Vimal Kumar transforms pain into power to create manual scavenging-free world

Shrouded in secrecy and humiliation manual scavenging is an ageold custom that has endured generations in Indias crowded cities and remote regions More than just a relic of a repressive caste system this dehumanising professionmdashwhich requires workers to scrub human excrement with their bare handsmdashviolates fundamental human rights Despite laws and regulations aimed at abolition many people are still trapped in this cycle of indignity and discriminationDr Vimal Kumar born into a family affected by manual scavenging exemplifies educations transformational power and resolve He formed the Movement for Scavenger Community MSC which advocates for the rights and dignity of individuals pushed to societys outskirtsldquoWe were the untouchables of the untouchablesrdquo said Dr Vimal Kumar as he talked about his early life in Haryanarsquos Ladwa Kumar said his peers and teachers addressed him as ldquojamadarni ka betardquo sweeperrsquos son Kumar belongs to the Chuhura Tribe a group within the Dalit Bahujan communityKumar he said was the first in their family to be enrolled in a school however he added that it was not a pleasant experienceHis parents worked as sanitation staffers in the same school he studied atldquoEnrolling 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 studyingrdquo Kumar said before continuing that bullying did not stop despite changing schools laterKumar throughout his early life undertook odd jobs while studying to support his family and to keep him away from scavenging workHowever Vimalrsquos struggles were far from over for his caste identity took centre stage even when he entered the workforceldquoIn 2002 after graduation I got a job as a computer teacher in a collegerdquo he recalled and added ldquoA 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 vainI 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 everythingrdquo Vimal said reflecting on the incidentHe was discriminated against over his caste identity when he pursued higher studies in social work after quitting his teaching job ldquoI was the only Dalit student in class despite the discrimination I persevered to complete my degreerdquo he saidHaving gotten his Masters in social work Vimal got to work with multiple nongovernmental organisations unbeknownst to the fact that they barely made an impact on ground level However one opportunity changed the discourse of his lifeAssociating 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 MSCKMSC was started with the idea of educating children of the communityKumar 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 ldquoWe 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 etcrdquoHe said MSC has opened similar centres and has seen children associated with them be proactive in school and win competitionsVimalrsquos 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 AmericaldquoI 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 marvelWith a fresh lens Vimal focused on MSC and its initiatives once he obtained his PhD in 2022Kumar completed his PhD in 2022 from TISS MumbaiKumar said ldquoWe 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 programndashFellows 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 geographyrdquoldquoWe stay together and network understand problems and help each other with areaspecific problems And then the community leaders go back and open resource centres in their bastis with our helprdquo he further saidWhile the MSC began with education as its focal point Kumar and his team have moved and adopted a holistic approachldquoWe teach train people to become community leaders and encourage them to begin alternative work as part of our renewed holistic approachrdquo said Vimal and added ldquoWe are currently helping a fellow from Tamil Nadu who has studied textile design set up a communityled apparel brandrdquoHe is also elated that his work is reaching a larger audience and the movement is getting support through large donations ldquoWe keep receiving small donations but this year we received our first organizational donation for MSC from Rohini Nilekani I am truly grateful for thisrdquo says VimalKumar wishes to take his expand his movement and end the practice of manual scavenging globallyWhen asked about his further plans with the movement he sheepishly expressed his wish to take his wish to take his movement globalldquoThis may sound farfetched to some but I wish to end the practice of manual scavenging globally through my movementrdquo Kumar said Though the practice is mostly associated with India it is a littleknown fact that manual scavenging prevails across South Asian countries or those termed as lsquoGlobal Southrsquo like Bangladesh Pakistan Malaysia and also in Africa He added that he is being invited to Bangladesh to work towards eradication of manual scavenging