It
all started off with the PM of India, Mr. Narendra Modi starting off a campaign
to keep India clean. Clean India, and that will make a healthy India, was the
simple message. A message that started off from the Ramparts of the Red Fort on
his inaugural speech as the PM of India, a message that he carried on during
his move to Rashtrapati Bhavan, following it himself, sending direct / indirect
messages to various departments in the Ministries, that his penchant for
cleanliness was not something of a flash in the pan.
Cleanliness
is said, is next to Godliness. Old saying. The Father of the Indian Nation,
Mahatma Gandhi too propagated it and lived by it. He knew very well, that being
clean not only meant cleanliness of the self, but also of the surrounding areas
within oneself.
We
are all aware of the Plague that hit 20 years back in Surat. A plague that
rocked the country like never before. A sickness that literally cast India as
an untouchable. A disease that nearly knocked India in its guts. There have
been enough discussions and articles on this, and I don’t plan to start another
theory, as to what went wrong or how it could have been avoided, but a simple
question does come. Did we ask for it?
As
one reasearches the topic (and there is enough material on the web), one finds,
that it was not the number of deaths that were caused by the plague that was an
issue (It is reported at a number of places, that only 56 people died). It was
the way it came about, the terrifying speed with which it created havoc and
near calamities, the impact to society, business and economy as a whole (a loss
of nearly $600 M + in 1994), and at the same time, the urgency and vigour with
which it was cleaned and cleared
The
cause if one looks at it, was simple. Cleanliness, the lack of it. The fact
that the city was not amongst the best in the country in terms of good living
conditions, the fact that urbanization in the need for the State’s / City’s
development led to a situation where living conditions started moving South,
the fact that poor living conditions also meant that interactions with infected
animals (rats in this case), started becoming the norm, and before one could
probably shout, Shiver Me Timbers, the rot had crept in.
Fast
and swift action resulted in the infection being subdued within a week. Fast
forward to 2014, Surat today is a bustling city, with not a trace of the near
calamity that engulfed it 20 years ago. Yes, time flies, people forget, new
generations arise, but history remains the same What contributed to ensuring
that this was not repeated, was a drive by the citizens and residents of the
place to ensure that the first time was the last time. After all, nearly 45% of
the world’s diamond polishing takes place in Surat!
A
huge push to ensure streets were cleared of garbage, rats were exterminated,
sewers were cleared of all obstacles to ensure a free flowing drainage system,
effectively minimizing the chances of diseases. A drive that pushed all across
India, as this was a grim reminder of what could have been, but did not.
But
hang on, if this started a drive, why is the PM reinforcing the message. Why
has he started a momentum for all of India to follow? Did we not have a similar
scare in Mumbai years ago, when the rain water filled up in the drains and
spilled over onto the streets, where people could not walk without fear of
being sucked into some open man hole. The reason for the overflow at that time,
plastic bags!
Fact
of the matter is, that we are back to the same causes that initiated the
sickness years ago. It may not be that bad yet (else, half the country would
have been dead by now), but the fact is, that we are still a long way before we
reach our goal of cleanliness across the length and breadth of the country.
We
do not think twice before we throw a wrapper of a chocolate on the street, into
a drainage if possible. What will one do, we say, but then so do a thousand
others. We insist on buying plastic bags when we go vegetable shopping, only to
come home and throw the plastic bag into the bin. Could we not have taken that
bag?
We
will not hesitate to throw out the garbage on the street, as long as it does
not sit in our kitchen waste. We cannot sit with the smell, and if it smells on
the street, the down trodden are used to living in filth. We lose our temper on
our children when they scratch our painted walls with a pencil, even taking
upto an hour to ensure that the wall is cleaned properly and no stain mark
remains, yet we have no hesitation in spitting Paan or any thing in our mouth
on the wall of another.
The
list can go on and on, it is never ending, but the issue remains. What will it
take us to learn? Why can we not realize that the streets we dirty are nothing
but an extension of where we live. One will not leave his house every time a
street gets dirty, but why can some one not take the initiative to ensure that
he or she will not litter? Why do we have to wait for some one else to
commence, so we follow. Why can we not, LEAD?
Are
we so stubborn and beyond redemption that unless we are fined, or unless we
live in countries like Singapore, New Zealand, Norway, we will not contribute.
We don’t utter a word if we are fined for littering, but quietly pay. Do we
need to be reminded that we are dirty?
As
we progress to do something that is so basic and something that should be
inbuilt, I cannot but wonder. What went wrong? India was a clean country,
centuries ago, what changed? It could be various factors, going from
ruralization to urbanization and the price of the same, increasing populations
leading to lack of space, but most important, what I do believe is “Lack of
Basic Education”
No
matter what one does, the key factor to
any kind of progress is Education or lack of it. This is not being educated in
terms of having a Degree or Masters in Economics, but simple house hold
education that every child should be a part of. Education that can only be
provided by one’s parents. Education that comes from communities, schools,
friends, from society as a whole, which if not, would be unfortunate.
That
despite all our setbacks we still need to learn the hard way.
That
something that should be part and parcel of our very nature, has to be taught
to us by others.
That
once bitten twice shy is not an adage that we follow.
That
we never learn from History, and are condemned to repeat it.
