Sunil Yadav, the most educated safai karmachari (conservancy worker) on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) payroll, has achieved his dream of visiting Columbia University's library where his idol Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar studied.

The 36-year-old presented a paper in the university titled 'Humiliation by Birth: A Case of Scavenging/Cleaning in India'. Yadav is an a MPhil-PhD student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a permanent employee in BMC's Solid Waste Management Department.

His topic of dissertation is the State Labour Process and Scavenging in India and he was invited to Boston to present his study on Ambedkar's unfinished legacy. The presentation was on May 5 and Yadav now is now on an academic tour of United States. "I focused on the humiliation that shadows a safai karmachari right from his birth," said Yadav from Washington. "I spoke about the difference between humiliation and degradation, and the disrespect suffered by a safai karmachari which damages her/his self-respect."

Yadav added that, "The paper is not a result of one or two months of research; it's the outcome of my life."

Srirang Surve, a resident of Grant Road said, "I have seen Yadav sweeping the streets in Grant Road.

"He works for D Ward; in fact he hoisted the flag on August 15 in Bhatia lane. People respect and adore him a lot here."

Total of 50 scholars from 15 countries were invited to Boston to presented their studies, and Yadav made it only after overcoming many bureaucratic hurdles. He faced difficulty in getting a visa as the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from BMC was delayed. His education is also hard-earned – he was refused long leave to pursue his Masters degree, which he eventually achieved in Labour Studies.

"I visited the UN headquarters and even the General Assembly hall where leaders of all nations come and speak. I could have never imagined this and it was all possible only because of my education," he said.

CLEAN SWEEP

Sunil Yadav presented a paper in Columbia University titled ‘Humiliation by Birth: A Case of Scavenging/Cleaning in India’ on May 5. He works in D Ward.