Activating Citizenship through NGO-Led Litigation
Shaping the Neoliberal State to Eradicate Manual Scavenging in India
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12930280 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alena Kahle (0000-0002-7764-0263, corresponding author), Ole Hammerslev (0000-0003-0214-2443, Lund University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 414-431 |
| Publication date | 2023-05-26 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Human Rights Practice (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1757-9619 • E-ISSN: 1757-9627 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jhuman/huad014 |
| OpenAlex | W4378376135 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 28 |
Sanitation work in India is largely carried out by the historically marginalized Dalits, formerly known as untouchables, without proper devices or safety gear, as so-called ‘manual scavenging’. To counter manual scavenging, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have turned to courts and litigation as a form of resistance. This brought about some successes: manual scavenging was repeatedly outlawed, and several high-profile court cases have ordered local governments to take very explicit steps to eradicate it. However, manual scavenging persists rampantly, leading several authors to argue that litigation has failed in its purpose. We critically evaluate this claim by examining the underlying root question: what purpose do NGOs ascribe to litigation in their efforts to eradicate manual scavenging in the first place? Our analysis is based on a multi-method, qualitative research approach combining analysis of documents of, and interviews with, a total of 23 NGOs. Using the lens of active citizenship, we conclude that NGOs seek to shift responsibility to the government, of which it has absolved itself under neoliberalism, remind the government of its duty to serve its citizens, and overall participate politically. Specific features of courts, such as mandamus and a mediation-oriented approach, were mentioned as uniquely enabling petitioners to exercise active citizenship and force government officials to at least consider manual scavengers’ interests
Biology · Citizenship · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Scavenging · Sociology · State (computer science · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Computer Science · Human Rights and Development · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Law
Can a human rights culture enable emancipation? Clearing some theoretical ground for the renewal of a critical sociology
Waste, Social Order, and Physical Disorder in Small-Town India
Realism and Social Science
Manual Scavenging
From Subjects to Citizens
The Legal Defect in the Conditional Prohibition of Manual Scavenging in India
Scatologising Hindu Eschatology
Litigation as a Strategy to Hold Governments Accountable for Implementing the Right to Health
Linking Social Rights to Active Citizenship for the Most Vulnerable
Neo-liberalism
Rights and Social Movements
Manual Scavenging in Mumbai
Formality and informality in an Indian urban waste economy
Caste Question
The Uses and Abuses of Inequality
Associations, active citizenship, and the quality of democracy in Brazil and Mexico
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |