Sanitation in India: A Historico-Sociological Survey

Sanitation is now increasingly recognized as one of the most ‘publicly relevant issues' in our country. The book deals with why it is appropriate, rather, necessary for this issue to be duly considered as a field of historiosociological studies in the Indian academia. Further, the details of the habits and practices regarding sanitation which prevailed in different periods of our history have been discussed. Besides, an attempt has also been made to examine the sociopolitical and cultural conditions which forged and promoted the association of some communities with the tasks of sewage disposal, cleaning streets, etc. The assumption guiding the present endeavour, at least implicitly, is that the traditions and practices relating to sanitation belong to our cultural sphere and, therefore, deserve an important space on the agenda of studies and research in social sciences.