The mission to make India a clean
place is indeed a noble one. And the 2nd of October, being the
birthday of the Mahatma was ideal for rolling it out this year.
While it shall definitely take
some time for cleanliness in public places to attain desirable levels, it is of
essence that the tremendous impact cleanliness has in creating a good
environment should find root in the psyche of the citizens. The earlier it actually
happens, the better it would be for the nation.
Yet the fact that this mission
is piloted by the Prime Minister himself gives solace that at-least some
progress would definitely be achieved. The resoluteness with which issues are
being handled by the present government gives confidence that in a couple of
years, the nation would indeed be a much cleaner place with rhetoric having been relegated to the back seat at present.
A clean environment is at the
root of almost everything including human happiness. It enhances productivity, creates a good
living environment and enhances satisfaction and happiness levels. The Mahatma realized it almost a century ago when he called the cleaners “harijan” ie
men of god. He also equated cleanliness with godliness.
Yet the nation remained dirty,
the marketplaces, the roads, tourist sites, railway stations and the bus
depots, almost all still bear the stamp of an unclean place. Even temples of worship have generally failed to maintain a semblance of cleanliness
and that foxes me. How even tiny Asian countries are able to maintain
cleanliness in their public places and private and why we have been a miserable
failure on this important front?
Has it something to do with our
culture and if so, why the same indian who litters on home soil displays
perfect behavior even in matters of keeping his surroundings clean when not on the home soil. Perhaps
more than culture, it is about conditioning and fear and also about pride. I
clearly remember the seventies when the Kolkata metro emerged, the same “bhadralok”
who considered defiling his city as his birthright, maintained impeccable
cleanliness at metro stations even to the extent of admonishing one who littered
within the confines of swanky metro territory. A difference made in a span of a
few steps only. Perhaps this shows that a clean nation is indeed possible.
But not without a firm resolve. With
my better half taking good (and clean) care of the home territory, I have
pledged to ensure that the office space occupied by me and my team is always
maintained in a state of pristine cleanliness. I am also inspired by the the clean india campaign of indiantopblogs (http://www.indiantopblogs.com/2014/10/diwali-and-clean-india.html) and am contributing my wee bit to their effort.
And the genuine national effort this time in this
direction gives me hope of being able to witness an immaculately clean and by
corollary an economically strong and contented India in my lifetime.
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