"Swachh Bharat". Sounds rather nice.....much like "Achhe Din aane wale hain"! The intention behind the slogan is also genuine no doubt. But much like "achhe din", "swachh Bharat" is hardly possible without us changing ourselves and our rather doubtful habits of cleanliness.
The great Indian tendency is to resist any kind of change, especially if it involves any kind of discomfort to him/herself. So, the quintissential Bharatiya will support Modi's campaign verbally, even tutor his/her kids dutifully, but a paradigm shift in habits and mentality? No way sir! Its too drastic!
After all you have people in swanky cars and spotlessly clean clothes chucking empty cola cans and used wafer packets on the streets. I have seen this scene so many times that I don't even get angry anymore. Or what about the suited, booted share market investor who spits out his pan spittle on the stair walls? Or the yuppie collegian who coolly spits out her gum on the pavement? Empty bottles, soft drink cans, wrappers, plastic packets, train/bus tickets, used tissues and diapers, where do we dispose of these when no one is looking? Yes you guessed it right, on the roads of course.
The incentive to keep our country clean comes from within. But the great Indian just can't mind the inherent habit of littering and defacing. And no amount of fine or punishment can stop such behaviour. We have demarcated our private places from the public ones too carefully, which is why you find the same people keeping their homes spotlessly clean.
Why don't we just remove this mental barrier and treat all the public spaces of this great country as our home? Won't we leave a splendid legacy for our kids?
The great Indian tendency is to resist any kind of change, especially if it involves any kind of discomfort to him/herself. So, the quintissential Bharatiya will support Modi's campaign verbally, even tutor his/her kids dutifully, but a paradigm shift in habits and mentality? No way sir! Its too drastic!
After all you have people in swanky cars and spotlessly clean clothes chucking empty cola cans and used wafer packets on the streets. I have seen this scene so many times that I don't even get angry anymore. Or what about the suited, booted share market investor who spits out his pan spittle on the stair walls? Or the yuppie collegian who coolly spits out her gum on the pavement? Empty bottles, soft drink cans, wrappers, plastic packets, train/bus tickets, used tissues and diapers, where do we dispose of these when no one is looking? Yes you guessed it right, on the roads of course.
The incentive to keep our country clean comes from within. But the great Indian just can't mind the inherent habit of littering and defacing. And no amount of fine or punishment can stop such behaviour. We have demarcated our private places from the public ones too carefully, which is why you find the same people keeping their homes spotlessly clean.
Why don't we just remove this mental barrier and treat all the public spaces of this great country as our home? Won't we leave a splendid legacy for our kids?
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