Pulling People, Pushing Dignity Backward — As India strides towards progress, the continued use of hand-pulled rickshaws in Matheran tugs at the nation’s conscience. The Supreme Court calls for change—it’s time to trade exploitation for empowerment.
The Supreme Court’s recent comment on the persistence of hand-pulled rickshaws in Matheran a scenic, car-free hill resort nestled in Maharashtra’s Western Ghats demands immediate notice and response. Calling the practice “inhuman” and “belittling” to India’s prestige, the top court had good reason to ask how a developing country, run by a Constitution that promises social and economic justice, can permit such backward practices to survive.
The Court’s bench, constituted by Chief Justice B. R. Gavai and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and N. V. Anjaria, drew on a 45-year-old precedent—the Azad Rickshaw Pullers Association case in which the judiciary had intervened to defend the dignity and sustenance of exploited cycle-rickshaw operators. The resonance of that judgment sounds even more acutely today, when India is at the juncture of technological progress and social responsibility.
Most unfortunate is the fact that, in the 21st century, human beings are forced to drag other human beings up a hill in a tourist town renowned for its environmentally sensitivity. This is not simply a question of antiquated forms of transport; it is a serious failure of policy, understanding, and social conscience.
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The Supreme Court has now asked the Maharashtra government to draw up a solid plan in six months to replace hand-pulled rickshaws with e-rickshaws. Significantly, the Court has proposed that the battery-powered vehicles be hired out only to people who are presently occupied with the arduous task of pulling rickshaws, thus maintaining their livelihood and restoring their dignity.
This order cannot be regarded as a judicial prod but as an ethical imperative. Matheran can become a model for sustainable, humane tourism that maintains ecological harmony and dignity for human beings. It is high time we shed the colonial-era baggage and adopt transport solutions that symbolize the values of a modern, compassionate, and forward-looking India.
May this be the last page in the long, agonizing history of hand-pulled rickshaws a relic we must leave behind with both determination and regret.
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