The Mahatma with his concept of cleanliness would have preferred an India that is always an epitome of ‘pristine glory’ instead of having a show of mass participation goaded on by the government on select days to observe an occasion or event, observes PACHU MENON.
On the occasion of his 148th birth anniversary, as the nation bows in reverence to the memory of a great soul, a saint, a karma-yogi who practised what he preached, we are reminded of the efforts of a few of the present-day leaders who appear to make the most of an inheritance that has bequeathed the nation a treasure-trove of ideals that, if followed in all sincerity, promises to give India a prominent stature on the global map.
Motivating millions across the world with noble ideals, Gandhiji stands out as that one rare and unique entity who taught the world that an individual, if firmly committed to his principles, can change the destiny of a nation.
Recalling Gandhi’s legacy, at a time when global terrorism and other territorial unrests threaten to mar the truce between various nations, it can only be said that Bapuji is as relevant to the world today as he was during his lifetime.
Yet, it is so dismaying to know that, in the present times, Mahatma Gandhi has become more relevant to the countries which cherish the memory of the sage personality as an embodiment of gracious virtues as compared to the indifferent views held by a section of the new generation, in spite of the fact Indians over the years have been idolising him as the father of the nation!
At times it does appear that the commemorative acts put by the leaders of the current era to honour the Mahatma border on the flimsy to the trivial. Moreover, the manner in which he, as a national icon, has been appropriated by the present corps of politicians for wider acceptance of their ‘visionary outlook’ leaves a distinct distaste.
For instance, the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan!
Paying tributes to Gandhiji, the PM of the nation goes on to comment, “For Mahatma Gandhi, cleanliness was more important than freedom.” Now, if this isn’t another attempt to gain endorsement for his Clean India campaign!
The Mahatma with his concept of cleanliness would have preferred an India that is always an epitome of ‘pristine glory’ instead of having a show of mass participation goaded on by the government on select days to observe an occasion or event.
Moreover, the Gandhi Jayanti celebrations across the nation this year appeared as if it were contrived efforts by officials to give impetus to Modi’s cleanliness drive!
As the nation observes the third anniversary of Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, one is left wondering whether the Clean India drive envisaged by Prime Minister Modi has achieved what it really intended!
Cleanliness is a passion and has to come from deep within oneself and cannot be enforced upon anyone. Whenever an objective moves over from being a voluntary act to one that has compulsions describing it, it automatically ceases to have any enthusiasm about it, consequently losing its charm.
Modi’s abhiyan seems to hinge around these parameters with the entire state machinery from leaders down to bureaucrats racing against time to ensure that the drive deservedly gets a popularity tag and they have no problems meeting the ‘targets’.
In fact the working of this government has been characterised by the PM setting the tone with his penchant for rolling out programmes with a regularity that has stumped even his worst detractors. Grand slogans accompanying every announcement have been the USP of these ‘promotions’.
Broom-wielding leaders undertaking the ‘mission’ on commemorative occasions, extolling the virtues of cultivating the habit of achieving and maintaining the state of being clean and free from dirt, have stopped amusing the public to the point of boredom. Yet the compulsion of fulfilling a mission and seeing the PM’s dream through eggs his cronies on.
It is not as if people haven’t relished the prospects of residing in clean premises within neat surroundings and pristine settings. But almost always human nature has been such that they want somebody else to do all the dirty work for them, literally speaking.
The habit of shirking away from a task simply because it is menial and below one’s dignity has been the bane of generations of Indians accustomed to falling back on the despicable caste system to describe the ‘intrinsic worth’ of every occupation.
If public demand and involvement for cleanliness becomes stronger then the municipal and other government machinery will automatically become functional. A lack of ‘public will’ has so far prevented the idea of ‘swachta’ from pervading our villages and cities.
Hence, the recent outcry against open defecation in the country, especially in the rural areas, assumes all the more importance and is to be deemed a step in the right direction towards achieving a Clean India!
With most of rural India still opting for open defecation, the ‘Toilet movement’ as it has come to be popularised as, however continues to be a public issue only on celluloid screens and the advertising media without infusing much enthusiasm in those for whom the ‘crusade’ is more relevant.
Not to say that the urban habitat has remained unscathed and continues to be an essence of cleanliness! In fact, the embarrassment of the act has been manifold in towns and cities where photos of people squatting on railway tracks and other public places for ‘evacuating their bowels’ have given so much of negative publicity to the country.
Somehow plans envisioned to eliminate the social malaise do not seem to have hit the right note to have created a buzz. Compounded with the sanitation problem, mounds of garbage which appear to pile up with every passing day is seemingly giving sleepless nights to civic authorities who are at their wits ends planning ways for its disposal.
The importance of waste management gains all the more importance in modern times considering the trash generation due to various ‘automations’ that describe processes industrial and otherwise which go to make our everyday lives that much easier.
With collection and transportation of refuse as the initial steps of waste management suffering due to a number of reasons, the ‘disposal’ component of the whole process never appears to take off. This then is bane of urban life in India.
However, mobile toilets and garbage collection centres could soon address issues of lack of public toilets and garbage problems in Goa with the state government asking the Defence Research Development Organisation to come out with a technology that converts old buses for this purpose. With the DRDO expressing its willingness, the decks are being cleared for a grand technological innovation that will be of immense help to Goans.
Are these ‘thoughts’ the result of the sustained campaign initiated by our Prime Minister to have India clean and shining!
It is definitely a matter of great solace that even today the ‘Gandhian legacy’ helps unite the country against social ills that have a direct bearing on the lives of the people – what if there is a political dimension to the whole exercise!