India's humanitarian and sanitation crisis is a complicated, multidimensional problem. The current condition of affairs is a result of several issues, such as social inequality, poverty, and a lack of education.

Lack of access to sanitary facilities and clean water is one of India's most urgent humanitarian crises. Just 49% of Indians have access to safely run sanitation facilities, according to a 2017 World Health Organization assessment. This implies that about 50% of people are compelled to urinate outside, which is bad for their health and general well-being.

Waterborne infections like cholera and diarrhea, which are leading causes of mortality in India, might spread as a result of open defecation. Additionally, as youngsters exposed to excrement are more likely to have stunted growth, it may result in malnutrition. Furthermore, especially for women and girls, open defecation can be a cause of humiliation and shame.

In recent years, the Indian government has improved access to sanitation to some extent. There's still a long way to go, though. The government will need to make investments in social transformation, infrastructure, and education to attain universal access to sanitation.

Poverty is another significant humanitarian problem in India. Nearly 22% of Indians, according to the World Bank, are considered to be poor. This indicates that they are unable to pay for the necessities of life, such as clothes, food, and shelter.

There are several detrimental effects of poverty on one's health and general well-being. The likelihood of malnutrition, unhygienic living circumstances, and restricted access to healthcare is higher among the poor. They also have a higher chance of becoming the targets of abuse and exploitation.

In recent years, the Indian government has achieved considerable success in lowering poverty. There's still a long way to go, though. The government must make investments in job development, healthcare, and education if it is to lower poverty.

Another significant problem in India is social inequality. The intricate caste structure that divides the nation divides people into many social categories according to where they were born. There are several detrimental effects of the caste system on economic and social mobility.

Lower caste members are more likely to be impoverished, to have less access to healthcare and education, and to experience prejudice. In the last several years, the Indian government has addressed socioeconomic disparity to some extent. There's still a long way to go, though. The government must enact laws that support economic opportunity and social inclusion in order to lessen social disparity.

India's humanitarian and sanitation crisis is a complicated, multidimensional problem. The current condition of affairs is a result of several issues, such as social inequality, poverty, and a lack of education. In recent years, the Indian government has addressed these concerns with considerable success. There's still a long way to go, though.

India In 2022

Legislative and public engagement was insufficient while passing laws and policies that undermined the rights of religious minorities and human rights advocates. Religious minorities were subjected to discriminatory and violent government persecution, and popular figures and political figures openly expressed their contempt for them regularly with no consequences.

With impunity, Muslim family homes and businesses were subjected to punitive demolitions. Minority rights advocates who demonstrated peacefully were portrayed and handled as a danger to public order. Repressive laws, such as those about counterterrorism, were often employed to stifle criticism. Authorities used digital tools, including unauthorized surveillance, to frighten human rights activists. Violence and pervasive discrimination against Adivasis and other underprivileged populations, including Dalits, persisted.

Freedom Of Expression And Association

The Supreme Court, in a positive move, put a 152-year-old sedition law, Section 124a of the Penal Code, on hold until the government reexamines it on May 11.

Unlawful and politically motivated limitations were imposed on civil society groups and human rights defenders, including activists, journalists, students, and academics, in an ongoing pattern of harassment and intimidation.

The lower chamber of parliament forbade the use of certain common terms during parliamentary discussions on July 14. These terms included "corrupt," "sexual harassment," "criminal," "eyewash," "incompetent," and "hypocrisy." The prohibition was an attempt to control the speeches made by parliamentarians from the opposition.

The Income Tax Department allegedly violated the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act on September 7th, when it carried out concerted raids, dubbed "surveys," on the offices of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as Oxfam, the Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation, and the Center for Policy Research.

Large-scale operations against the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates were conducted throughout India on September 27 and 28. More than 300 members and top leaders of PFI were taken into custody. Then, in spite of the fact that no charges were made against those who were detained and no trials were held, the Ministry of Home Affairs declared PFI to be a "unlawful association" under the Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA), a counterterrorism law, due to its purported involvement in the "funding of terrorism and terrorist activities."

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (2002), which grants the Enforcement Directorate, India's main investigative body for financial crimes, the authority to make arrests, seize property, and conduct searches and seizures, was affirmed by the Supreme Court on July 27. These authorities have been misused time and time again to suppress civil society and quell opposition.

During the year, the authorities frequently employed travel bans abroad to suppress independent voices. These voices included journalist Rana Ayyub, human rights activist and former head of Amnesty International India Aakar Patel, and at least two Kashmiri journalists who were scheduled to give speeches abroad about the state of human rights in India.

Arbitrary Arrests And Detentions

Arbitrary Arrests:

The administration used harsh and oppressive measures to crack down on opponents, making arbitrary arrests and even not following due process.

Jignesh Mevani is an independent Dalit member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly. He was granted bail by an Assamese court, but he was promptly taken into custody again on April 25. After he made a tweet on Twitter urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep the peace in Gujarat, where there was religious violence, he was arrested for the first time.

Prominent human rights advocate Teesta Setalvad, together with former police officers Sanjeev Bhatt and RB Sreekumar, were taken into custody by the authorities on June 25 on allegations of forgery and evidence fabrication. The accusations seemed to be retaliation for their assistance to Gujarat riot victims in 2002.

Co-founder of the independent fact-checking website ALT News, Mohammed Zubair, was detained by police in New Delhi on June 28 for allegedly "hurting religious sentiments" and "promoting enmity" on Twitter for criticizing growing censorship and denouncing discrimination against minorities.

Human rights campaigner Javed Mohammed, his wife, and their daughter were among several people arrested by police on June 10 for allegedly being the "key conspirators" behind the sectarian violence that broke out in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

Prolonged Detention:

Under the Maharashtra state UAPA, eleven human rights activists remained in detention without charge or trial. They included civil rights activists Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, and Vernon Gonsalves; academics Shoma Sen and Hany Babu; tribal rights activist Mahesh Raut; poet Sudhir Dhawale; lawyer Surendra Gadling; and three members of the cultural group Kabir Kala Manch, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap, and Sagar Gorkhe. The National Investigation Agency, India's primary counterterrorism agency, detained them between 2018 and 2020 on suspicion of inciting violence at the 2018 Bhima Koregaon festivities outside of Pune.

In February 2020, at least 53 people, predominantly Muslims, were killed in religious violence in Delhi, and at least eight Muslim students, council members, and human rights activists were still being held without charge or trial under the UAPA.

Sedition laws and the UAPA kept journalist Siddique Kappan and three others in custody. When Siddique Kappan was apprehended in October 2020, he was his route to Hathras District in Uttar Pradesh to investigate a gang-related rape and killing of a young Dalit lady.

Unlawful Attacks And Killings

During the Ram Navami and Ramzan festivals in April and June, there were incidents of communal violence in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Rajasthan, and West Bengal. Several political figures and public servants in Madhya Pradesh issued remarks shortly after the incident, threatening to demolish the houses of the demonstrators. Among them were the home minister of Madhya Pradesh, the commissioner of police, and the deputy inspector general of police from Khargone. "Whichever houses were involved in stone pelting, we will ensure they are turned into piles of stones themselves," the latter was cited as adding.

After making these remarks, the authorities in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh are accused of forcibly demolishing the private property of those who are suspected of rioting, allegedly without providing any prior warning or according to other due process obligations. Muslims who were struggling financially owned the majority of the properties that were destroyed.

The media revealed on June 10th that police in Ranchi, Jharkhand state, had shot bystanders, thrown stones at demonstrators, and used batons on them. When a bystander was walking back from the market, the cops shot him six times. Police shot two protestors, one of them a 15-year-old boy, fatally in the head.

Freedom Of Assembly

Restrictions On The Right To Protest:

New limitations on the right to peaceful assembly and speech were put in place by the government. The Karnataka High Court upheld a state injunction on March 3rd, confining any rallies to a certain area within Bengaluru, the state capital.

Human rights activist Sandeep Pandey and seven other people were taken into custody by the Gujarat state police on September 26. Pandey was scheduled to march and demand that gang-rape survivor Bilkis Bano get a public apology. The Gujarati government has freed the prisoners found guilty of raping Bilkis Bano.

Excessive Use Of Force:

In addition to violating people's human rights, the police also employed illegal force and abused the legal system to intimidate and quiet criticism.

In a video released by many media sites on June 10, police in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, struck arrested male protestors with batons several times. A demonstrator reported having an arm fracture. On social media, lawmakers from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and retired police personnel welcomed the use of force rather than denouncing it.

On October 4, the Gujarat state police publicly flogged nine men with lathis (batons) in front of onlookers as they were tied to a pole in Kheda city for allegedly hurling stones during a Hindu holiday celebration.

Freedom Of Religion

A disproportionate amount of criminal laws were applied on Muslims and other religious minorities. Muslims were frequently detained by the police on charges of "inciting animosity between groups" and "inciting religious sentiments" in relation to things like praying, carrying out lawful commercial dealings, getting married to Hindu women consensually, and consuming beef.

Many Muslims faced criminal charges or administrative fines in May, July, and August for leading namaz in public and private residences.

Some Hindu groups have publicly called for an economic boycott of Muslim-owned companies in the states of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, and Haryana. The Karnataka state minister of law, legislative affairs, and legislation said on March 23 that non-Hindus are not permitted to do any type of business in the vicinity of Hindu temples and establishments. During the Hindu holiday of Dussehra, calls were also made in Karnataka to boycott meat stores owned by Muslims. The mayor of South Delhi issued an order on April 4th, prohibiting the opening of any meat stores during the Hindu holiday of Navratri, which was mostly owned by Muslims.

Hindu priests in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh have openly called for violence against Muslims, including the rape and killing of Muslim women, and they have done so with impunity.

Without consulting the public or the legislature, the Karnataka state administration approved a bill on May 17 that makes weddings in which the accused victim's family or coworkers are accused of forcing them to convert to a different religion illegal. These conversions were illegal and may result in up to ten years in jail. Five individuals were detained in Karnataka on November 11th, 2011 on charges of coerced conversion. A similar ordinance was approved in Uttar Pradesh in 2021, but accusations of forced conversion led to assaults and other forms of violence against Christians there.

Discrimination

Hate Crimes Based On Caste:

Hate crimes were committed with impunity, including violence against Adivasis and Dalits. In 2021, there were reports of over 50,000 alleged crimes against Scheduled Caste persons and over 9,000 crimes against Adivasis. Dalits, Adivasis, and members of other marginalized groups were disproportionately represented among the more than 75% of inmates in pretrial custody in India.

Media reports throughout the course of the year revealed that the Dalit community, particularly Dalit children, was subjected to escalating levels of violence and persecution by members of dominant castes. This violence included deaths caused by the Dalit population exercising fundamental rights like drawing water from a communal well.

At least 19 sanitation workers choked to death after being forced to clean septic tanks and sewers by the police, political authorities, and private companies, despite the official prohibition on manual scavenging. Approximately 75% of sanitation employees in India were members of one of the Scheduled Castes.

Indigenous People's Right:

The Forest Conservation Rules were enacted on June 28 by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. These rules allow private companies to clear forests without the free, prior, and informed agreement of forest residents, especially Adivasi peoples, who identify as Indigenous.

Jharkhand police forcibly imprisoned independent journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh on July 17 in reprisal for his in-depth research on the rights of Adivasi peoples in the state of Jharkhand's Giridih district.

During the year, more than sixty Adivasi people, environmental human rights defenders, and forest dwellers were arrested for opposing a steel project by Jindal Steel Works in the Odisha state village of Dhinkia. The project was approved by the government on the basis of a fabricated environmental impact assessment.

Jammu And Kashmir

Freedom Of Expression:

A number of journalists from Kashmir were taken into custody, including Sajad Gul, Aasif Sultan, and Fahad Shah. Local courts granted them bail, but they were almost immediately taken into custody again under the UAPA. Journalists Aakash Hassan and Sanna Irshad Mattoo were barred from leaving the country by immigration officials without a court order, warrant, or even a written justification, as part of an ongoing assault on freedom of expression and movement. Khurram Parvez, a human rights advocate, has been jailed under the UAPA since November 2021 and has not been given a trial.

Unlawful Killings:

Based on government data, the largest percentage of police-related deaths in India occurred in Jammu and Kashmir between April 2020 and March 2022. According to media accounts, armed factions murdered at least 19 individuals in 2022, seven of them were members of the Hindu minority in the area.

Right To Privacy

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act (2022) was passed by parliament on April 6 and permits police officers to take biological samples, such as blood, semen, hair, swabs, and DNA analyses, from all arrested individuals, including those in administrative detention. They can also collect signatures and handwriting samples. According to the Act, they can be kept in a central database without a data protection framework in place for up to 75 years.

On August 25, the Supreme Court declined to release an investigative report it had ordered about claims that government agencies had used Pegasus malware to surreptitiously monitor the mobile devices of journalists, lawmakers, scientists, and human rights advocates.

Women's Rights

Domestic and sexual abuse were still committed by offenders with impunity.

The Karnataka state government forbade women and girls from wearing headscarves, or hijabs, at public schools. The Karnataka High Court maintained the prohibition in March. With a divided decision, the Supreme Court sent the matter to a higher court in October. The prohibition persisted in the interim, which led to continuous harassment of Muslim women and girls.

Women's rights have made some progress. The Supreme Court ruled on May 26 that police personnel cannot verbally or physically assault sex workers or their children, while still upholding their right to live in dignity. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971 was progressively construed by the Supreme Court on September 29, granting all women the right to an abortion regardless of their marital status. The ruling that recognized marital rape as a type of violence against women under the MTP Act was a step in the right direction as the Indian government had previously refused to make it a crime.

Failure To Tackle Climate Crisis

India strengthened its goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 when it amended its NDC in August. India's climate objective and policies, however, were deemed "highly insufficient" by the Climate Action Tracker.

Environmental Degradation

The government's response to floods and air pollution was ineffective, and it lacked proper procedures for disaster planning. Assam, a state in northeast India, continued to be at risk from severe flooding that killed over 4.8 million people in July. India had average temperatures up to 4.5˚C above usual starting in April. This was especially bad for individuals who were impoverished and worked in specific occupations including street vending, farming, and daily wage labor. Beginning in October, Delhi's air quality significantly declined, mostly as a result of vehicle emissions, burning of stubble, and the usage of firecrackers during the Diwali celebration, all of which violate people's rights to life and health.

Conclusion
This study argues that it is challenging to recognize cleanliness as a right when it is interpreted to mean only providing resources. Social inequities including caste, class, and gender that surface during and after the program's implementation are frequently ignored by sanitation programs. The SBM initiative treats Dalit manual scavengers as prospective laborers or service providers instead than active receivers, trivializing their terrible situation. The program's creation and upkeep of sanitary facilities depends heavily on the Dalit community's inexpensive labor supply, which exposes a serious injustice.

As a result, while assessing sanitation advancements in the context of human rights, we must consider whether allocating resources or lessening human suffering should be the primary emphasis of our assessment of India's right to cleanliness. Amartya Sen's theory of justice offered a much-needed shift in perspective when addressing the unconscionable unfairness that persists in our society. The study makes a case for acknowledging the unfair connection-which has gone unnoticed in both past and present policy interventions-between caste and hygiene.

The tyranny in society would persist even if the economic caste structure is changed. To rectify this barbaric behavior, the caste identity itself must be destroyed-the "annihilation of caste."