Bezwada Wilson
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Bezwada Wilson | |
---|---|
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Open University, Hyderabad | |
Occupation | Indian activist |
Organization | Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) |
Notable work | Campaigning for the eradication of manual scavenging |
Awards | Ramon Magsaysay Award (2016) |
Bezwada Wilson (born 1966) is an Indian
Early life
Bezwada was born in 1966 in the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka in Southern India. He is the youngest child of Bezwada Rachel and Bezwada Yacob, both belonging to the manual scavenging community.[4]
His father began working for the township in 1935 as a safai karamchari, also called a
Bezwada went to upper primary school in
Bezwada graduated in
Campaign against manual scavenging
In 1986, Bezwada began his fight to end manual scavenging. The first hurdle in his fight was at home; his parents and relatives said he should not focus his life on something that always existed. It was over years that they came to accept that he was dedicating his life to helping eradicate manual scavenging. Too many people within the community were ashamed to even admit manual scavenging existed or that they did it. Bezwada began breaking the silence.
Bezwada also began a letter-writing campaign, contacting the KGF authorities, the minister, and chief minister of Karnataka, the prime minister, and newspapers, but they remained largely unacknowledged.
In 1993, the Parliament enacted the ‘Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act in 1993',[6] which banned the construction of dry latrines and outlawed the practice of manual scavenging. Despite the ban, the practice of manual scavenging continues across India.
Bezwada took photographs of dry latrines and manual scavenging in KGF and sent it to P.A.K. Shettigar, the then managing director of KGF, threatening action under the Act. An emergency meeting was called to convert dry latrines into water-seal latrines and transfer all scavengers to non-scavenging jobs. However, it was only when photographs were published in a 1994 article in the Deccan Herald, resulting in embarrassing questions in Parliament, that the Karnataka government was forced to acknowledge that manual scavenging continued to be a problem.
Bezwada then worked for two years to organize manual scavengers in Karnataka. A platform, the Campaign Against Manual Scavenging (CAMS), was formed. This oversaw the conversion of dry latrines into flush toilets and rehabilitation of those who were engaged in manual scavenging.
Wilson moved to Andhra Pradesh and began working with Paul Diwakar, a leading Dalit activist, and S. R. Sankaran, a retired Indian Administrative Officer. In 2001 the Andhra Pradesh government agreed to a total survey of the state to identify manual scavengers and dry latrines for liberation and rehabilitation. Bezwada prepared the survey format, where volunteers photographed and documented each manual scavenger and dry latrine.
Safai Karmachari Andolan
In 1994, Bezwada helped found Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) along with S. R. Sankaran and Paul Diwakar. SKA's goal is to end the practice of manual scavenging and help those engaged in it find dignified work. SKA trains teams to work towards the elimination of manual scavenging in various Indian states. SKA initially worked on the state level, until 2003 when Bezwada and four other team members moved to Delhi to launch the Safai Karmachari Andolan nationwide.
In 2003, Bezwada and the SKA initiated the filing of a
The PIL was a major step in the efforts to abolish
By 2007, the SKA felt the struggle was going too slow. The legal process had put the onus on the victims to prove manual scavenging existed. So they launched Action 2010, by which they vowed to end manual scavenging by 2010 by simply asking those engaged in the practice to leave the practice and find alternative work.
The liberation of safai karmacharis became an important issue during the planning of the 12th
In 2009, Bezwada was elected an
In October 2010, the head of the
The Planning Commission of India constituted a sub-group on safai karmacharis with Bezwada as its convenor. The sub-group has submitted its report.[7]
References
- ^ "How Bezwada Wilson Liberated Lakhs Of Manual Scavengers In India". Huffington Post India. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "Ramon Magsaysay Award Curiosily he was never congratulated by PM Modi, even though government was pushing for swachh Bharat Abhiyan". New Indian Express. 27 July 2016. Archived from the original on 27 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
- ^ "Magsaysay Award winner Bezwada Wilson: My award goes to those who chose dignity over livelihood".
- ^ "Bezwada Wilson gets a very deserving award". Nastik Deliberations. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
- ^ "The 'untouchable' Indians with an unenviable job". The Independent. 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Indian Bare Acts - India Bare Act - Law Firm Lawyers India".
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). safaikarmachariandolan.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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