An initiative by Adv. Abha Singh and Ms. Isha Singh, I.P.S. – RannSamar Foundation.
On Sunday, 5th February 2023, ASK: Assistance for Safai Karamcharis launched their website www.askforjustice.in at Title Waves Book Store in Bandra, West. ASK acts as a gateway to RannSamar Foundation, which will maintain a database of lawyers across the nation, who are willing to provide pro bono legal services to Safai Karamcharis, so that they can obtain justice. It aims to replicate the success of the case of Vimla Govind Chorotiya v. State of Maharashtra. The website also contains a toolkit and formats of petitions required to navigate the legal system. The need for such a space arises due to the dangers of the dehumanising practice that is routinely inflicted upon the working class. As Adv. Abha Singh rightly said that employing workers for manual scavenging is like subcontracting death. Presenting the vision for ASK which is to realise a truly equal and empowered society founded on dignity of labour by encouraging the nation to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards manual scavenging, the event was graced by several esteemed guests and law school students. Aspiring lawyers from colleges like NMIMS Kirit P. Mehta School of Law, Maharashtra National Law University Mumbai and Shree L. R. Tiwari College of Law were intently soaking in the conversation.
The Guests of Honor were Sri. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Adv. Susieben Shah. Gracing the evening were also Mr. Sangram Singh, Mrs. Payal Rohatgi and Mrs. Swapna Pathkar. Adv Abha Singh started the evening by giving an impassioned speech about how when she met Vimla, Bani and Nita, the widows of the three manual scavengers, she knew she had to do something. She stood by their side and encouraged them to demand what they deserve. In her speech she spoke highly of Isha Singh, who is her daughter and the person she credits the success of their case to. One of the many inspiring things she said included how they had several hindrances in their way but they navigated the Indian Legal System and got a speedy compensation for the woman. Towards the ending of her speech, Adv. Abha Singh also mentioned that the case brought fire to the lives of the woman and gave them the push to excel in life. She invited the three women to the speech to talk about their journey. Vimla Ji spoke about how they had found out about their husband’s death much after the accident. Their husbands would work from day to day wage so when they were promised a sum of thousand rupees to clean the sewage, they took the job not knowing the danger. She spoke about how she wanted to get her justice and make the people behind her husband’s death pay. It doesn’t matter what her background was because Abha ma’am and Isha ma’am gave her the confidence to demand justice.
Adding to her, Bani Ji thanked Isha Ma’am for giving them strength and encouraging them to take action. She also added that Abha ma’am was the source of their strength. They collectively agreed to take action as they wanted justice. “Strong bano, tabhi hi kuch ho payega” said Isha Ma’am to Bani. Speaking about the incident, Nita Kalshekar said that when they got to know of the incident, they couldn’t comprehend anything – “we didnt know what was to be done next. “Jitna ghar wale didn’t support us, utna isha ma’am and abha maam supported us.”
Upon hearing their story, the audience was moved and a soft lull took over. Adv Aditya Singh was then invited to speak about manual scavenging. In his informative presentation, he talked about how the Indian Legal System defines manual scavenging, and quoted the Supreme Court Judgement of Union of India State of Maharashtra, (2020)4SCC761 which said-
“Humans cannot be treated this way. It is most inhuman and uncivilised as 4-5 people die every month. Why do you not provide them masks and oxygen cylinder. You will not see in any other country that a person is going into gas chamber without mask.”
In his presentation he provided statistics of manual scavenging. Over 971 people have reportedly died while cleaning sewers or septic tanks since 1993. Tamil Nadu accounted for 214 which is the highest in the country followed by Gujarat with 156 deaths and Uttar Pradesh with 106 deaths. Based on Union Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, over 42,500 people involved in Manual Scavenging belong to Scheduled Castes which is about 97.25%. 421 people are from Scheduled Tribes and 431 are from Other Backward Classes. In total, it is estimated that over 1.2 million persons are involved in manual scavenging of which 95%-98% are women. He concluded with how ASK aims to work alongside families and get the compensation they deserve for such work.
The evening then progressed with the felicitation of the Guests of Honour and they were requested to share their thoughts. Mr. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra spoke of how he believed the real guests of honour to be the brave widows present in this room. They gave him a lot of strength. When talking to Ms Isha Singh, he felt that she is the spitting image of Adv. Abha Singh based on her strong stance in life. He spoke of how he is compelled to make a film about this struggle as he does not have words to describe the fearlessness and dedication of Adv. Abha Singh and Isha Ma’am.
Adv Susieben Shah spoke about how the widows’ fight was a big fight. She was extremely happy that the widows chose to stand on their own two feet, because until people don’t stand on their own two feet, they can’t do anything for themselves. Continuing in this line she also spoke of women’s empowerment and that she believes when women are economically empowered, only then can they progress. That is when their families progress, the country progresses and the society grows. Then she further added about children’s rights, Bal Sabha and how she started the Priyadarshni Taxis to help employ women drivers across Maharashtra.
As the entire room was reeling with this passionate energy, the website was launched. As the new website was being showcased to the audience, Ms Isha Singh, IPS who was unable to attend the event physically, joined the event through a video conference call. Guiding the audience through the website she also detailed about her journey. The fight for justice for the manual scavengers started when she saw a report about the deaths in the newspaper. In her journey, many hurdles came up but she maintained her stance to get the women what they deserve. Many told her this fight has never happened in the favour of the families before and it won’t in this case also but they got their compensation speedily. ASK aims to provide a toolkit that would help others in a similar plight to fight their case. She spoke of how the website includes cases that can be cited and also helps maintain a network of people who are going to work to further the cause to end manual scavenging.
Mr. Sangram Singh during the course of the event spoke to the law students emphasing on happiness being a key to one’s success. He added that above all, one’s health is their biggest asset that they can possess, so it shouldn’t be taken for granted.
The evening concluded with every person energised and determined to play their part in this journey. It was an engaging and informative event which marked the beginning of the ASK website and starts the fight for justice against manual scavenging.
