NEW DELHI: Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the social activist who took a life vow to clean India and built Sulabh public toilets across the country, passed away due to cardiac arrest. He was 80 years old. The country had honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2003.
Pathak is the founder of Sulabh International, a non-profit organization that fights for the eradication of manual scavenging, human rights of the lower castes, environmental sanitation, waste disposal and education reforms.
He collapsed after hoisting the national flag at the Sulabh campus on Dabri - Palam Rd in Delhi yesterday morning. He had died by the time he was brought to Delhi AIIMS. He was married to Amola and has a son and two daughters.
At the age of five, he was forced to eat dung and drink cow's urine to purify himself for touching a Dalit woman. Bindeshwar Pathak grew up as a human rights fighter for Dalits and manual scavengers. Born as a Brahmin, Pathak broke the barriers of caste by scavenging along with manual scavengers, the ones considered the most despised in the caste system.
The role played by Bindeshwar Pathak in building community toilets to make India free from open defecation is immense. He improved waterless toilets in 1749 towns. 1,60,835 new toilets were constructed in villages, slums and cities. Toilets were constructed in 16 lakh houses.
Bindeshwar Pathak was born in a Brahmin family in Rampur Baghel village of Vaishali district in Bihar to Ramakant Pathak, an Ayurvedic doctor and Yogamaya Devi. He had an MA in Sociology and English and completed his PhD and D. Litt.
Pathak was a teacher for some time but dedicated his life to social service when he joined the Gandhi Centenary Committee as a volunteer. Mahatma Gandhi was always an inspiration to him.
The passing away of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak Ji is a profound loss for our nation. He was a visionary who worked extensively for societal progress and empowering the downtrodden. Bindeshwar Ji made it his mission to build a cleaner India. His work will continue to inspire several people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X
The passing away of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak Ji is a profound loss for our nation. He was a visionary who worked extensively for societal progress and empowering the downtrodden.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 15, 2023
Bindeshwar Ji made it his mission to build a cleaner India. He provided monumental support to the… pic.twitter.com/z93aqoqXrc