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Feb 15, 2011

"To build toilets is easy, but to shift people's mind and hearts is the real work. Software is more important than hardware." --Ishwar Patel

Over Ten Thousand People Attend His Funeral

Government officials shut down the streets. As everyone silently stood in line to pay the final respects, the magic of Ishwar-kaka was evident -- the richest men in the country stood next to human-waste scavengers next to powerful politicians next to reknowned Gandhians next to vegetable sellers next to his next-door neighbors next to kids who had merely read about him. A humble man who built over 200,000 toilets and helped launched 118 organizations that would elevate the work of sanitation across India. Wise men say that you die the way you have lived. For a vast cross section of society, Ishwar Patel was a hero.