Civic Sense, Cleanliness and Unskilled Human Resource

One of the first things that strikes a person entering India, is the squalor and filth. What aggravates the whole situation is the apparent lack of concern among citizens. It becomes second nature to people walking on the street, to nimbly sidestep the dirt and germ filled puddles and wrinkle their noses at the stench of decaying rubbish strewn on the streets, while they carelessly flick away their own food wrappers or send streams of spit flying across the road.
The passer-by politely averts his eyes from the man at this corner who is watering a tree with his personalized brand of fluid fertiliser, while he himself finds another tree at another corner for his own purpose.
Pan chewing is a common habit among most people. What is unforgivable is the contemptible habit of sending out red liquid missiles of spit and betel juice. Not a building, wall or corner escapes this onslaught. The tell-tale signs can be seen splattered on the walls even through the grills of an elevator in motion.
Consider the scene in a private hospital toilet. Mud and dirt lie thick on the floors. There is running water (surprised?) but the toilet flush does not work. The all-pervading stench of stale urine is nauseating. Outside, the cleaner meticulously dusts the floors making sure that the broom is held a measured 6 cm away from the floor and that the dust is undisturbed.
The saddest and most ironic aspect of this state of affairs is the stock response that it elicits from the citizens, even educated ones. A general shrug, a helpless shake of the head and the comment, “You really can’t do anything about a country like India. It is too vast and the population is too massive to be controlled.” Our streets display more eloquently the state of affairs of our so called human resource about which our ministers keep boasting too often. Whether educated or uneducated, literate or illiterate all our human resource is unskilled when it comes to practice.
Perhaps I am just plain stupid, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out what the rising population has to do with betel spit and public defecation! Aren’t we making the population the scapegoat for everything? I honestly wonder how many people spit on the walls inside their own homes, urinate in their own corridors or throw wrappers about in their living rooms. In a bid to keep their houses clean, they dirty the streets. If we respect, understand and practice cleanliness within the confines of our own homes, why do we forsake it like a discarded jacket the moment we step out on the streets? Why does the Indian psyche find it so difficult to accept that they are the citizens of the whole country and not just the four walls of their home?
Indians, who have had the chance to visit other countries, come back time and again with tales of lands, where the streets are clean and where the “system” works. Expatriate Indians also try to maintain certain dignified standards in their behaviour in keeping with the norms of their place of residence. What impressions do foreign tourists take back about India?
The enormity of the problem makes escapism an easy response. “What difference would my effort make against the fact that millions of others are doing the opposite? say even educated people. But should that deter me from continuing to do my bit? I mean, is it necessary to join the multitude and become a litterbug just because everyone else is. It may not seem like doing much but every action does produce a reaction perhaps not immediately; perhaps only much later and after repeated attempts.
Where are all those unemployed young men who get sucked into various street gangs? They use the power of the group to propagate fear and terror among the citizens. Why don’t they use the same terror-inspiring tactics to create a clean environment in their own neighbourhood? If each gang worked for the betterment of its own area, think of the cleanliness that ‘would result in the whole city.
Perhaps I sound idealistic and my solutions simplistic but the fact remains that I feel concerned about the nature of the problem. I also know that wherever I live, I will never be able to carelessly litter a place or spit in public places or perform such other anti-social actions. I am quite sure that the same holds true for many people in India. But the civic sense of the people has perhaps been dulled by years of apathy and inaction.
Taking out processions, yelling slogans, fighting for one’s rights, initiating strikes and in general harnessing public opinion against an unjust act, especially by someone in authority , are part of the democratic process in India. We expect much from our country and the Government in power. Has anyone stopped to wonder what we return to our motherland? Mounds of dirt, rubbish and an all-pervading stink?