Prof. M. K. Bhat
Broom- an integral part of households is used to make homes and offices livable /workable. Despite its importance, it gets place behind a door or is relegated to a rare area away from the gaze of guests. People hate it so much that they outsource its usage to others. In average families, it falls within the domain of the weaker sex as it has enough power to crash the ego of a male if he uses it. Technology tried to invade its market, but could not reduce its demand even by 1 percent. Today, it has got a distinct position in society perhaps the old saying that every dog has his day gets substantiated by its present stature.
Broom got its pride with the formation of Aam Adami Party by Arvind Kejriwal, with an intention to weed out corruption from the system. He used it as an election symbol, people voted him and he got seats beyond his expectations. The subsequent drama of 49 days disappointed every one and exposed the lack of experience with Arvind Kejriwal. He made Delhi without chief minister for six months and kept the rumor market hot for the press. The broom did not lose its credibility, but Arvind lost and now he intends to muster support for the same broom from people. It is now for the people of Delhi to come out with their verdict.
The second person to give broom its credibility is Prime Minister, Narender Modi. He put it in the hands of all those who matter with an intension to have Swatch Bharat (clean India) by 2019 on the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This is being held as an attempt to fulfill Mahatma’s vision of clean India. Mahatma’s vision too needed a broom after 67 years of independence to remove the dirt and cobweb developed on it by vested interests of a few people. (It is no secret that Mahatma Gandhi in last sixty seven years has been used as vote catching brand with a little interest in what he believed in. The real tribute to Mahatma Gandhi can be when people will start practicing, what he really stood for. We shall try to know things through his lenses rather than through the eyes of others. Gandhi stood for Gram Swaraj, Trusteeship, Ahinsa, Satyagraha, Caste system abolition, upliftment of Dalits and Backwards etc. Cleanliness was close to his heart, even he cleaned his toilet himself. These things have almost faded from people’s conscience. Gandhi has got confined to books only and comes out occasionally for certain events.)
The only difference between Arvind Kejriwal’s and Narender Modi’s treatment of broom is that while the former used it as an election symbol to get through elections, the latter wants to make it apolitical. He is trying to make cleaning a mass movement and has involved even opponents like Akhilesh Yadav, Shashi Tharoor etc with the movement. Cleanliness involves every one of us despite our political affiliations/profession or religious ideology. It has a direct bearing on the health of every one inhabiting the country.
PM rightly said that the swatch mission will be successful only, when 125 million Indians will participate in the mission with utmost sincerity and dedication. The mere idea of taking broom in hand for photo oops is of no avail and can only lead to the mockery of a good idea. People really aspire for a change at the ground level. They are too alert to be swayed by any show biz. The support rendered to this noble cause by cross sections of society makes it imperative for the government to galvanize the positivity in getting cleanliness done. The movement shall not remain confined to celebrities only, rather it shall go in the mind of every citizen that neither he will create dirtiness nor will allow others to do such a thing.
Cleanliness mission may involve broom, stopping defecation on roads, covering uncovered drains, cleaning rivers, schools, workplaces etc .It may mean 800 million new toilets, At present 32.7 percent of households have access to toilets that means 67 crore people have no access to toilets. According to a UN report, India continues to have the largest number of people defecating in the open. Corporate India has started to show interest in eliminating this menace through corporate social responsibilities but the onus ultimately falls on every Indian.
The urge to do things for society, is largely missing as we over the years have taken for granted that any work which does not directly benefit us is the responsibility of the government. Government for average Indian is the giver and common people are takers. This relationship has to change as the exchequer cannot full fill everything. People need to realize their responsibilities. They have to be givers rather than takers some times. Swatchta is a little thing; people can do wonders with or without their political leaders if they make up their mind for the better. There are innumerable examples which prove that a common man of India has made impossible, possible.
No government can change the fate of people, but they themselves can do miracles for the society. Going down my memory lane, I remember one such incident. In our village at Kaloosa, District Bandipur (J&K), there was a rented primary school in the village with zero facilities and no one of the village had any complaint. The students used to play on a grave yard during break time. Its headmaster Mr. Pushkar Nath took it upon himself to give the children a play ground. He told the village children to occupy the village land for playing. There was a big resentment from those who had illegally occupied it without any real use. He was even labeled with choicest abuses by people. The saner elements were satisfied with the honest intension of the headmaster and they prevailed on others. Pushkar Nath died as a migrant, but the village children got their school. I may point here that good intensions never go unrewarded even before the worst enemies.
It is not only good intensions of all those involved in this movement, but the government too needs to take certain stringent steps like banning of plastic/ polythene bags as they are the biggest source of pollution. People can dump garbage at right places only, when dustbins are available. The industries responsible for draining toxic waste in rivers need to be punished. There is a dire need of follow up which can be through Panchayats, Gram Sabhas, Mohalla committees etc. Drainage system needs to be improved and the schools, colleges parks, roads should get cleaned on regular bases.
PM Modi has very well lamented on the occasion of inauguration of Eknath Ranade Janma Shati Parva at Vigyan Bhavan on 9th of Nov 2014 that ultimate aim in life should not be prosperity but purposefulness. Cleanliness can be a step in this direction, as the time has come to broom negativity for better tomorrow.
(The author is Deputy Director (MAIMS) Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Delhi)
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