The unsung heroes: Vimal Kumar transforms pain into power to create manual scavenging-free world

Shrouded in secrecy and humiliation, manual scavenging is an age-old custom that has endured generations in India's crowded cities and remote regions. More than just a relic of a repressive caste system, this dehumanising profession - which requires workers to scrub human excrement with their bare hands - violates fundamental human rights. Despite laws and regulations aimed at abolition, many people are still trapped in this cycle of indignity and discrimination.

Dr. Vimal Kumar, born into a family affected by manual scavenging, exemplifies education's transformational power and resolve. He formed the Movement for Scavenger Community (MSC), which advocates for the rights and dignity of individuals pushed to society's outskirts.

"We were the untouchables of the untouchables," said Dr Vimal Kumar as he talked about his early life in Haryana's Ladwa. Kumar said his peers and teachers addressed him as "jamadarni ka beta" (sweeper's son). Kumar belongs to the Chuhura Tribe, a group within the Dalit Bahujan community.

Kumar, he said, was the first in their family to be enrolled in a school, however, he added that it was not a pleasant experience.

His parents worked as sanitation staffers in the same school he studied at.

"Enrolling me in school was a necessity since there was no one to look after me at home because both my parents worked. At school, I was bullied, seated separately and even roughed up by some other students. The misdemeanour from peers and teachers disheartened me resulting in me not being interested in studying," Kumar said before continuing that bullying did not stop despite changing schools later.

Kumar, throughout his early life, undertook odd jobs while studying to support his family and to keep him away from scavenging work.

However, Vimal's struggles were far from over for his caste identity took centre stage even when he entered the workforce.

"In 2002, after graduation, I got a job as a computer teacher in a college," he recalled and added, "A senior of mine would always discriminate against me. I was told I had to obey his orders and also sweep floors if I was told to do so. It felt like all my efforts to escape the fate my parents met were in vain.I completed my graduation despite so many hurdles so that I could get a reputed job, but here I was being reminded of my caste once again. It made me question everything," Vimal said reflecting on the incident.

He was discriminated against over his caste identity when he pursued higher studies in social work after quitting his teaching job. "I was the only Dalit student in class; despite the discrimination, I persevered to complete my degree," he said.

Having gotten his Masters in social work, Vimal got to work with multiple non-governmental organisations unbeknownst to the fact that they barely made an impact on ground level. However, one opportunity changed the discourse of his life.

Associating with the Dalit Foundation, getting the opportunity to visit the ghettos of scavengers across India and connecting with community leaders paved the way for him to establish the Movement for Scavenger Community. In 2009, Kumar held a national conference in Haryana with leaders from 12 states and established the MSC.

KMSC was started with the idea of educating children of the community

Kumar said the idea of education is central to MSC. In 2012, Vimal started the first BR Ambedkar resource centre in the very basti (colony) in Haryana where he grew up. "We started a library and hosted free evening classes for children of the community. We started encouraging them to participate in extracurricular activities and nurture their talents, like dancing, singing, painting, etc."

He said MSC has opened similar centres and has seen children associated with them be proactive in school and win competitions.

Vimal's move to Mumbai and pursuing PhD at Tata Institute of Social Sciences eventually opened new doors for him. He bagged multiple fellowships in Germany and the United States of America.

"I was called to collect my VIP visa before travelling to the US. There were only two people, one being Salman Khan, the other being me, and I got my visa even before him," Kumar said with marvel.

With a fresh lens, Vimal focused on MSC and its initiatives once he obtained his PhD in 2022.

Kumar completed his PhD in 2022 from TISS, Mumbai

Kumar said, "We had to shut down a lot of the resource centers. We realised our approach had limited impact and thus instead of resource centres, we came up with a fellowship program-Fellows for Equality. Under the program, people from the bastis across India were trained to be community leaders and were empowered to tackle issues specific to their communities and geography."

"We stay together and network, understand problems, and help each other with area-specific problems. And then the community leaders go back and open resource centres in their bastis with our help," he further said.

While the MSC began with education as its focal point, Kumar and his team have moved and adopted a holistic approach.

"We teach, train people to become community leaders and encourage them to begin alternative work as part of our renewed holistic approach," said Vimal and added, "We are currently helping a fellow from Tamil Nadu, who has studied textile design, set up a community-led apparel brand."

He is also elated that his work is reaching a larger audience and the movement is getting support through large donations. "We keep receiving small donations but this year we received our first organizational donation for MSC from Rohini Nilekani. I am truly grateful for this," says Vimal.

Kumar wishes to take his expand his movement and end the practice of manual scavenging globally

When asked about his further plans with the movement, he sheepishly expressed his wish to take his wish to take his movement global.

"This may sound far-fetched to some but I wish to end the practice of manual scavenging globally through my movement," Kumar said. Though the practice is mostly associated with India, it is a little-known fact that manual scavenging prevails across South Asian countries or those termed as ‘Global South' like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia and also in Africa. He added that he is being invited to Bangladesh to work towards eradication of manual scavenging.