--- description: The practice of forcing low-caste Indians to remove waste from latrines is continuing despite legal prohibitions, a rights group says title: India's 'Untouchables' Still Forced to Collect Human Waste image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte461f500895ffe40/6986a0b81eebf7bd3f372606/174519764.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # India's 'Untouchables' Are Still Being Forced to Collect Human Waste by Hand  by [Charlie Campbell](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Aug 25, 2014 9:32 AM CUT  Devi Lal, a 43-year-old manual scavenger, cleans drains in New Delhi on July 13, 2012 Devi Lal, a 43-year-old manual scavenger, cleans drains in New Delhi on July 13, 2012Sagar Kaul—Barcroft Media/Getty Images  by [Charlie Campbell](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Aug 25, 2014 9:32 AM CUT The practice of forcing low-caste people in Indian communities to [remove](http://www.hrw.org/news/2014/08/25/india-caste-forced-clean-human-waste "undefined") accumulated human waste from latrines is continuing despite legal prohibitions and must be stopped, says a leading advocacy group. In a report released Monday, the New York City–based Human Rights Watch (HRW) detailed the practice of “manual scavenging” — the collecting of excrement from latrines by hand. The job is done by those considered to be of the lowest birth. These Dalits, or untouchables, often face threats of violence, eviction and withheld wages if they attempt to leave the trade. “The first day when I was cleaning the latrines and the drain, my foot slipped and my leg sank in the excrement up to my calf,” Sona, a manual scavenger in Bharatpur, a city in the northwestern state of Rajasthan, told HRW. “I screamed and ran away. Then I came home and cried and cried. I knew there was only this work for me.” Laws exist to curb this form of subjugation, yet it remains widespread across India. Dalit women typically collect waste from private homes, while the men do the more physically demanding, and hazardous, maintenance of septic tanks and public sewers. Many suffer injuries and serious health problems. “The manual carrying of human feces is not a form of employment, but an injustice akin to slavery,” says Ashif Shaikh, founder of Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, a grassroots campaign to end manual scavenging. “It is one of the most prominent forms of discrimination against Dalits, and it is central to the violation of their human rights.” HRW’s 96-page report, _Cleaning Human Waste: ‘Manual Scavenging,’ Caste, and Discrimination in India_, is based on more than 100 interviews with manual scavengers, and documents how these wretched people are coerced to collect human excrement on a daily basis, carrying it away in nothing more protective than a cane basket. “People work as manual scavengers because their caste is expected to fulfill this role, and are typically unable to get any other work,” says Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at HRW. “This practice is considered one of the worst surviving symbols of untouchability because it reinforces the social stigma that these castes are untouchable and perpetuates discrimination and social exclusion.” HRW called on the administration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enforce existing legislation aimed at assisting manual scavengers to find alternative, sustainable livelihoods. “Successive Indian government attempts to end caste-based cleaning of excrement have been derailed by discrimination and local complicity,” adds Ganguly. “The government needs to get serious about putting laws banning manual scavenging into practice and assisting the affected caste communities.” ### See The History of US—India Relations in 12 Photos  1942: The US held loose relations with "The British Raj" before Indian independence. Yet the Western nation did maintain an Airfield base in Dinjan,India during this time. (Photo by Ivan Dmitri/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) Ivan Dmitri—Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  1949: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru takes his first trip to the US and meets with President Harry S. Truman in Washington, Oct. 11, 1949. PhotoQuest/Getty Images  1959: US President Dwight D. Eisenhower makes the first official state visit to India’, joining Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Taj Mahal at Agra, India on Dec. 13, 1959. AP  1962: The Kennedy Administration openly supported India during the Sino-Indian War. The US Air Force flew in arms and aid to Indian troops on the Chinese border, Nov. 1, 1962. Larry Burrows—The TIME & LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  1973: In the early 70s, America's relationship with India deteriorated as the Nixon administration became close allies with Pakistan, viewing India as an ally of the Soviet Union. Here, President Nixon meets with Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan in the oval office of the White House in Washington on Sept. 18, 1973. AP  1978: When the anti-Soviet Janata Party came to power in the late 70s, Indian relations with the US began to improve. President Jimmy Carter visited Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai in New Delhi in 1978. Charles Harrity—AP  1987: In the 1980s, the Reagan Administration began to provide limited aid to India and eventually defense technology such as combat aircraft and naval engines. President Ronald W. Reagan met with India's Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in Washington on Oct. 1 1987. Diana Walker—The TIME & LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  1998: India began nuclear testing in Pokhran in 1998, despite strong condemnation from the US. President Bill Clinton imposed economic sanctions against India. T.C. Malhotra—Getty Images  2005: After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the US worked closely with India to strategically monitor the Indian Ocean and Suez Canal to Singapore. Here, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi Prakash Singh—AFP/Getty Images  2004: The US and Indian navies cooperated on rescue efforts after the Dec. 2004 tsunami that affected the Indian subcontinent. AFP/Getty Images  2010: India-US relations became strained during the Obama Administration due to its policies on insurgents in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pedro Ugarte—AFP/Getty Images  2014: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks at Madison Square Garden in New York City on his first visit to the US as Prime Minister, after his US visa had been revoked and reinstated. Lucas Jackson—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3172895/dalits-sewage-untouchables-hrs-human-waste-india-caste/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3172895/dalits-sewage-untouchables-hrs-human-waste-india-caste/"},"headline":"India's 'Untouchables' Are Still Being Forced to Collect Human Waste by Hand","datePublished":"2014-08-25T09:32:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:50.316Z","description":"They face violence, eviction and withheld wages if they do not take on the hazardous job of emptying private and public latrines","url":"https://time.com/3172895/dalits-sewage-untouchables-hrs-human-waste-india-caste/","keywords":["India","Human Rights Watch"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte461f500895ffe40/6986a0b81eebf7bd3f372606/174519764.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlie Campbell","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/charlie-campbell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte461f500895ffe40/6986a0b81eebf7bd3f372606/174519764.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"World's Dirtiest Job","caption":"World's Dirtiest Job","creditText":"Sagar Kaul—Barcroft Media/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3172895/dalits-sewage-untouchables-hrs-human-waste-india-caste/","name":"India's 'Untouchables' Are Still Being Forced to Collect Human Waste by Hand"}}]}] ```