Unseen: The Truth About India’s Manual Scavengers

01 March, 2014

Bhasha Singh

Translated from Hindi by Reenu Talwar Penguin Books India

320 pages, Rs 299

In many parts of India, the inhuman practice of manual scavenging continues to thrive in spite of a law banning it. Moreover, the people forced to carry out this degrading work remain invisible to the rest of us, pushed to the margins of society. Based on more than a decade of research, Unseen unveils the horrific plight of manual scavengers across 11 states while also recording their ongoing struggle for self-empowerment. Previously published in Hindi to both critical and commercial success, this is an explosive work of reportage on a burning issue.