Time to clean up soiled act

The Sunday Tribune - Books :: Arunima Sehgal: "Chronicling the struggle of manual scavengers, the author gives a personal account of Bezwada Wilson, the unquestioned leader of the Safai Karamchari Andolan. Son of a scavenger in Karnataka, Wilson started the andolan out of anguish and anger in 1996 in Vijaywada along with a few human rights activists. The objective was to liberate and rehabilitate manual scavengers from their caste-based hereditary occupation. Though the andolan was successful in bringing the inhuman practice into the public eye, it still is fighting the caste battle.

Reiterating on the efforts needed to stop this belittling practice, the book emphasises that all it needs is more imaginative planning to rehabilitate scavengers in a local society. The book originally written in Telegu has been substantially revised for this English edition, under the study facilitated by the University of Southampton."