Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak
| Bindeshwar Pathak | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
2 April 1943 Rampur,Bihar |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | M.A. (Sociology 1980), M.A. (English 1986), Ph.D. (1985), D.Litt. (1994) |
| Alma mater | Patna University |
| Known for | Founding Sulabh International and social reform in India |
Bindeshwar Pathak (Hindi: बिंदेश्वर पाठक) is an Indian sociologist. He is the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organization which works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education. He is the Brand Ambassador for Swachh Rail Mission of Indian Railways. His work is considered pioneering in social reform, especially in the field of sanitation and hygiene. He received various national and international awards for his work with this organization.
Bindeshwar Pathak graduated in Sociology in 1964. He earned his master's degree in 1980 and his PhD in 1985, from the University of Patna. A prolific writer and speaker, Pathak has authored several books, the most well-known of which is The Road to Freedom, and is a frequent participant in conferences on sanitation, health and social progress around the world.
He first came to understand the plight of scavengers in 1968 when he joined the Bhangi-Mukti (scavengers’ liberation) Cell of the Bihar Gandhi Centenary Celebrations Committee. During that time, he traveled throughout India, living with scavenger families as part of his Ph.D. research. Drawing on that experience, he resolved to take action, not only out of sympathy for the scavengers but also in the belief that scavenging is a dehumanizing practice that would ultimately have a destructive impact on modern Indian society.
He established the Sulabh International Social Service Organization in 1970, combining technical innovation with humanitarian principles. The organization works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education. The organization counts 50,000 volunteers. He has made innovative use of biogas creation by linking Sulabh toilets to fermentation plants, he had designed over three decades ago and which are now becoming a byword for sanitation in developing countries all over the world. One of the distinctive feature of Pathak's project lies in the fact that besides producing odour-free bio-gas, it also releases clean water rich in phosphorus and other ingredients which are important constituents of organic manure. His sanitation movement ensures cleanliness and prevents greenhouse gas emission.
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