Occupation and Dignity of Unseen Population: Yes They Are Manual Scavenger

Abstract

The present paper explores one of the socially unseen population, and they are engaged in most crude occupation in the digital and skilled India. The life never changed to them associated with traditional and caste-based occupation for generations. They have barely been studied and never been recognised in most discussion on ‘polluted’ occupation in India. The question of dignity and inclusion is still a dreamlike Make in India project similar to Swacch Bharat campaign that has merely put in any effort on those groups who have been cleaning the Bharat for centuries. Paper discuses the identity of their occupation, identity of their community and putting crudely identity of their caste while studying the manual scavengers. This paper explores the various dimensions of manual scavengers and relies on an ethnographic study conducted on Hadi Caste in Bokaro who are one of the Scheduled Castes listed in the Census of India documents. Hadis are settled across the states but with varied jobs. Further, this paper also informs the presence of such groups with different nomenclature across the country, namely in large numbers, in Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Maharashtra and others. The paper does take help and refer another study conducted on manual scavengers in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana.