Road to Progress - 4

I am very thrilled with the “Swach Bharat” initiative launched by the Prime Minister of India on October 2, 2014 on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhiji’s birthday.  It is a laudable effort.  It was the need of the hour.  It had to be done.  Somebody had to think of it.  Someone had to lead it.  I always wonder why nobody thought of it ever before.  All previous exercises remained at statement declarations.  Action has always been missing. 

The Aam Aadmi Party, which had the broom as the symbol, used it to focus only on cleansing the political arena.  It never capitalised on the opportunity to rid India of the dirt that you see everyday.  The Prime Minister is not afraid that the political party whose election symbol is the broom would get advantage of it.  There is no way they would be able to leverage it.  The tool was their’s but somebody used it effectively.

There is a lot to gain from this Initiative. Politician’s earlier had talked about converting Mumbai into Shanghai.  That dream is very far from reality.  Tall, glossy buildings do not make a city.  Its basic infrastructure needs to be supportive of that.  One could see a lot of tourists flocking to Mumbai to see its beautiful heritage.  Their numbers have decreased over the years.  Those who do come are on business purpose and there is a difference between the real tourist and the business traveller.

Coming back to the point of “Swach Bharat”.  There is hope that the living conditions of Indian’s will improve. This should lead to people inculcating good habits.   Littering the road with garbage, will hopefully stop.  People will also stop spitting on the roads, from the trains and busses and out of their residential windows.

The real need of this Swach Bharat Abhiyan is not the urban corners of the elite.  It should be targeted rightly at the slum areas.  The Prime Minister did the right thing by launching the initiative from a neglected residential colony and not taking up the Raj Ghat area or other already clean spaces.  Let us hope that the mission planned to spread over five years continues with the same momentum with which it started.  We hope that college students will also take part in this initiative with the same vigour and not become some sort of an article in their annual report.

Just like the Aam Aadmi Party which focussed on cleaning the country of scams and underhand political dealings, but with little success, the Swach Bharat initiative should not only focus on cleanliness of roads and public spaces, building toilets, urinals but it needs to have a multi-dimensional approach.  This could include creating awareness and importance of cleanliness and hygiene in public and private spaces, keeping the country litter free and this can be done through awareness by using the available medium of communication like television, radio and FM channels, street plays to be conducted by theatre groups which could be sponsored by Corporates, stricter enforcement of rules and heavy penalties to defaulters.  Our tourist places need more attention.  They need to be cleaned all the more because people come to see those spots and not the garbage there is.  Hawkers who sell their wares must be made responsible for proper disposal of whatever is left of the packaging after its consumption.  Proper toilet facilities are required there because in their absence, the people resort to open defecation.  Ladies face the most difficult in relieving themselves and that must be a priority.

Let us extend the Swach Bharat initiative to clean the country of so many ills that it is currently suffering from:

• Let us clean corruption from India and make it scam free.
• Let us clean our hearts from the ill-wills that we carry for each other
• Let us clean our mindsets of all biases against the girl child
• Let us clean our nation from the ills of dowry and its related issues.
• Let us clean our judiciary from any political influence or bias of any kind.  Let the judicial process be quick, clean and transparent.  Judiciary is where India’s population have hopes of justice.
• Let us clean our Law Enforcement systems, i.e. the police free from political interference.  Give them a free hand at their task because; a) they are trained for that role; b) they are professional people who should know how to handle a specific situation.  Let us treat them as professionals to, which they are not at present.  The police do not appear as professionals, their morale is on a all-time low, their body language is not positive and always seem under pressure.  Let’s give them a free hand and see for ourselves it impact.
• Let us give our education system.  Our children deserve good education, that is skill based, is practical, is future oriented and employment oriented.
• Let us clean our health care system right from basic health care to tertiary health care and super-speciality.  Let us stop commercial health care organisations from overcharging, from medical malpractices, commissions and practices of receiving kick-backs from the business generated by each other. 
• Let us clean our nation from regional biases.  We are all Indians and must confirm to one belief of a strong and united India.
• Let us offer clean and safe transportation system, specially in the rural areas where masses of people travel in boxes which are poor on maintenance, driven by drunk drivers.  Let’s clean our roads from vehicular obstructions, potholes, encroachments, reduce the number of accidents and the number of deaths caused due to accidents through all modes of transport, i.e. road and train.  Let’ have clean toilets in trains, at State Transport Bus stations, schools, colleges, government institutions.

If all this is accomplished, we will definitely have a Swach Swarg Bharat.

Countrymen, please do your bit.  Not for the photo-opportunity or as a mark of tokenism but as a responsibility that you have towards your nation.