[Y-Indology] History of toilets and sanitation (Videoon Untouchability)

[Guest guest]

Dear Mr Ymalaiya,

 

Incidently, for information of all we happen to publish ROAD TO FREEDOM by

Bindeshwari Pathak, the head of the Sulab Toilet movement - the topic you'll

are discussing here.

 

Regards to all

 

RP Jain

 

-

"ymalaiya" <ymalaiya

<INDOLOGY>

Monday, January 23, 2006 10:22 PM

[Y-Indology] History of toilets and sanitation (Videoon

Untouchability)

 

 

The video mentions "Manual scavenging" which involves involves

manual removal of human and animal excreta.

 

I am curious about how this custom evolved and how sanitation was

done in the past and in other cultures.

 

I think it was customary in India, and still quite common in rural

areas for people to "go to the fields", where the excreta does not

need to be removed. In fact in some regions people use the

term "going to the field/jungle" to mean going to the toilet.

 

Visiting remains of old palaces, one observes that toilets are

noticably missing. The oldest toilet that I remember having been

mentioned in the Red Fort (Agra or Delhi, I forget), supposedly used

by Mughals.

 

I think some of the early toilets in India simply had a hole in the

ground, there are still some in some older buildings. Others had an

opening in the back and required services of an "scavenger" for

cleaning. An improvement over these, which I think was introduced by

the railways, was use of container that could be taken out and

emptied. Municipalities that were organized during the British

period built public toilets and hired scavengers. The video

apparently refers to one such public toilet.

 

I have seen articles that suggest that a scavanger once hired to

clean a toilet, practically owned the right to clean it, because no

one else from the same community would be willing be to take his

right. The rights were sometimes given as a gift to a son-in-law.

 

Are there any historical studies about the subject (in India or

other cultures)?

 

Yashwant

 

PS: I have heard about a Sulabh Toilet museum in India, but I have

not seen it yet.

 

 

INDOLOGY, "Mikael Aktor" <aktor@i...> wrote:

>

> Yes, that was exactly what I was asking for - and the title of his

book (the photo was not very clear). Do you know?

>

> mikael

>

> -----------------------------

> Mikael Aktor, amanuensis, ph.d.

> Institut for Filosofi, Pædagogik og Religionsstudier, Syddansk

Universitet

> Tlf arb. 6550 3318 - Tlf hjem 3696 9054 - Mobil 2830 7394

>

> Bemærk ny e-mail adresse: aktor@i...

>

>

> ________________________________

>

> Fra: INDOLOGY på vegne af sujhon Patsy

> Sendt: lø 21-01-2006 01:03

> Til: INDOLOGY

> Emne: Re: SV: [Y-Indology] Provocative Video on Untouchability

>

>

>

> Are you asking about the Professor from London University who was

interviewed?

>

> Mikael Aktor <aktor@i...> wrote: Dear all,

>

> It is difficult to catch the name and title of the professor and

his book mentioned in this video. Could anyone here please spell it

out for me?

>

> Best regards,

> mikael

>

> -----------------------------

>

> Mikael Aktor, fixed-term lecturer, PhD

> University of Southern Denmark

>

> ________________________________

>

> Fra: INDOLOGY på vegne af david_russell_watson

> Sendt: to 19-01-2006 04:32

> Til: INDOLOGY

> Emne: [Y-Indology] Provocative Video on Untouchability

>

>

>

> Please see the video on untouchability at

> http://www.safarmer.com/Dalits/Untouchables_WMV3.wmv .

>

> David

>

>

>

>

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