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ABOUT THE BOOK:- This book dwells on only one factor in some depth, i.e., the availability of toilets and the disposal of human excreta by building toilets in the context of equity. It discusses the availability of toilet facility at the household level in India by examining the available information on households having toilets over time and variations across regions. Further, it deals with the health impact of improper disposal of or handling of human excreta, especially that of young children. Next, it examined the sociological, cultural and economic factors hindering the use of toilets and the consequences of open defecation especially on women. The book discusses the role of caste and efforts to restore human dignity among and rights of the scavenging community and it also gives a brief discussion on the design of individual toilets and community complexes such that the need to handle excreta by humans is eliminated. The book raises some questions for further reflection and research. ……ABOUT THE AUTHOR:- Leela Visaria holds PhD from Princeton University and is a former Professor and Director of GIDR. Currently she is an Honorary Professor at the Institute. Her research interests include historical demography as well as field-based studies on problems of health, family planning, education and demographic transition. Her articles have appeared in several scholarly journals. She has been a co-author of a book Contraceptive Use and Fertility in India: A Case Study of Gujarat (Sage Publications, New Delhi, 1995) and of India in the 21st Century along with Tim Dyson and Robert Cassen, both of London School of Economics (Oxford University Press, 2004). She has coedited (withJohn Simons and Peter Berman) Maternal Education and Child Survival: Pathways and Evidence (Vikas Publishing House, Delhi, 1997); Abortion in India: Ground Reality (jointly with Vimala Ramachandran), New Delhi, Routledge, 2007; and Midwifery & Maternal Health in India: Situation Analysis & Lessons from the Field, CMHS Monograph No.1, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, 2010.…..No Content in Book