Pioneer of public toilets in India
Bindeshwar Pathak was an Indian sociologist, social reformer and social entrepreneur. He was the founder of Sulabh International, a pioneering non-profit India-based social service organisation promoting human rights, environmental sanitation, hygiene, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education.
Born in village Rampur Baghel, Bihar in an orthodox Brahmin family, he graduated in Sociology in 1964, earned his Master’s degree in 1980 and his PhD on Liberation of scavengers through Low Cost Sanitation in 1985.
When 5 or 6 years old, an incident left an indelible impression. He had accidentally touched the hand of a domestic Dalit maid. His grandmother insisted he had been polluted, and to purify him, made him drink the panchagavya (a mix of curd, milk, ghee), and cow’s urine and dung and also poured Ganga-jal on him.
1968 was a turning point when he joined the Bhangi-Mukti (scavengers’ liberation) cell of the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee at Patna as a translator, and later, as publicity in-charge and was influenced by Gandhi’s ideals. Living with scavenger families, he was disturbed to see them risk their lives, cleaning human waste from the pit latrines and carrying it for disposal.
He eventually felt that academics alone would not solve social problems. On 5 March 1970, he established the non-profit Sulabh (public bathrooms) Swachchh Shauchalaya Sansthaan, renamed in 1980, as Sulabh International taking a loan of Rs. 50,000.
He developed a two-pit pour-flush ecological compost toilet technology, the Sulabh Shauchalaya System which could be conveniently built in Indian villages. By tying them to fermentation plants, he produced odour-free biogas and released clean water rich in phosphorus, etc. important constituents of organic manure, ensuring cleanliness and preventing greenhouse gas emission.
Initially adverse economic conditions made him even contemplate suicide. However, in 1973, an order to build two private toilets at Arrah district, Bihar for which he received Rs. 500 proved to be a catalyst. Soon the system spread to neighbouring states.
Pathak introduced in 1974, the pay-and-use system for maintaining the community toilets and bath. In 1994, the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets was set up to show development of toilets through the ages. A vocational center in Alwar, Rajasthan, in 2003 trained scavengers in various trades.
His family and fellow Brahmins found his obsession with building public restrooms disgusting, but Bindeshwar was keen on realising Gandhi’s dreams. Today thanks to Sulabh International, over 1.5 million household Shauchalayas constructed across India, generate around Rs. 500 crores every year and more than 20 million people use them. His 50,000 employees maintain over 10,000 public toilets across the country, in slums and at public, religious and tourist places without burdening the public exchequer.
Bindeshwar was conferred with several national and international awards like the Padma Bhushan in 1991, the Energy Globe Award 2007, Stockholm Water Prize 2009, the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award for Environment and the Gandhi Peace award in 2019. April 14th, 2016 was declared the Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak Day by New York City. In 2019, he was as a guest contestant on Kaun Banega Crorepati to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
A prolific writer and speaker, Bindeshwar Pathak was also an author, specially known for his book The Road to Freedom. On 12 July 2017, Pathak’s book The Making of a Legend, on the life of Narendra Modi, was launched. In 2020, Namaste, Bindeshwar Pathak, an inspiring book detailing his work was published. His net worth as a sociologist was Rs.306 crores.
He was a visionary who made significant contributions to societal advancement and the uplift of the underprivileged and a cleaner India. He died of cardiac arrest in New Delhi aged 80 survived by his wife and three children.
Radhakrishnan is a Pune based freelance journalist, poet and short story writer.