Of the numerous initiatives that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, which would give Mahatma Gandhi the gift of a
clean India on his 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019, has the greatest
potential to transform the lives of all Indians – rich and poor.
The phrase ‘Cleanliness is next to
Godliness’ has finally become more than just an idea.Sanitation has been the theme of virtually every
government in recent times. Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had launched the
Central Rural Sanitation Programme in 1986 and Prime Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee the Complete Sanitation Campaign in 1999. But no previous government
has shown the resolve and commitment exhibited by Modi. This time it feels
real.The aim of this
campaign is to make India one of the cleanest cities of the world in the next
five years. The PM himself
started the campaign by walking from Rajpath to Valmiki colony and
cleaning a small area in the colony of sanitation workers in the company
of party colleagues and officials.
Till date, sweeping streets and ending open
defecation have occupied media centre stage. But equally critical to Swachh
Bharat are access to piped water; well-functioning drainage, sewage and solid
waste management in all cities and villages; elimination of ponds in which
stagnant water collects and serves as host to bacteria and mosquitoes;
instilling greater appreciation of cleanliness in all its aspects among the
masses. Indeed, taking the campaign to its logical conclusion would require
replacing slums with more spacious housing having piped water delivery and
modern sewage facilities.
Mahatma Gandhi got it precisely right when he
wrote in 1925, “I learnt 35 years ago that a lavatory must be as clean as a
drawing room. I learnt this in the West. I believe that many rules about
cleanliness in lavatories are observed more scrupulously in the West than in
the East.” Having experienced not-so-swachh toilets as well as open defecation
during childhood visits to my ancestral village and the town next door, i fully
appreciate why many prefer to go for open despite access to a toilet.
As a final thought, let me state that it is of
utmost importance that Modiji sustains the public awareness campaign at the
high level he has begun until the objective is achieved. Through speeches and
commercials on television and radio, he must continually exhort citizens to
change their habits. He must also cajole state chief ministers, prominent
politicians from all parties and film and sports stars to do the same.
If we wage this campaign on a war footing as we
once did to eradicate polio, we can surely make the 150th birthday of the
Mahatma a memorable day for every citizen of India.
