Sulabh International is an

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

-based social service organization that works to promote

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy,

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

and social reforms through education. The organization counts 50,000 volunteers. Sulabh International is the largest nonprofit organization in India.

History

Sulabh was founded by Bindeshwar Pathak from the state of

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

in 1970, and has 50,000 volunteers. Innovations include a scavenging-free two-pit pourflush toilet (''Sulabh Shauchalaya''); safe and hygienic on-site human waste disposal technology; a new concept of maintenance and construction of pay-&-use

public toilet A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or pris ...

s, popularly known as Sulabh Complexes with bath, laundry and urinal facilities being used by about ten million people every day and generates bio-gas and

biofertilizer A biofertilizer is a substance containing living micro-organisms which, when applied to seeds, plant surfaces, or soil, colonize the rhizosphere or the interior of the plant and promotes growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary n ...

produced from

excreta Excretion is elimination of metabolic waste, which is an essential process in all organisms. In vertebrates, this is primarily carried out by the lungs, kidneys, and skin. This is in contrast with secretion, where the substance may have specifi ...

-based plants, low maintenance waste water treatment plants of medium capacity for institutions and industries. Other work includes setting up English-medium public school in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

and also a network of centres all over the country to train boys and girls from poor families, specially

scavenger Scavengers are animals that consume Corpse decomposition, dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a he ...

s, so that they can compete in open job market.

Institution

The United Nations Centre for Human Settlements has praised Sulabh's sanitation system as a global "Urban Best Practice" at the Habitat II conference held at

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey, in June 1996. The Economic and Social Council of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

granted Special Consultative Status to Sulabh in recognition of its work. Sulabh claims their plan on human waste disposal and social reforms has provided jobs directly to 35,000 people, and has created 10,000,000 (1 crore) man-days, making 240 towns scavenging free. Sulabh has established coordination with various national and international agencies, including

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

, BORDA, a German organisation, Commission of

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, GERES,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, CEEIC, HRIEE,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and Haskoning and Euroconsult, a Dutch firm. Sulabh found mention in page 124 of the

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

report for 2006. Sulabh was commended for bringing sanitation to the poor in India. In October 2007, Sulabh announced the design of a cheap toilet system that

recycle ReCycle is a music loop editor designed and developed by Sweden, Swedish software developers Propellerhead Software. It runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh based Personal Computer, PCs. The software debuted in 1994. The principal idea ...

s human waste into

biogas Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, Wastewater treatment, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic ...

and

fertilizer A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from liming materials or other non-nutrient soil amendments. Man ...

. Pathak has been conferred with the 2009

Stockholm Water Prize The Stockholm Water Prize is an annual award that recognizes outstanding achievements in water related activities. Over the past three decades, Stockholm Water Prize Laureates have come from across the world and represented a wide range of profes ...

for his contributions towards his work. Sulabh International awarded Gandhi Peace Prize for year 2016 jointly with Akshaya Patra Foundation in 2019.

Sulabh International Museum of Toilets

In Sulabh International's premises in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, the company runs a museum dedicated to the history of sanitation and toilets.

Criticism

The organization has been criticised by Mukul Sharma in his book ''Caste and Nature: Dalits and Indian Environmental Politics'' (2017). Sharma writes that the Brahmin and Gandhian activist Bindeshwar Pathak employs patronising and glorifying methods while dealing with caste based occupation like manual scavenging and sanitation work in general.

References

External links