started working on various issues, and their association with Video Volunteers continues to this day.
However, it was in April 2015 that while visiting the market in Dhangadhara Taluka, where they had shifted a year earlier, that they came face to face with the absolutely horrible conditions in which the manual scavengers were working. “A man, of course from the Valmiki community, was half-submerged in a drain, wearing absolutely no protective gear, clearing the drain. It was a shocking image, one that we had seen for a long time, but this one disturbed us to no end,” says Solanki. The couple went home, brought their video camera and started recording the process. Since then, Bipin has almost exclusively focused on the issue of manual scavenging. It was during this period that Solanki also realized the superficial nature of various ‘activists’. “On the face of it, no one ever says that this practice must continue; yet they will never hesitate to use the issue to make their own careers. They take pictures, make videos and then never come back. I always wanted to ensure that I do not behave the same way,” he says.
‘You cannot eradicate this problem without addressing the caste angle’
This is why in August 2016, Solanki made a 4-minute documentary for Video Volunteers, which showed their plight and exposed the claims of the municipalities that manual scavenging had come to an end. “The video was seen by a lot of people but the authorities got away by blaming contractors, saying that this would never happen if they were employed directly by the municipality,” says Solanki. So, to ensure that the pressure is maintained, he also launched a petition, which was signed by over 20,000 people. “With so many reactions to the video, the authorities had to take action and in August 2016, the District Magistrate of Surendranagar formed a committee to look into this issue. “I was nominated as a member of the committee, but after the first meeting, I realised that these people are not interested in addressing the issue,” he says. “When I raised the issue of caste, they looked at me as if I had said something unimaginable. Valmikis are the only ones who do this work. Isn’t the committee supposed to then work to improve the economic conditions of the Valmikis? But they kept talking about providing protective gears and nothing more,” he adds.
“So I quit the committee,” he says.
“Last year, Xavier’s college in Ahmedabad had advertised for the post of Janitors and said that preference would be given to the Savarnas (upper-castes). How many responded? None. In fact, there was a massive uproar and the authorities had to issue rejoinders. You still think this is not related to caste?” he adds.
Permanent jobs are only a start, not a permanent solution
Solanki was also not surprised when the committee formed to ‘eradicate’ manual scavenging achieved nothing and soon petered out into oblivion. So, Solanki has now decided to fight for making the jobs of Safai Karamcharis permanent instead of contracts. He says that in an ideal world, no human should be made to clean drains, but until that happens, it is important to take some steps at least to address their economic conditions. “If they are given a permanent job, a number of things happen,” he says, referring to the recent decision in Mumbai where Safai Karamcharis were given permanent jobs after working on a contract for years. “One, manual scavenging will hopefully be discontinued and if it continues, at least we will be able to question the authorities who will no longer be able to blame contractors. Second, their income will rise by about four-times. As of now, they earn about Rs 3,000-Rs 5,000 a month which will rise to about Rs 20,000 per month if they become permanent.”
Solanki adds that the only way as of now for Valmikis to get rid of this profession is to ensure that the next generation does not follow into this profession. “The government will promise a lot, deliver little. It is upon the community to ensure that they find ways to earn money in a more dignified manner. Until then, we will keep using all legal tools we have to ensure that no one has to work as a manual scavenger,” he says.