A manual scavenger cleaning a dry toilet in India. Photograph: Shaikh Azizur Rahman
Caste is India's silent killer. The worst part of caste is, it has a divine sanction. A question against caste is therefore taken as a dig at the religion.
Modernity has done little to mitigate the injustice directed at the people, who reside in the bottom of the society.
Dry toilet and sewer pipe: the task of clearing the human excreta is left for those born in the lower caste. Because of their job, which is decided by their caste, they're segregated from intermingling with those considered to be of high caste. In extreme cases, even their shadow shouldn't fall on the high caste people. Forget about hiring for jobs such as cooking. Or intermarriage. Deadly fumes from the sewer and septic tanks have often killed the workers, as they're made to work without protective gear. If somebody dies, the death is ignored, unless their cause is taken up by activists.
The govt doesn't like activists. Change is hated by status quoists. The hidden transcript finally revealed.
References
'I'm born to do this': Condemned by caste, India's sewer cleaners risk death daily