No Representation Without Sanitation: India's Toilet Politics

A builder removes earth from the floor of a septic tank during the construction of a toilet block, one of the first in the village and built with assistance from Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, in Chapra village, Haryana, India, on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Clean India" campaign includes a pledge to build 50 million toilets by the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birth in 2019. The effort aims to halt the contamination of groundwater that causes illnesses such as diarrhea and cholera, costing the nation about $54 billion a year, according to the United Nation's Children's Fund. Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg via Getty Images