Why in News?
• According to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJ&E), a total of 530 districts (out of total 766) across the country had so far reported themselves to be free of manual scavenging.
What is manual scavenging - manual scavenging is the practice of manually cleaning, carrying, or handling human excreta from dry latrines and sewers. It mostly involves using the most basic tools like buckets, brooms and baskets.
Conflict perspective - This inhuman practice has traditionally been enforced on a specific group of people labelled manual scavengers.
1.Class struggle - seen as a result of class struggle, where the dominant classes benifit from the cheap labour of marginalized communities.
2.Economic exploitation - recieving low wages and minimal benifits, reinforcing the divide between the exploiters and the exploited.
3.structural injustice - with unequal access to resources and opportunities.
4.resistance and movements - it highlights how resistance movement and advocacy groups emerge to challenge the status quo.
5.social change - it emphasizes the need for societal transformation to address the systemic inequalities that drive manual scavenging.
Functionalist perspectives - this perspectives does not justify or condone the manual practice itself instead it analyzes it might serve certain functions within society.
1.Labour division - manual scavenging could be seen as serving a division of labour.
2.social cohesion - it reinforces a sense of community and interdependence as people rely on each other to maintain thier living environment.
3.social change catalyst - dysfunctional aspects of manual scavenging might serve as a catalyst for social change.
4.maintaining status quo - manual scavenging might functioning to perpetuate existing social hierarchies by providing a demeaning occuption for marginalized groups.
5.Job creation - in societies with limited formal job opportunities this practice can be viewed as providing some form of work.
Feminist perspective - Dalit women who are forced to do this degrading work remain invisibles and are this relegated to the margin of the society.
1.Double Marginalization: Women engaged in manual scavenging face a dual burden of being marginalized due to their gender and their caste, leading to increased vulnerability and exploitation.
2.Reproductive Labor: women's reproductive roles often extend to sanitation work, reinforcing the societal norm that their primary function is to clean and maintain the household.
3.Intersectionality: it recognizes the intersectionality of caste and gender, as women from lower castes face compounded discrimination and oppression.
4.Invisibility of Labor: Women's contributions to sanitation work often go unnoticed and undervalued, reinforcing the notion that their labor is less important and deserving of recognition.
Symbolic perspective - symbolic perspective highlights how manual scavenging serves as a powerful symbol that encapsulates complex issues of caste, identity, discrimination, and social change. It underscores the importance of understanding the deeper meanings and implications associated with the practice.
Social causes of manual scavenging.
1.Caste based occupational structure - caste hierarchy reinforces occupational hierarchy and idea of occupational purity and pollution are further embedded.
2.Social stigmatization - people regard the manual scavengers as untouchables and a large section of society is not ready to accept and include them in community activities.
3.Lack or incomplete rehabilitation and employment opportunities - failure of state mechanism
4.These occupationas are considered the social obligations of Dalits some think that it is an age old occupation and scavengers are doing a great service to the society.
5.Social Deprivation and Low Self-Esteem - absence of substantial or collective backing from human right activities.
6.Laws for ensuring social transformation lack social conscience - lacked the political will and legislations to abolish this practice could not be converted to social justice
7.A blind spot in urban development discourse - absence of planning for the maintenance of sewerage due to intensive urbanization.
8.Limited employment opportunities for marginalized communities
9.Social Apathy and traditional norms - Deep rooted cultural norms and beliefs may normalise manual scavenging as an occupation for certain communities.
Women and Manual scavenging
Women largely continue to work as manual scavengers because of family pressure and lack of employment .
Women are worst victim of manual scavengers as they constitute most of the work force of manual scavengers . At least 80-90 percent of India's estimated 1.8 million manual scavengers are women , according to a campaign group of Jan Sahas .
Women work is even very less paid than men. Women scavengers face triple suppression of caste , class and gender.
Characteristics of the women engaged in manual scavenging
1.Belonging to the lowest Rung of the society.
2.No Alternatives livelihood opportunity.
3.Stigmatized, humiliated and discriminated in every sphere of the life.
4.Less education and no livelihood assets eg. Farmland holding
Social implications of manual scavenging
1.Stigma and Social isolation - manual scavengers face social stigma and exclusion due to the nature of thier work..
2.Inter-Generational impact - children of manual scavengers often inherit the social disadvantages associated with thier parents occupation.
3.Dehumanizing forms of work - they face dual challenges that is of "Liberation" from inhuman work/practice and "Rehabitation" social and economic which are the prime needs of this community.
4.Violates the constitutional values - manual scavenging is violative of article 21 of the Indian constitution that guarantees Right to live life with dignity.
5.State failure - it question the legitimacy of the state - Abhishek Gupta critically examine the rights regime of the manual scavengers with reference to failure of the state in ensuring the scavenging community thier due rights and the role of the state instrumentalities as a violator.
6.Caste-Based Discrimination: The practice reinforces and perpetuates caste-based discrimination, as lower-caste individuals are disproportionately affected, further entrenching social inequalities.
7.Social Awareness: The existence of manual scavenging reflects societal apathy and a lack of awareness about the rights and dignity of those engaged in this work.
NOTE- Sociological Analysis.
Answer Writing :-
Now, all of you have been following my channel for quite a time, everytime we put up an analysis , a lot of you text how can we go through sooo many sources and references while writing an answer, while you have soo much to cover for the exam.
Absolutely right, you cannot remember each and every point . That’s why we are going to help you how to stream line your thoughts for answer writing.
1. You need learn the chapter names of the syllabus of both paper 1 and paper 2.
2. You need start thinking points for each topic relevant to the answer.
Once you have grip on this practice , start structuring you answer. Every answer is like an essay which needs intro subject, body , conclusion.In sociology, the problem is you cannot limit the words maintaining the structure .
That’s when you use your analystical skills, diagrams , charts , flow charts etc to explain the concepts. The analysis we do might seem impressive bcs we search for sources , we search for points.
What you need to do to improve your answer writing is you need find examples for each topic in your syllabus , then apply those in various answer wiring practices. Then you can see the change.
Team One-Liner Sociology
