Gandhi forbade scavenger strikes because sanitation must never lapse

Evidence

There are certain matters on which strikes would be wrong. Sweepers’ grievances come in this category. My opinion against sweepers’ strikes dates back to about 1897 when I was in Durban. A general strike was mooted there, and the question arose as to whether scavengers should join it. My vote was registered against the proposal. Just as a man cannot live without air, so too he cannot exist for long if his home and surroundings are not clean. One or the other epidemic is bound to break out, especially when modern drainage is put out of action … A Bhangi [scavengers] may not give up his work even for a day. And there are many other ways open to him for securing justice. — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 348

Categorization

• XREF: Feeds the reader’s topic on caste annihilation: here the hereditary occupation itself is weaponized to deny workers’ rights. — connects to: Gandhi’s purity standards restricted rather than enabled mass political participation
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 348