| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
For Gandhi, swaraj was premised upon the ethic of self-mastery and self-reliance, including taking responsibility for personal and public hygiene, which Gandhi himself was keen to practise and instil in his followers. While the article shows that much of Gandhi's biography and development occurred by chance, it focuses ultimately on the persistence of 'night scavenging' in India today, perhaps the starkest failure of Gandhi's swaraj campaign. The fate of Gujarat's numerous Bhangis, who remain trapped in lives of misery, filth and danger, is contrasted to that of England's earlier 'night workers', whose extinction as a professional class-it is argued-was brought about by chance events rather than by political design, intention or political campaigning. Ultimately, though, some people still have to do 'dirty' work which, in some cases, may be attractive even in India.
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