decomposed with the contact of soil and keeping this principle in mind he invented, innovated and developed the ecological two pit compost flush toilet which was popularized by the name of Sulabh Shauchalaya or Sulabh Toilet.
In this Sulabh Shauchalaya technology there are two pits. When one pit is full, the incoming excreta is diverted to the second pit. In about two years, the excreta gets digested and becomes dry and pathogen free, thus safe for handling as manure. Digested sludge is odourless and is a good manure and soil-conditioner. This technological invention made a pathbreaking difference in the lives of untouchables.
With the advent of the Sulabh Shauchalaya, the women of the villages now go to the toilets with safety and dignity, without being affected by snake bite and unwanted social elements, girls also started going to schools etc. Had Dr. Pathak not invented this technology then there would have been no chance of ending the practice of manual cleaning of night soil and stopping defecation in the open.
The measure of success of the Sulabh two pit compost toilet is evident from the fact that United Nations Development Programme in its Human Development Report 2003 stated…. “pioneering work by Sulabh International, a non-governmental organization (NGO), has shown that human waste can be disposed of affordably and in a socially acceptable way….” More recently the BBC Horizons has also declared the Sulabh technologies as one of five unique inventions of the world.
Hon’ble Prime Minister’s clarion call to end the practice of defecation in the open from India and to provide toilets to each and every house by 2019, to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th Birth Anniversary, is based on the technology invented by Dr. Pathak.
After the conversion of bucket toilets and construction of Sulabh Shauchalayas millions of scavengers have been freed from the sub-human occupation and shackles of untouchability.
After liberating these untouchable human scavengers Dr. Pathak ensured their livelihood and sustenance by giving them education, vocational training in different trades enabling them to get gainful employment. They have now learnt beauty-care, tailoring, making pickle, papadam and masala, noodles, jam etc. Dr. Pathak has also helped them to perform rights, rituals and ceremonies of the Brahmins and upper caste. Now the untouchable scavengers, including those of Alwar and Tonk in Rajasthan have been freed from the shackles of untouchability.
In a landmark National function ‘Untouchability No More’ held on 13th April 2015 to mark the eve of the birth anniversary of Babasaheb Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, the untouchables shared a common meal with Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Home Minister of India and also exchanged food with the Brahmins and upper castes who partook food from the hands of the untouchables.
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