Question map
"Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan' is a national campaign to
Explanation
Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan is the National Campaign for Dignity and Eradication of Manual Scavenging, focused on the eradication of the inhuman practice of manual scavenging and comprehensive rehabilitation of manual[3] scavengers in India. The campaign was launched by Jan Sahas in 2001 and has proven to be a very innovative and effective program to end manual scavenging[4]. By 2002, Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan had become a coalition of 30 community-based organizations from 13 Indian states working to encourage manual scavengers to voluntarily leave the practice[5]. The campaign's primary objective is not related to rehabilitation of homeless persons (Option A), sex workers (Option B), or bonded laborers (Option D), but specifically targets the elimination of manual scavenging—a caste-based discriminatory practice—and the dignified rehabilitation of those engaged in it. Therefore, option C accurately describes the purpose of this national campaign.
Sources- [4] https://idsn.org/wp-content/uploads/user_folder/pdf/New_files/Key_Issues/Manual_scavenging/Maila_Mukti_Yatra_2012-13_-_Note.pdf
- [5] https://www.hrw.org/report/2014/08/25/cleaning-human-waste/manual-scavenging-caste-and-discrimination-india
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Full viewThis question punishes aspirants who ignore the 'Civil Society' aspect of the syllabus. It wasn't a government scheme but a massive NGO-led movement (Jan Sahas) that forced the 2013 legislation. Strategy: Track major social movements (like Narmada Bachao, Safai Karamchari Andolan) alongside government acts.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Is Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan a national campaign to rehabilitate homeless and destitute persons and provide them with suitable sources of livelihood?
- Statement 2: Is Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan a national campaign to release sex workers from their practice and provide them with alternative sources of livelihood?
- Statement 3: Is Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan a national campaign to eradicate the practice of manual scavenging and rehabilitate manual scavengers?
- Statement 4: Is Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan a national campaign to release bonded labourers from bondage and rehabilitate them?
- Explicitly names Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan as a national campaign focused on dignity and eradication of manual scavenging.
- States the campaign's purpose as 'Comprehensive Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers', indicating rehabilitation focus but targeted to manual scavengers rather than broadly to all homeless/destitute.
- Contains the exact objective: 'To rehabilitate the homeless and destitute persons and provide them with suitable source of livelihood.'
- This line shows such a rehabilitation-and-livelihood objective exists in some programme text, but the passage does not link this objective to Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan.
Shows the pattern that 'Abhiyaan' (campaign) names are used for national initiatives launched by a government ministry (e.g., Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan).
A student could infer that a scheme named 'Rashtriya ... Abhiyaan' might similarly be a centrally launched campaign and then check ministry notifications or programme descriptions to verify its objectives.
Provides concrete facts about the scale and needs of the urban homeless (lack of night shelters, ID documents), highlighting typical rehabilitation needs addressed by policies.
One could use this to reason that a campaign claiming to rehabilitate homeless persons would likely include provisions for shelters, identity documentation, and access to services—so check if Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan lists these components.
Gives an historical example (Sharada Sadan/Mukti Sadan) where shelters plus vocational training were used to make destitute persons self-reliant.
A student could compare the program elements (shelter + vocational training) with the stated components of Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan to judge whether it fits the rehabilitation + livelihood model.
Lists national livelihood programmes (NRLM, NULM, PMKVY) as established mechanisms for providing skill development and livelihood access.
Use this to test whether Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan partners with or resembles these missions (e.g., targets urban/rural livelihoods or skill training) to assess its livelihood provision claim.
Describes MGNREGA as a major statutory programme aimed at livelihood security—illustrating the kind of large-scale intervention that provides livelihoods to vulnerable groups.
A student could check whether Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan coordinates with or complements national livelihood guarantees like MGNREGA when claiming to provide suitable livelihood sources.
- Explicitly names Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan and describes its purpose.
- States the campaign encouraged manual scavengers to voluntarily leave the practice and notes thousands were 'liberated', indicating focus on manual scavenging rather than sex work.
- Contains the line 'To release the sex workers from their practice', showing some initiatives aim to rehabilitate sex workers and provide livelihoods.
- The passage does not mention Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan by name, so it does not directly link that organization to this objective.
Shows the Government launches nationwide 'Abhiyaan' campaigns (e.g., 'Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao') to address social discrimination and promote welfare.
A student could check whether 'Rashtriya ... Abhiyaan' follows this naming/policy pattern and is therefore likely to be a government-led social campaign addressing vulnerable groups.
Describes another national 'Abhiyaan' (Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan) launched by a central ministry to address a social problem and provide helpline/support.
One could infer that similarly named campaigns may be ministry-backed and provide outreach or alternative services, so verify which ministry (if any) sponsors Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan.
Mentions trafficking and 'flesh trade' involving specific communities, linking sex work/trafficking with identified social problems in India.
A student might use this to justify looking for programmes aimed at those communities (e.g., targeted rehabilitation or livelihood schemes) when investigating Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan.
Lists PIL categories including bonded labour and exploitation, indicating legal and policy attention to forced/exploitative labour situations.
This suggests routes (court/PIL) and policy frameworks exist to support release/rehabilitation of exploited persons; a student could check whether Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan operates within such frameworks.
Supreme Court recognition that right to life includes right to livelihood and that evicted persons should be provided alternative accommodation/livelihood.
This precedent supports the plausible policy principle that programmes seeking to remove people from certain livelihoods should offer alternatives; one could test whether Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan explicitly follows this principle.
- Explicitly names Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan as the 'National Campaign for Dignity and Elimination of Manual Scavenging'.
- States the campaign was launched to end manual scavenging and has liberated manual scavengers.
- Describes Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan as a coalition campaign encouraging manual scavengers to leave the practice.
- Provides outcome evidence: thousands of women 'liberated' through the campaign, indicating rehabilitation/exit activity.
- Document title explicitly links Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan to eradication of manual scavenging and comprehensive rehabilitation.
- Positions the Abhiyan as a national campaign addressing both eradication and rehabilitation of manual scavengers.
Describes a nation-wide campaign aimed at cleaning public spaces and 'doing away with manual scavenging', showing such campaigns have explicit sanitation/manual-scavenging goals.
A student could compare the language, scope, and timeframe of this described campaign with descriptions of Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan (from other sources) to see if they match in objective and scale.
Explains Swachh Bharat Abhiyan as a collective national sanitation campaign, giving a pattern of how India runs nationwide cleanliness drives.
Use this pattern to check whether Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan is similarly structured (national, citizen participation, sanitation focus) which would support it being a national campaign against manual scavenging.
Shows official recognition of 'manual scavenger families' in SECC 2011 as a distinct vulnerable category eligible for welfare, indicating government programs often target manual scavengers for rehabilitation.
A student could infer that national campaigns addressing sanitation often include rehabilitation components and then look for evidence that Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan included such welfare/rehabilitation measures.
Provides historical/social context linking caste, poverty, and manual menial occupations (like scavenging), suggesting campaigns against manual scavenging are both social and policy issues.
Apply this context to expect that a credible national campaign (like Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan) would address social stigma and rehabilitation, prompting checks for such components in its description.
Notes Gandhi's promotion of manual work (including scavenging) as social practice, illustrating historical approaches to manual scavenging that differ from eradication/rehabilitation models.
Use this as a contrast: if Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan is framed as eradication and rehabilitation, it represents a different, policy-led approach than historical integrationist views—so look for explicit modern policy language.
- Explicitly names Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan as a national campaign focused on elimination of manual scavenging.
- Describes the campaign's launch and its activity of liberating manual scavengers, not bonded labourers.
- Title identifies Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan as a campaign for eradication of manual scavenging and rehabilitation of manual scavengers.
- Shows the campaign's stated focus is manual scavenging, not releasing bonded labourers from bondage.
Explains that bonded labour is a recognized form of exploitation in India and has been criminalised, showing the issue is a subject of national legal and policy concern.
A student could take this rule (bonded labour is a declared crime) and check whether national campaigns or programmes have been launched to implement the law—e.g., look for an Indian government campaign named Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan related to bonded labour release.
Defines 'bonded labour' and lists central statutes (Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976) indicating institutional mechanisms for abolition and rehabilitation.
Using the existence of statutory abolition and rehabilitation provisions, a student could search for national-level initiatives or campaigns (by name) that operationalise these statutory duties, such as programmes to release and rehabilitate bonded labourers.
Mentions 'Right not to be subjected to bonded labor and to be rehabilitated after release' as a legal/constitutional concern, implying state responsibility for rehabilitation.
A student could use this constitutional framing to infer that any legitimate national campaign addressing bonded labour would include rehabilitation components and then verify if Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan includes such components.
Lists 'Bonded labour matters' among categories ordinarily entertained as Public Interest Litigation, signalling high-level judicial and public attention to bonded labour issues.
Given this public-importance classification, a student could reasonably expect nationwide responses (government campaigns or NGO-led national drives) and then look up whether Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan is one such nationwide response focused on release and rehabilitation.
Describes the practice and social context of bonded labour (life-long servitude, child labour links) showing why targeted campaigns for release and rehabilitation would be needed.
A student could use the described social harms as criteria (release, child protection, rehabilitation) to evaluate whether Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan’s stated objectives match those needs.
- [THE VERDICT]: Current Affairs-Linked Sitter. If you read newspapers during 2012-2015 regarding the Manual Scavenging Act 2013, this campaign was the headline driver.
- [THE CONCEPTUAL TRIGGER]: Social Justice > Vulnerable Sections > Manual Scavenging (Article 17).
- [THE HORIZONTAL EXPANSION]: Memorize: PEMSR Act 2013 (replaces 1993 Act), Safai Karamchari Andolan (Bezwada Wilson), NAMASTE Scheme (Ministry of Social Justice + Housing), SRMS (Rehabilitation scheme), Bandhua Mukti Morcha (Bonded Labour - Swami Agnivesh).
- [THE STRATEGIC METACOGNITION]: UPSC asks about the *catalysts* of change. The 2013 Act didn't appear in a vacuum; it came from the 'Maila Mukti Yatra' and 'Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan'. Always ask 'Who pushed for this law?' when studying social acts.
The statement concerns providing livelihoods; the references list central programmes aimed at livelihood security and skill development for vulnerable groups.
High-yield for UPSC: questions on poverty alleviation and employment policy frequently test objectives, beneficiaries and differences between rural/urban schemes. Study comparative objectives, target groups, and implementation challenges to answer policy evaluation and GS mains questions.
- Indian Economy, Nitin Singhania .(ed 2nd 2021-22) > Chapter 8: Financial Market > Access to livelihood and skill development: 3. > p. 243
- Economics, Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 3: Poverty as a Challenge > Anti-Poverty Measures > p. 39
- History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 9: Envisioning a New Socio-Economic Order > Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) > p. 121
Rehabilitation of homeless persons requires addressing shelter availability and lack of identity/proof, issues highlighted in the references.
Often tested under governance, social justice and rights — knowing practical barriers (night shelters, proof-of-residence, entitlement access) helps frame policy recommendations and legal remedies in answers.
- Indian Constitution at Work, Political Science Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 2: RIGHTS IN THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION > Check your progress > p. 44
The statement links rehabilitation with providing livelihood; a reference gives an example where shelter was coupled with vocational training to make destitute self-reliant.
Useful for essay and GS answers on role of civil society and programme design. Master examples of integrated rehabilitation (shelter + skill training) to propose scalable interventions and critique government schemes.
- History , class XI (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 19: Towards Modernity > Pandita Ramabai (1858-1922) > p. 303
The statement describes a national campaign to rehabilitate a vulnerable group; the references include examples of nation-wide social campaigns (e.g., Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao).
UPSC often asks about government social campaigns: their objectives, implementing ministries, and target groups. Mastering how campaigns are framed and compared enables candidates to answer questions on public policy design, evaluation, and administrative responsibility. Prepare by cataloguing major campaigns, their aims, implementing bodies and evaluation indicators.
- Science-Class VII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 6: Adolescence: A Stage of Growth and Change > Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan > p. 84
- INDIA PEOPLE AND ECONOMY, TEXTBOOK IN GEOGRAPHY FOR CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 1: Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition > Promoting Gender Sensitivity through 'Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao' Social Campaign > p. 12
The statement’s focus on providing alternative livelihood connects to the Supreme Court ruling that right to life under Article 21 includes right to livelihood and that evictions require alternatives.
Questions on fundamental rights, PILs and judicial interpretation (Article 21) are frequent. Understanding landmark cases like Olga Tellis helps answer mains and prelims items on socio-economic rights, state obligations, and relief measures. Study case facts, holdings, and implications for policy and welfare programmes.
- Political Theory, Class XI (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: Citizenship > CITIZENSHIP, EQUALITY AND RIGHTS > p. 88
Sex work and forced/exploitative recruitment overlap with trafficking concerns; references identify communities and trafficking patterns relevant to policy responses and need for alternative livelihoods.
Civil services questions probe crime, trafficking, and rehabilitation policy. Knowing the profiles of vulnerable groups, trafficking routes, and policy levers helps in writing balanced answers and policy prescriptions. Revise reports, law provisions and intervention models; connect to social welfare and law enforcement modules.
- Geography of India ,Majid Husain, (McGrawHill 9th ed.) > Chapter 15: Regional Development and Planning > 7. Increase in Crime Rate > p. 71
The references refer to nation-wide sanitation campaigns aimed at 'doing away with manual scavenging' and identify manual scavenger families in welfare classifications, which is directly related to eradication and rehabilitation goals.
High-yield for UPSC topics on social justice, public health and welfare policy — questions often probe government responses to entrenched social practices and rehabilitation measures. Master this to link sanitation missions, caste-based occupational issues, and targeted welfare measures; prepare by mapping schemes, legal frameworks, and social indicators cited in official reports and textbooks.
- Rajiv Ahir. A Brief History of Modern India (2019 ed.). SPECTRUM. > Chapter 39: After Nehru... > Health Policy > p. 781
- Indian Economy, Vivek Singh (7th ed. 2023-24) > Chapter 8: Inclusive growth and issues > Presently, in India, identification of poor is done by the State Governments based on information from Below Poverty Line (BPL) censuses of which the latest is the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011). > p. 256
Bezwada Wilson & Safai Karamchari Andolan: They won the Magsaysay Award (2016) for similar work. A future question could target the NAMASTE Scheme (100% mechanization of sewer cleaning) or the Swachhta Udyami Yojana.
The 'Dignity' Specificity Hack: 'Garima' (Dignity) is the central theme of the anti-untouchability movement. While bonded labour (Bandhua Mukti) and sex work involve exploitation, the specific Hindi nomenclature for restoring dignity to those cleaning human waste is historically tied to 'Garima'. Option C is the only one addressing a specific *caste-based* historical practice (Article 17), making it the strongest candidate for a 'Rashtriya' moral campaign.
Mains GS2 (Social Justice) & GS4 (Ethics): Use this as a case study for 'Civil Society as a Pressure Group.' How an NGO campaign (Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan) successfully lobbied for the passing of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.