Zirgham Hamid
Today we feel proud to be citizens of India, a country which is famous worldwide for its diversified culture and tradition. There was a time when the Indian citizens working abroad were abused for the reason that they were grey skinned and were comparatively inferior to that of white skinned, but the situation has gone drastic change at present. We are respected all over the world as we are the nationals of that country which is emerging as the top developing country and hopefully in near future, its name will be included in the list of World super powers.
We got independence from Britishers with the help of untired stuggle of a visionary leader- Mahatma Gandhi who, with the support of nearly every section of the society started many movements and finally liberated us from the rule of Britishers. He was the person who always used the tool of Satyagraha and Non-violence against the Britishers which we can never forget but he talked about one more important term which we are oblivious of and that term is “Sanitation”. So much emphasis he laid on this term that even he goes on to the extent of saying that “Sanitation is more important than Independence”. We can’t afford to treat these words of such a visionary leader lightly as by doing so the doom of the nation wouldn’t be so far.Mahatma Gandhi was well aware of the weakness of Indian rural people during his time of Indian independence Movement. He dreamt of making this country a clean country and even he had emphasized a lot by many means among rural people. However this couldn’t be completed because of incomplete participation of the people. After many years of Independence, we are still living in the dirty environment and putting our lives in danger. Unfortunately, after 68 years of Independence, we have only about 30% of rural households with access to Toilets.Apart from that, there are many other challenges related to sanitation. So if a continuous and sincere effort is made in this regard, we will be able to realize the unfinished dream of father of nation- Mahatma Gandhi. While considering this fact, the Indian President Pranab Mukherjee said while addressing to the Parliament in June 2014 ” For ensuring hygiene, waste management and sanitation across the nation, a Swachh Bharat Mission will be launched. This will be our tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th anniversary to be celebrated in the year 2019. Nearly two months later, our Prime Minister NarendraModi during his speech on August 15, 2014 on Independence dayhas emphasized people about clean India. He said, “In order to ensure the hygiene all over the country, it is very important to solve the problems of sanitation, toilets and waste management”.
Our Prime Minister launched “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” successfully on 2nd of Oct, 2014 and targeted its completion till 2019. Main objective of this Abhiyan is to fulfill the sanitation facilities to all as well as eliminate all unhealthy practices of people by 2019. While this step taken by NarendraModi also called “Ekqadamswachtaki ore” has been widely appreciated by almost all the sections of the society, some people tried and are still trying to give it a political shape which is highly condemnable. It is a task which has nothing to do with the politicsand if I quote the words of NarendraModi, he said, ” Sanitation shouldn’t be seen as a political tool but should only be connected to patriotism and commitment to public health”
To make Swachh Bharat Abhiyan a success, we should bear in mind that it is going to be the combine effort of Govt as well as people. Neither Govt can do it alone nor can the the general public but have to go hand in hand. All the Governments in this country have made one or the other effort to do this work. From time to time, several political, social and cultural organization have made efforts in this direction. This is highly appreciable but at the same time, swachhbahratabhiyan shouldn’t be a mere re-branding exercise rather it should be taken seriously.
Being a responsible citizen, I have made my mind to make best effort on my part to contribute to this pious act as it has been rightly asserted that ” Cleanliness is the half faith”. In this regard, I have some ideas with me which I think can really help in successful implementation of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. They are as follows:
* Make up your mind
We consider ourself as the father of our own room and we can’t see it dirty. Likewise, Gandhiji is the father of the Nation so how can he afford to see his nation dirty. Here comes our duty to make Gandhiji smile when he will have a look on his nation as clean India through his spectacle.
* Parents shouldn’t hire a maid for some simple cleaning like balcony, virandha etc. rather they should direct their children to do so as it will also help them realize their duty.
* Famous personalities of different fields should be brought in front to promote swachhbharatAbhiyan as this step has much relevance in a country like India where youths consider some prominent personalities as their ideal.
* Incentives should be introduced either in monetary terms or any other form as it depends on the Govt. It is evident from a recent fact that the same when a lady passenger forgot her belongings at a railway station, on find of which the police constables ultimately returned her and for their honesty they were also awarded by their senior police officials.
* DUSTBINS should be made available at every 100 mtrs of distance as it has a psychological influence in an individual’s mind.
Besides, these there are some other important steps to be taken like more access to toilets, proper drainage system, waste management. Recycling of wastes and is introduction of news laws with successful implementation. By implementing Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) in real terms, we will soon be getting another SBA. Here SBA stands for Safe Bharat Ahead. Today we are interested in emulating the western culture but when it comes to cleanliness, image is totally different. Whenever we visit foreign countries we see how much clean those countries are but why don’t we imitate this concept in our own motherland. There is no doubt that “Charity begins at home” however it takes time to change established mindset, it’s a difficult task but we have to awaken our soul. This is not about me as I am only one of the total population of 1.2 billion. This is a people’s task and everyone should take it upon himself to make this mission a success rather than waiting for the Govt. to do. Let us hope that we can change the attitude of people towards hygiene and be the change we want to see.
(The author is a student of The Law School University of Jammu)
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