Our Political leaders affirms that "We the people (are Dirty Indians)"

On Swatch Bharat Abhiyan 

Yet and other one! Among many abhiyans reflecting systematic governance failures!

Mars mission indeed brought a great pride and reassurance to capabilities of Indian as scientist who delivered, a government absolutely serious, political neutral united  on space research and citizens supporting it with wholehearted cheering (never to mention the taxes we pay).Space and Indian military missions are shining examples which clearly demonstrate the objectives met when Government is serious. So such success also exposes us to sharp contrasts and mockery.  Imagine when a European or American citizens watching these developments might visit India and will be thinking (with a grin).

“Hey you guys know how a rocket can reach on mars and moon but why don’t you guys don’t know how the shit of your toilets reach a sewer treatment plant as it often gets lost in open drains, roads or finds it way to our holy rivers “…….

BJP being a conventional party which thrives on same rotten system of (corruption laden governmental agencies) which it is projecting to clean. I dint expected much from this another rhetoric ! Yes its was a rhetoric, I am cynic on it and I have reason for it ... !

Lets separate 03 things:

1. The importance of this abhiyan of public sanitation and cleanliness

2. Political positioning and intent

3. Ground reality, contradictions and clearing the dirt: Making the horse drink water!

First, medical historians and public health experts have agreed that from last 19th and 20th century world population grew from 2 billion to 6 billion and this enormous increase in population and life expectancy from 50 years to 85 years , is attributed not to advances in medical care but to extreme progresses made in public health and sanitation alone. It’s strange that medical health care played a little role in increased life expectancy and in some case marginal role. Western world developed massive sewer and waste disposal system and took care of land , water, air and food and no wonder life expectancy of these countries touch 80- 82 years and developing countries like India its still 65 years.

So, importance of such an ambitious mission can no way be contraindicated and undermined. It is extremely serious socio-economic intervention requiring a resolve of steel.  All efforts in this direction are worth millions of rupees saved on medical health care.  It becomes even more important because if we have today the youngest population in world, then in just 02 decades we will have large army of aging population ridden with diseases demanding long term health care, which with current policies we will never be able to meet and will lead to mass social unrest. Why social unrest ? Because this population will not be a population which can easily be silenced or can be left unheard. This will be empowered generation drifting towards less energetic lives with reduced earnings and high expectations on governance unlike the past decades. Long term care is extremely prioritized research area in developed countries and we are far behind to address such issues. 

Apart from this such sanitation targets can save enormous productive hours and resources spent on seeking health care and thus contributing a lot to economy. This will also lead to safer water, air and land and lead us toward a sustainable existence with nature.

Political positioning and intent

BJP being a conventional party I don’t expect much than just a rhetoric. Because it is thrives on the same eco system which it is positioning to be against. PM's intent may be un-questionable, he is a wise and grounded leader but BJPs organizational intent is just to reap the benefit of opportunity without applying a logical road map and genuine seriousness of such missions. So Modi ji's real test is ahead. You can bring a horse (government and party) to water (power and abhiyan) but you cant make it drink (read as, motivate or inspire to execute).So I have a serious doubt that even if we leave rest of India, will Modi be even be able to make Municipal Corporation of Delhi ruled by his own party from last 07 years right under his nose will be able to respond to his call. But he is a clever politician and he knows the importance of being "larger than life image" of a political leader which he is trying (successfully) to build on lines of Jawahar Lal Nehru or may be Gandhi ji.

So if you see in history, that if you have to build that image or legacy, challenge and break the earlier one which was highest. In Independent India, Nehru was only one who was larger than life figure for politics of his times, and later nurtured and kept alive successfully by his political heirs. Here Modi seems to challenge that, dismantling planning commission philosophy, invoking Gandhi and Patel at timings suitable to him. Similar behavior could be noted when being a CM of Gujrat he never addressed his critiques in his state but always chose to speak against Delhi Sultanate which graduated him from a regional leader to a leader of national stature and importance. Same behavior could be noted when Arvind Kejriwal chose to challenge the legacy of Shiela Dixit and later Modi in Varanasi. Electorally, Delhi elections was success for Kejriwal and failure in Varanasi, but politically his both maneuvers catapulted him as national leader even without enough parliamentary and assembly strength. Today in all political spectrum and public perception, opposition had just one name and that is Arvind Kejriwal and you can see several instances where political parties and leaders doing course corrections and even copying what AAP was doing or preaching.

What next? Make in India is covertly edition of another Swadeshi Movement of Gandhi and Digital India is Next? Remember after Indian independence Nehru laid a lot stress on self-reliance and industrialization in heavy industries, investments in science and technology institutions. So here is another parallel. I remember that structures like Bhakra Dam and Large Fertilizer Industries like FCI, NFL were rightly called as Temple of resurgent Modern India by Nehru. So, on a larger political landscape Modi is just on that track i.e. information highways, waterways etc. It will be his legacy if they see the light of day. So if BJP and at least BJP ruled State and corporations doesn’t get serious of Mr Modi;s call then Swatch Bharat Abhiyaan will just be another ice bucket challenge asking how much garbage you can collect to throw no where ?

Ground reality, contradictions and clearing the dirt: Making the horse drink water !

Ground reality is that we will never be able to achieve it with current set up. Just and example that sewer lines laid 100 years back in Delhi by Britishers are the one which are still operating. In all cities made after independence we lay sever lines decades after the cities have settled and many cities it still don’t exist. Often those laid did not work many examples in Gurgaon. Sewerage treatment and solid waste disposal remains a rocket science for municipal corporations and councils. As I said earlier, we know how a rocket can reach on mars and moon but we don’t know how the shit of our toilets can reach a sewer treatment plant and it gets lost in open drains or finds it way to our holy rivers.

Town and country Planning, PWD and Pollution Control Boards and Forest Depts remains most coveted domains for conventional parties, beurocracy and political leaders/ministers to make fortunes at cost of public health. Kickback is awarding Public sanitation contracts in municipal corporates, pollution control board approval of errant polluting industries. Corruption is blood line of this phenomenon.

Just opposite to Delhi's largest Landfill and largest open sewers, there are large colonies and buildings coming up. Stink of landfill exists upto kilometers and Local Govt , Health authorities, MCD and Urban Development Min. are least bothered about the health of population living in those areas or being allowed to settled in these areas.

Dirty Indians? No, Indians or for that matter any human being don’t want to live in dirty environment. It is systematic governance failure which forces us to be live in dirty environments. So do you expect citizens to travel every morning to landfill after crossing Delhi to throw his garbage if the dustbin at his street corner have not been cleared for weeks. Do you expect him to travel back to home in Dwarka if you feel urge to piss while you are Connaught Place? Do you expect him to install air cleaning systems in homes so that kids and elderly people would not suffocate? Your corrupt system had already made him install water filters because you could not even supply clean water to these dirty Indians. Was it dirty Indians fault that you could not ensure the quality of water coming in his taps? System make him dirty and corrupt. Dysfunctional disposal systems make them throw dirt in the corner of street.  Absence of urinals or cleanliness of existing urinals make them piss in public corners. Dysfunctional and ineffective pollution controls boards allow conversion of holy rivers in to open sewers.  Ganga Yamuna Saga, 20,000 Crores spent and political mileages being earned on these issues! Dirty Ganga and Yamuna is life line of many industrialists and local Municipal Corporations which feed these conventional parties. So have little hope and you can be rightfully cynical on Clean Ganga Campaign. Uma Bharti say she will clean Ganga in 3 years, Modji before elections says he will  do it in 05 years and after winning election he says in Supreme Court that it may take 18 years. Truth is with this system it will be counterproductive to clean Ganga.

Corrupt and illogical town and country planning officials allow haphazard building, business complexes, malls and residential buildings leading to clogged roads with traffic causing jams and pollution of air. Rain water management remains a least of priority and is remembered only when few hundreds die of dengue or malaria that too necessarily in National Capital elsewhere it doesn’t makes a news. May be this will also happen for Ebola?

Conclusion

It’s not a question of who is in power or which party or leader makes benefits from abhiyans and initiatives. How ironic is that? BJP is in power at Centre, in Delhi state and MCD too. Still it has to launch a Swatch Bharat Abhiyan in New Delhi and that too in Parliament Street.

We all jumped to support PM campaign on this endeavor. Its reflects that we are not dirty Indians. We are ready do your (Govt, center, state and municipal) bit now! Voluntary work from citizens for larger societal good is long standing value of Indian society but can ever a volunteer effort replace the? Structured intervention of government in essential domains of public order. Similar logic also stands for education (primary secondary and higher), roads and hospitals. Public sanitation is not natural calamity where government structure and administration is demolished or incapacitated which calls for large scale voluntary support from general public by Government and political leadership. It is a systematic government intervention with a foresight and vison of increasing populations and country and town planning. Given our past experiences post-Independence, we as rational thinking citizens should necessarily look to all political initiatives with a bottom line questions of common sense,  whats the action plan and how to measure and how am I affected ? With this abhiyan what can be your possible questions when next time anyone from BJP comes to your door steps for votes?

1- Is a garbage collections container lying within 50 meters of walking distance from your home?

2- Is this garbage box cleared every night?

3- Are you able to drink the tap water coming from municipal supply with same surety with which you gulp the bottled water?

4- Proportion of time you lose in traffic jams while you travel to office or home or market

5- Are you able to walk safely to nearby market or office without any in - convenience?

6- Are your children and elders able to cross a road safely or can they walk or cycle on city roads?

7-Are the roads and footpaths so seamlessly aligned that even a handicapped or old person can navigate through without any help?

7- Is there a clean public park available in your vicinity?

Do you find any rocket science in this or you think that you don’t deserve this much? These all are just basic questions and many more need to answered like lives of workers, there wages and health issues by policy makers. But those in policy making and implementation power centers are the one who are one sustaining on this garbage and chaos!

Jai Hind !