A study on personal sanitation and health in village of Prayagraj

Abstract

This study critically examines the interconnections between personal sanitation practices and health outcomes within the socio-cultural and structural contexts of rural villages in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Anchored in a sociological framework, the research interrogates how caste, class, gender, and access to state welfare mechanisms shape the everyday experiences of hygiene and health among rural households. Drawing on empirical data collected through household surveys, participant observation, and in-depth interviews across five villages, the study reveals that sanitation is not merely a technical or behavioural issue but is deeply embedded in the material conditions, cultural norms, and power relations that characterize rural life. Despite policy interventions such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the persistence of open defecation, lack of safe water access, and inadequate health infrastructure reflects the limitations of top-down, technocratic models of development. The findings point toward the need for a more integrated and community-sensitive approach that addresses both infrastructural deficits and the socio-relational dimensions of sanitation and health. The study contributes to rural sociology by foregrounding the lived realities of hygiene practices and health vulnerabilities, offering a nuanced understanding of how public health is socially produced and unequally distributed in rural India.