The deaths of sanitation workers show that casteism is still alive.
Indian cities today appear divided into two images. One is of gleaming roads, smart city projects, sprawling malls, and cleanliness campaigns, while the other is of heaps of garbage, stinking drains, overflowing sewers, and people wading through them. Unfortunately, society often avoids seeing the second image, because it reveals not just filth but also the truth about our social character. The very people who are responsible for cleaning cities are still facing the most humiliation, insecurity, and neglect. This is not just an administrative failure, but the result of a casteist mentality that has, for thousands of years, considered certain people to be “cleaners of dirt.”
It’s ironic that in a society where cleanliness is equated with God, the very same person who cleans doesn’t receive equal status. The very hands that keep cities clean are not respected by people at the doorsteps of their homes. The Constitution guaranteed equality, laws criminalized untouchability, but the filth of caste, deeply embedded in society’s minds, remains ingrained. This is why sanitation workers still overwhelmingly belong to a single caste. It’s the biggest social paradox of modern India that a country that reached the moon still forces its own citizens to clean gutters with their bare hands.
Every year, news comes from different parts of the country about the deaths of sanitation workers due to toxic gas while cleaning sewers. The media briefly discusses the matter, the administration expresses grief, politicians announce compensation, and then the matter is over. But life never returns to normal for those families. The death of a worker is not just the death of one person, but the end of an entire family’s hopes, their children’s future, and their livelihood. The saddest thing is that society has almost accepted these deaths as “normal,” as if they are not accidents but their predestined fate.
The question is, why do humans still have to descend into sewers? Can’t machines do this work in this age of technology? The truth is that machines exist, technology exists, and resources exist, but the lives of sanitation workers have never been considered a priority. The lives of poor laborers are cheap for this system. This is why people are forced into toxic sewers without safety equipment. Often, contractors and officials know this is illegal, yet it continues because the victims are not influential individuals.
If a senior official, doctor, or government employee dies prematurely, the entire system swings into action. Financial assistance is provided to the family, government jobs are provided, messages from leaders arrive, and condolences are expressed. This should be the case, because every human life is precious. But why does this same sensitivity disappear when a sanitation worker dies in a sewer? Why are the tears of his wife and children considered less precious? Why is society not as disturbed by his death? The answer isn’t merely economic or administrative, but social. The casteist mindset ingrained in our minds for centuries has “normalized” the suffering of sanitation workers.
In fact, the filth in our minds is more dangerous than the filth on the streets. The municipal corporation can remove the garbage from the streets, but mental garbage will only be removed by changing the mindset of generations. We have turned cleanliness into a caste, not a job. We have convinced some people that they were born to clean up filth. This thinking is the biggest threat to both democracy and humanity. In any civilized society, no profession is determined by birth, but in India, caste has determined a person’s identity, respect, and even employment.
It’s also ironic that a country that has launched campaigns like “Clean India” has failed to ensure the safety of sanitation workers. It’s easy to grab a broom for a photo op, but it takes serious political will to change the lives of those who descend into sewers. Even today, in many municipalities, sewer cleaning is entirely dependent on contractors. To save costs, contractors don’t provide safety equipment, forcing workers into the pit of death. When accidents occur, the blame is passed on to others. Rarely does any official or contractor face severe punishment. This impunity perpetuates these deaths.
It’s also worth noting that sanitation workers face not only economic injustice but also social humiliation. They clean cities, but are often forced to live in slums. Their children face discrimination in schools. In many places, people still hesitate to eat with them. What kind of society is this that wants cleanliness but refuses to respect the people who do it?
We must understand that sanitation is no small task. Doctors save bodies, teachers build futures, and sanitation workers protect society from disease. If sanitation workers stopped working one day, life in cities would come to a standstill. Epidemics would spread, and stench and infection would make life difficult. Yet, the lowest respect and highest risk are associated with that very profession. This is not only a social failure, but also a moral bankruptcy.
The problem won’t be solved by mere speeches. First and foremost, complete mechanization of sewer and gutter cleaning is essential. Forcing any human being to expose themselves to toxic gases is a direct violation of human rights. Governments must seriously invest in modern machinery, robotic technology, and safety equipment. Furthermore, if a sanitation worker dies, the relevant officials and contractors should be charged with culpable homicide. This cycle will not stop until accountability is established.
Additionally, the families of sanitation workers must receive respectable compensation. The government cannot absolve itself of its responsibility by simply handing out a few lakh rupees. Assistance of at least one crore rupees, a government job for one family member, and a guarantee of education and housing for the children should be provided. Because those who lost their lives were not just laborers, but a vital part of the system that keeps society healthy.
But even laws and compensation will remain incomplete until society changes its mindset. Schools, universities, and social organizations must launch serious awareness campaigns against casteism. Children must be taught that no work is small, and a person’s dignity is not diminished by their profession. Until sanitation workers receive equal respect, the dream of a “Clean India” will remain unfulfilled.
Today, the need is not just to clean cities, but to cleanse the soul of society. We must look within ourselves and ask why the death of a sanitation worker doesn’t disturb us as much as the death of a senior official does. Why are jobs still divided based on caste? And why, despite claiming modernity, do we remain mentally centuries behind?
The true identity of a nation isn’t determined by its tall buildings, wide roads, and economic growth, but by how it treats its most vulnerable and hardworking citizens. If sanitation workers continue to die in sewers and society remains silent, it’s not just their defeat, but the defeat of democracy as a whole.
We must acknowledge that the real filth lies not in the garbage heaps, but in the mindset that divides people along caste lines. The day this mental filth is cleared, India will truly be worthy of being called a clean, civilized, and humane nation.
