On Gandhi and Sanitation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15720850 |
|---|---|
| Authors | P C Joshi (0000-0002-5857-0378, University of Delhi, corresponding author), Prashant Khattri (University of Allahabad) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 210-224 |
| Publication date | 2019-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2277-436X • E-ISSN: 2632-4369 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/2277436x19881247 |
| OpenAlex | W2993476711 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 11 |
It was Gandhi who gave centrality to the debate on sanitation from the perspective of bio-power. The category of sanitation for him was not something to be used as a form of control but an instrument for transforming the structural caste-based hierarchy. Gandhian idea on sanitation resonates well with the anthropological notion of holism. He has visualised sanitation across the domains of soma, polis and psyche. Sanitation for Gandhi is not limited by its technical definition requiring only technical solutions but in its expansion that assumes a metaphorical significance. For Gandhi, swaraj (self-rule) in political sphere can only be achieved if there is a collective sense of sanitation and hygiene. The field of sanitation, therefore, can be seen as a testing ground for the ability and preparedness to achieve political swaraj. Sanitation reforms for him are based on reforming the collective sense of social self. This kind of reformation leads sanitation into the domain of the ‘moral-political’ that invoke collective and municipal efforts from the state to address insanitation. It is within these contexts that the article tries to understand the Gandhian philosophy on sanitation that traverses through the conceptions of bio-power, caste hierarchies, colonialism, scientism, nationalism and morality
Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Holism · Open defecation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sanitation · Sociology · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · Law · Medicine · Philosophy · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Water Governance and Infrastructure
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |