In India, being the son of a sweeper (the lowest caste in Indian society) is an almost certain sentence to a life of manual street labor, such as cleaning up the human waste left on the train tracks and sewers. To many of the upper castes, the people doing this work are invisible and the problem of discrimination is unrecognized by those who are privileged and have never faced prejudice themselves. Vimal Kimar decided to solve the problems of his sweeper community by founding the Movement for Scavenger Community. Together, they are using their own inspiration, ideas and funds to work on solutions for the problems caused by being an outcaste. As Vimar Kamal continues his work for a just society in India, he takes inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr.'s quote " True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice."

4,199 Views

 Your Name: Email:
  • Jeff Dase

    You think it's just where you are at (i.e., America) as it relates to discrimination but it's happening all over and from the same ethnic background. It's inspiring to see them progress despite the obstacles in their society. Similar to inspiration in the USA. Despite ... RISE ABOVE!

  • Amit Kumar Hela

    Sir you have come up with a grave problem within the society. Obviously mannual scavenging is an inhumane practice but sweeping and mannual scavenging is a complete different task. I reside in Kolkata and my great grandmother also performed the same duty but as the time progresses people tends to leave the scavenging job, atleast in Kolkata. When you have no job, you will not be choosy enough. But as the time progresses you need to look out for different ventures and exactly that's what my grandfather did. If you want to promote education, it's completely fine then but mixing two different jobs is not a fruitful decesion to me. The scenario of Kolkata is complete different, I have many upper caste friends but I didn't feel any kind of discrimination against me. I have Pandits, Muslims, Telis, dwivedis, chaturvedis, Gangulis, Chakrabortis and many as friend of mine but I didn't feel out the same thing what you are portraying in the video.I am associated with a group named as HELA SAMAJ COMMITTEE WEST BENGAL and we are also planning to start a free coaching centre for everyone as we believe if we don't allow any upper caste students to come in and get knowledge, then it will be exactly like same discrimination what you were talking about in this video. I hope and pray to God that you spread education and change the lives of many people. Education is a platform wherein we may work together for the hollistic development of the community as a whole.

  • Roseanna

    My heart is filled with admiration for this movement of sweepers ! Thank you for this film

  • sadhana

    Thousands of salutes to you Mr.Vimal Kumar,You are a torch bearer for this country.May God bless you to have your mission fulfilled and guide this nation like no body did it ever before.

  • Sandip Sheta

    Mahatma Gandhi said “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” He also said “Sanitation is more important than independence”. While staying in the west, though Gandhi strongly ridiculed many western customs, he was impressed by the level of sanitation followed by the people.

  • lis

    That there are people striving to make it better for ALL human beings because we are all human. It's hard to believe we as a people we allow this kind of treatment of others... I know it exists and it still makes my heart hurt knowing that people think that it is the only way.

  • Diana

    I was most impressed by your perseverance and ability to mobilize communities to believe in themselves and write a different story. Very impressive.

  • Diane

    Beautiful inspiration, beautiful person. Hope for the future.

  • Page 1

  • Learn more about the Movement for Scavenger Community. 
  • Read about Gandhi's ideas about the caste system and how they changed over his years of activism.
  • As you consider jobs in society that are looked down upon, what can you do today to extend equality and justice to those who work in the service industries?

Related Videos