Manual scavenging is a caste-based occupation involving the removal of untreated human excreta from bucket toilets or pit latrines, that has been officially abolished by law in India as a dehumanizing practice. It involves moving the excreta, using brooms and tin plates, into baskets, which the workers carry to disposal locations sometimes several kilometers away. The workers, called scavengers, rarely have any personal protective equipment. The term is mainly used in the Indian context only.

The employment of manual scavengers to empty "dry toilets" (meaning here toilets that require daily manual cleaning) was prohibited in India in 1993 and the law was extended and clarified to include insanitary latrines, ditches and pits in 2013.

According to Socio Economic Caste Census 2011, 180,657 households are engaged in manual scavenging for a livelihood. The 2011 Census of India found 794,000 cases of manual scavenging across India. The state of Maharashtra, with 63,713, tops the list with the largest number of households working as manual scavengers, followed by the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Karnataka.

In Indian law, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013, which is the current law