Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, Chief Justice of India by Sulabh International Social Service Organisation

SULABH INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SERVICE ORGANISATION In General Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council Sulabh Gram, Mahavir Enclave, Palam Dabri Road, New Delhi - 110 045 Tel. Nos. : 91-11-25031518, 25031519; Fax Nos : 91-11-25034014, 91-11-25055952 E-mail: info@sulabhinternational.org, sulabhinfo@gmail.com Website: www.sulabhinternational.org, www.sulabhtoiletmuseum.org

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Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur keenly observing the various products made (and put on display) by the widows of Vrindavan and expressing his appreciation of their efforts with folded hands

Welcoming Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, Chief Justice of India, with petals, while entering the Sulabh Gram on December 31, 2016

Mrs. Amola Pathak welcoming Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur with shawl at the Sulabh Gram

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder, Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, Chief Justice of India, on his arrival at the Sulabh Gram

Mrs. Aarti Arora, Hony. Vice President of Sulabh International, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur with bouquet

Mrs. Nigar Imam, Hony. Vice President of Sulabh International, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur with bouquet

Mrs. Tarun Sharma, Associate Member of Sulabh International, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur with bouquet

Shri S.P. Singh, Chairman of Sulabh International, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur with garland

Shri S.P. N. Sinha, IAS (Retd.) welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Shri Samirendra Chatterjee, IAS (Retd.) welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Shri B.B. Sahay, IAS (Retd.), welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur with garland

Shri Arun Pathak, IAS (Retd.), welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Shri Pankaj Jain, IAS (Retd.), welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Shri Ram Chandra Jha, Hony. Advisor of Sulabh International, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Shri B.N. Srivastava, Hony. Chairman of Sulabh International, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Mrs. Vimla Athwal, a former untouchable woman scavenger from Alwar, Rajasthan, welcoming Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, by applying the traditional vermilion ‘Tilak’ on his forehead

The erstwhile women scavengers from Alwar and Tonk, Rajasthan presenting bouquet to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with the liberated women and girls scavengers from Alwar and Tonk, Rajasthan

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with Mrs. Usha Chaumar, erstwhile woman scavenger, now President of Sulabh International

A group photograph with the erstwhile women scavengers

Mrs. Manu Ghosh, a widow mother from Vrindavan, presenting bouquet to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Mrs. Garobni Sheel, a widow mother from Vrindavan, presenting bouquet to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with the widows of Vrindavan

Widows from Vrindavan, who greeted Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, chanting 'Radhey Radhey'

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with the women from Hirmathla village, which has been declared as an open defecation-free village

A group photograph with the women from Hirmathla village

Dr. Pathak narrating to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, the suffering of the people of Madhusudankati village in West Bengal due to arsenic contamination in groundwater and explaining how Sulabh came to their rescue by setting up a water treatment plant and providing clean and cheap drinking water Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, keenly inspecting the Sulabh Safe Drinking Water

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, understanding the problem of arsenicaffected people from Madhusudankati village, West Bengal

A group photograph with the people of Madhusudankati village, West Bengal

Trainees of Sulabh Skill Development Centre, Ukhral village, District Ramban, Jammu, presenting bouquet to Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur. The Centre was started at the initiative of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, Founder, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation and Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, Chief Justice of India on August 1, 2014

A group photograph with the trainees of Ukhral village, Jammu

Trainees of Sulabh Skill Development Centre from Ukhral village, District Ramban, Jammu, presenting bouquet to Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

A group photograph with the people of Ukhral village, Jammu

Dr. Pathak explaining to Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the effectiveness of the Sulabh Swachhta Rath. The Rath is equipped with the latest audio-visual gadgets, and is being used as Sulabh Swachhta information education and communication vehicle travelling across the country and spreading the message of Swachh Bharat and the Sulabh Sanitation Movement

Inside view of Sulabh Swachhta Rath

Dr. Namita Mathur explaining to Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the activities of the Sulabh Health Centre shows certain brand medicines being provided to the poor people free of cost by Sulabh International

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur using the Sulabh Water ATM facility installed at the entrance of the Sulabh Gram in New Delhi

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur was very happy to watch the Sulabh Water ATM facility installed at the entrance of the Sulabh Gram in New Delhi

Dr. Pathak explaining to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the operaton of the Sulabh Water ATM plant installed at Sulabh Gram

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur using the vending machine installed in the Sulabh Public Toilet

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur at the Sulabh Community Toilet Complex in New Delhi

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur taking out the sanitary napkin from the vending machine

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur keenly watching the ash of sanitary napkin taken out from the incinerator

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being briefed by Dr. Pathak on the working of the Sulabh Effluent Treatment Plant, and how the treated water is made pathogenfree and safely used for floriculture and horticulture

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur lighting the mantle lamp, which uses biogas from the Sulabh Toilet Complex, as the source of energy

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur frying papad at the Sulabh kitchen, where the biogas from the Sulabh toilet complex is used for cooking. It is more economical than conventional gas

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur watching a demonstration of the use of Sulabh biogas for warming oneself during the winter season

Dr. Pathak explaining to Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the generation of electricity from biogas produced by the Sulabh Biogas Plant linked to the Sulabh Public Toilet. This can also be used for street lighting as was done in Patna

A group photograph with the liberated women and girls scavengers from Alwar and Tonk, Rajasthan, widows of Vrindavan, women from Hirmathla Village, girls and women from Ukhral village, Jammu and Associate Members of Sulabh International Social Service Organisation

Dr. Pathak explaining to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the child-friendly toilet developed by Sulabh, which can be used effectively in play schools and nurseries

Dr. Pathak showing to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur superstructure of the Sulabh Shauchalaya for the higher -income groups

Dr. Pathak showing to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the lowcost Sulabh toilet made out of local material like gunny bags which are both easily available and economical

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being shown the model of the Sulabh two-pit ecological toilet installed in areas where there is space constraint

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur seeing the model of the Sulabh roofless toilet. This type of toilet has been specially designed for those who require fresh air while using the toilet facilities

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur smelling a pod of odour-free dried human excreta taken out from the Sulabh two-pit compost toilet

Dr. Pathak explaining to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the technology of Sulabh two-pit pourflush ecological compost toilet

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur getting a detailed overview of the twopit model which requires only one litre of water to flush

Dr. Pathak explaining to Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur the low-cost door made from compressed human excreta

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being shown a small ball of dried human excreta by Dr. Pathak

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur watching the display boards, which show the four and-a-half-decades journey of Sulabh and its Founder

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being welcomed by Dr. Indrani Mazumdar, Chairperson, Sulabh International Centre for Action Sociology

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being welcomed by Smt. Anjana Sharan, Vice Principal of Sulabh Public School

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being welcomed by a student of Sulabh Public School

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with the children of Sulabh Public School, where 60 per cent of the students are from the Dalit community and 40 per cent from other communities.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur giving dictation to a student of the shorthand class, a wing of Sulabh Vocational Training Centre

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with the children of Sulabh Public School, who are attending the computer class

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with the students of the Tailoring Class, a wing of the Sulabh Vocational Training Centre, New Delhi

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur interacting with the students of the Beauty-care Class, a wing of the Sulabh Vocational Training Centre, New Delhi

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur understanding the process of making sanitary napkins

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur trying his hand at making sanitary napkins

A group photograph with the members of Sulabh School Sanitation Club

A group photograph with the students of Sulabh Public School, New Delhi

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur watching the various artefacts at the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets in New Delhi

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being shown the book-shelf type toilet from France, bearing the name of an English classic

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur explaining the various artefacts at the Museum in New Delhi

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being shown the picture of World's biggest toilet built at Pandharpur, Maharashtra

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being shown the throne- like chamber pot of the French Emperor, Louis XIV who while using it, simultaneously conducted court sessions

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being shown the picture of an elephant defecating in a pot

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur evincing keen interest in the functioning of the Research Laboratory in the Sulabh Gram

Dr. Pathak showing the dried water hyacinth to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and explaining that the biogas generation shows better results when fed with dried water hyacinth which increases the gas production

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur observing the Sulabh technology of purifying domestic wastewater through duckweed (a free floating aquatic plant), which cleans water to such a level that it can be safely discharged into any water body

Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur being felicitated by Dr. Pathak

Dr. Pathak presenting a miniature two-pit toilet model to Hon'ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Mrs. Amola Pathak welcoming Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Dr. Pathak presenting Shriramcharitmanas to Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Dr. Pathak presenting a Madhubani tapestry made by the artists of Madhubani, Bihar to Honâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

Hon’ble Mr. Justice

Tirath Singh Thakur Chief Justice of India

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak presenting the Citation to Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur

CITATION

e are extremely happy to welcome Hon’ble Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur in our midst today. We feel honoured in greeting an exceptional and dedicated Chief Justice who has set a new benchmark of judicial probity and excellence in contemporary India. With his distinctive judicial and philosophical acumen, Justice Thakur has enhanced the quality of our public and intellectual life. His clarity of thought and articulation not only on the difficult terrains of jurisprudence of which he is an acknowledged master, but also on a range of socio-political and cultural issues has enhanced the level of our public discourse. We are grateful to you, Sir, for your exceptional contribution to take our judicial system to greater heights during your eventful and illustrious tenure as Chief Justice of India. Born in 1952, Justice Thakur is truly the illustrious son of an illustrious father. His father, Late Shri D.D. Thakur, was a legendary legal luminary and a gifted politician, who served as Judge of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir as well as the state’s Deputy Chief Minister and also as Governor of Assam. Justice Tirath Singh Thakur stepped into the professional shoes of his father, and rose step by step and attained the pinnacle today, assuming the highest judicial chair in the country. Enrolled as a Pleader in 1972, he joined the Chamber of his father, and practiced in Civil, Criminal, Constitutional, Taxation and Service matters in the High Court. He was designated as a senior

advocate in 1990, and on February 16, 1994, he was appointed as an additional judge of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. He was transferred as a judge in the Karnataka High Court in March 1994. He was appointed as a permanent judge in September 1995 and transferred to the Delhi High Court in July 2004. Justice Thakur was appointed acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court on April 9, 2008, and on August 11, 2008, he took over as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court and assumed charge on November 17, 2009. And finally, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of India on December 3, 2015. An upright and conscientious judge, Justice Thakur is renowned for his humility, patience and even-handedness. Appreciated for his unusual, scrupulous and public-spirited approach, Justice Thakur has the distinction of hearing and delivering landmark judgments in famous cases like IPL spot-fixing, National Rural Health Mission scam, Saradha chit fund scam, Sahara-SEBI dispute, etc. Justice Thakur is a brilliant and compelling speaker, and he is endowed with great sense of humour. He has a wide range of interests in culture and literature, and he is also very fond of sports, swimming, and gardening. This is a thumbnail sketch of Mr. Justice Tirath Singh Thakurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s glorious life and career. Sir, we take this opportunity to briefly inform you about the main objectives, activities and achievements of our Sulabh movement. Since its birth in 1970, Sulabh has been in the forefront of a national movement for sanitation and social transformation. Sulabh has focused on two primary goals: to prevent environmental and water pollution by promoting cost-effective sanitation technologies and facilities; and, to liberate and rehabilitate a class of people who have been traditionally engaged in manual cleaning and disposal of human excreta. With the liberation of thousands of such manual scavengers and the construction of 1.5 million household toilets and 8,500 public toilet complexes, we have made a critical difference in the lives of millions of disadvantaged Indians. Though the scale of environmental pollution and the number of toiletless people still remain high in our country, Sulabh has given a technological breakthrough and shown effectively how the problems can be solved. It is heartening that the Government of India has launched the Swachh Bharat Mission that aims to end defecation in the open by 2019, a goal for which Sulabh has been struggling for more than four decades. Suffice here to say that we have done multifarious and groundbreaking work in sanitation and social sectors, the glimpses of which you have just seen during the visit to our campus today. Sir, we hope that this visit of yours and our interaction will bring us closer, paving the way for a deeper cooperation in our common aspiration and striving for a Clean, Beautiful and Prosperous India. The Sulabh family is enormously grateful for your visit. We welcome you once again to our premises. Thank you.

New Delhi, December 31, 2016

Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak and Sulabh family

Thematic Address by Hon’ble Mr. Justice

Tirath Singh Thakur Chief Justice of India

hri Pathak Saheb, Smt. Pathak ji, Vice-President of Sulabh Ms. Jyoti Chopra, and office-bearers present here, brothers and sisters! I had never got a chance to meet with Pathak Saheb. But I knew of a movement like Sulabh that is rising across the country—the result of his perseverance. Sulabh toilets have been constructed in different parts of the country. The work they have done is something one cannot ignore. The government was supposed to do this act as sanitation and hygiene are its responsibilities. But since the government did not do much 48 years ago, Dr. Pathak took this responsibility upon himself. He has been working in this sector since 1968. The government’s ongoing Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was in fact the same initiated by Dr. Pathak back in 1968, and it has benefited not thousands but millions so far. I was informed that as of this date Sulabh has over 60,000 volunteers across the country. People only join something in such large numbers when it reaches their heart. I have been a lawyer for 22 years and a judge for 23 years, spending in all 45 years of my life litigating. I know even the smallest organizations have disputes over whatever insignificant work they do. They spend a lot of time in courts, making pleas for positions and power such as “make me the president, make me the secretary, appoint me, sack him”, etc. Problems resurface in every organisation every now and then because people are there for self-serving reasons. But the shocking thing is, that I’ve never heard anything before like Sulabh having 60,000 volunteers serving millions of people. People in this organisation are honest and their only mission is to help the needy. Do you know the reason? Ok, this is because people attached with this organisation are pure at heart and are ready to help others. Today when I came here, I met a lot of people, eminent personalities, retired senior and IAS officers; people who have already done enough, along with the government and themselves. Experienced people are here in this movement, working honestly with a passion to transform the country, to make it clean and to do something good. This anthem of yours, ‘Saaf Raho aur Sukhi Raho’, is now really happening.

I thought Sulabh only worked for sanitation and hygiene. But today I realized after coming here that it does much more than that. The English medium school here provides free education, and at the vocational training centre the kids are taught stenography. Girls are learning stitching and other trades. The school is preparing to make them self-reliant in the future. I first met Dr. Pathak when he came to my house to give me a book. Since he was doing so much for the country I asked him whether he could do something for my village as well. My village is in the mountains where heavy snowfalls occur. Many elderly women face problems specially during hailstorm in going out for defecation there. I said it would be great if he could do something about it. Dr. Pathak said: “Please form a society first like what I have done”. Once the society is formed, we would raise some money, and then only toilets could be constructed. I said that would take a lot of time to get result and asked him to do something about it. I am thankful. He himself went to the village, 800 kms away from here. It’s a struggle just getting oneself there, first due to the tough mountain roads and secondly, because people avoid going to Kashmir because of the insurgency in the area. But Dr. Pathak went to my village Ukhral, met the people there and talked to them. He was not there to ask for votes or to contest elections. He opened two vocational training centres one for teaching computer and the other for sewing for girls. Both these centres are now operational. Most importantly he constructed toilets. Today people tell me they are very happy and praised Dr. Pathak for his gesture. Some people requested me to help them to construct more toilets in their areas. In fact a movement has really started there since Dr. Pathak’s visit and today everyone has got toilet in their houses and the women are the happiest lot. They are feeling safe. Earlier it was very difficult to go out at night for defecation. The population of the village is increasing and there is no space left for defecation in the open. Dr. Pathak has done a huge service to humanity and for that I will always be thankful to him. Looking at Dr. Pathak’s work, his acceptability, reliability and respect in the society have tremendously increased. In modern life people don’t trust anyone but seeing the quality of work Dr. Pathak has been doing and his rising popularity the Hon’ble Supreme Court asked Dr. Pathak and Sulabh whether he could help the widows of Vrindavan, something no one else was doing till then. Dr. Pathak immediately took the responsibility and came to the rescue of those mothers and sisters, many of whom are sitting here now. I feel rejoiced watching them and listening to their chanting ‘Radhe Radhe’. You are happy, all of you are being taken care of. There are centres for their well-being in not only in Vrindavan but also two or three in Varanasi and Uttarakhand. I believe that if a person is out to serve humanity he gets full support from somewhere or the other. Nobody doubts Dr. Pathak’s honesty and diligence. So no one had problem joining his crusade. In today’s world you can blame anyone for anything. It’s considered a big achievement. People come to court everyday making allegations of corruption, crimes and all sort of scams. But in Sulabh, everyone applauds him (Dr. Pathak). It’s a great thing. Everyone works and spends his or her entire life to achieve certain aims such as acquiring property and making their children officers, ministers, judge etc. But no one devotes his life for others and there is nothing wiser than this. I believe Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of a clean India and the upliftment of the lowest sections of the society—the scavengers—making them share meal with Brahmins and giving them due respect in the society, has really come true. They now get all care, respect and support from Sulabh. What can be more virtuous than this? Dr. Pathak has done something great which no one anywhere in the world has done so far. I feel happy coming here today. I wish Dr. Pathak a long and healthy life so that he keeps on doing his good work throughout his life. I also congratulate the people working with Dr. Pathak. They chose the right place to spend their time and make valuable contributions to their full satisfaction. This satisfaction cannot be achieved by earning wealth or property. Material assets cannot bring happiness to our souls. I believe Dr. Pathak has won your hearts and all of your blessings and good wishes are always upon him. What more can be done? It’s a wonderful service to the helpless people who have now been given a chance to live with honour. For this I want to congratulate Dr. Pathak and thank him for inviting me here. Thank you and Jai Hind.

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