India's Dirty Secret

The frequent deaths of India’s sewer workers isn’t a governance failure – they are rooted in caste

The philosophy of caste validates the casual subjection of sanitation workers to the hazardous, humiliating task of cleaning sewers and septic tanks.

Harsh Mander
,
Sonal Sharma
&
Vidit Verma
· Nov 17, 2019 · 06:30 am
A Dalit man agreed to clean a sewer hoping for a permanent job – and was killed by toxic fumes

The authorities in Mathura have failed to keep their promise to give Rakesh Valmiki’s family a pension, a home and free education for the children.

Harsh Mander
,
Vidit Verma
&
Sonal Sharma
· Oct 27, 2019 · 06:30 am
Why a woman in Udaipur refused to strike a compromise after her husband died cleaning a septic tank

The man who had hired Sukhlal didn’t even visit the dead man’s home to inquire about his family. But he wanted them to withdraw their police complaint.

Harsh Mander
,
Vidit Verma
&
Sonal Sharma
· Oct 11, 2019 · 06:30 am

Video

The Reel