On 15th
august 2014, the Honarable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi launched
the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan with the aim to achieve a clean India by 2nd
October 2019 which incidentally marks 150th anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi. I’m sure quite many of us heard his speech that day on television (or
later on in the continuous loops on the news channels) but what I’m more
certain of is, many of us also smirked after hearing him out and flipped
through the channels on television. Because when it comes to the concept of clean
India it is just impossible right?
We have discussed
this topic endlessly with friends over coffee many a times at the canteen and
share funny stories about how a friend once painted a wall yellow by urinating on
it or how the now-famous aunty in the neighborhood throws garbage off her
bungalow gate. As usual we talk, we laugh over it and say “India ka kuch nahi
ho sakta !”. Everybody knows that what you personally do does make a huge
difference and yet we cant even make sure that our fellow classmates don’t
leave their half eaten wadapavs under the desk. So does that give you the right
to comment on Modi’s vision.
Yes, this
campaign may sound superfluous what with the shortage of public bins, shortage
of staff for the public cleaning departments and not to forget the in tatters waste
disposal system but the least we all can start with is throwing our chewed gums
and empty wafers packets into the nearest dustbins and not “smartly” sticking
the gums under the first furniture we come across.
We listen to
our friends and relatives talking infinitely about the US trip that they
recently took and how clean the streets are but during the same conversation
they will never miss a chance of criticizing their own country. This they do
while actually spitting their pan masala on the road with not a care who gets
attractively painted by it. Have we as the citizens of India ever done our bit to
keep our surroundings clean?
I would also
like to share my personal experience regarding this. While I
was doing my MBBS, many of my classmates and friends would laugh at me when I
would pick up their toffee wrappers and pocket them or keep them in my bag and
I’m sure many of them would have thought that I was just acting overly smart.
And yet quite a few out of them over the years have also got embarrassed when I
gave them a look of deepest disgust and in the process have learnt to dispose
their wrappers in the dustbin. I take pride to bring about that little change.
But what’s the
point, right? You will read this article and still not give a thought to
cleanliness because if one around us litters that gives us an automatic right
to do the same. In fact that automatically gives you a moral right to stop the
person. Remember, that would bring about a small change. And many small drops
fills the whole ocean.
Mopping around
in our own homes brings no shame then why feel embarrassed for volunteering for
a day to clean the streets in your neighborhood? Try doing it or stop talking. Swachh
Bharat Abhiyan is neither a political revolution nor a strategy of Modi to earn
personal gains. In fact he has not said anything new at all. Since childhood we
all have been thought that Cleanliness is Next to Godliness but somewhere along
the path of growing up physically we have forgotten that lesson. The government
will do its part for this campaign but its success will majorly depend on how
inspired the masses are to bring about this change.
A classic example
is a group called “ The Ugly Indian” in Bangalore, who are normal people like
us and have jobs to work at 6 days a week but what is interesting is their
philosophy of “Kaam chalu mooh bandh” or “ Stop talking, Start doing” which
managed to clean many public places and the cleanliness was maintained because
it inspired the others who would pass those filthy areas earlier but never
care.
The relevance
of this campaign in today’s time is dependent on us, the people, how we play
our role and commit to the duty being an Indian citizen. Each one of us is a
well educated individual and its not much if we are expected to keep our
surroundings clean or educate others about cleanliness as a small token of
gratitude to our country for the rights it has provided to us.
Lastly I would
like to requote Shri Narendra Modi
“If
a country when united for a cause can non violently defeat one of the most
powerful imperial empires in the history of mankind...
Then there is no reason to believe that they cant keep their nation clean”
Then there is no reason to believe that they cant keep their nation clean”
Dr
Priyanka Pawar
MBA HHM Batch 14-16
