After winning a massive mandate from the people of the country, Narendra Modi putting an end to all speculations of political pundits who carefully spent each minute calculating what's the first thing the Prime Minister of the country is going to announce after he rallies in his constituency came up with Swachh Bharat. They were nowhere close to it. An idea of a clean India. It sure was out of the blue for the mainstream media, who had been focused all that while on what temple or mosque the Prime minister chose to visit. Outlining the idea of young country, we as a youth of independent India owe a lot to the generations who died for the freedom of the country. What else could be a better way of paying tribute to the great leaders born on this land. The Swachh Bharat mission was started with remembrance of Mahatama Gandhi's dream of a clean India and the mission to make the whole country clean by Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary in 2019. Henceforth, the logo of Swachh Bharat mission aesthetically exhibits Gandhi's spectacles.
Swachh Bharat abhiyan or Swachh Bharat mission is more than just a government policy or a good political campaign, Swachh Bharat is an idea of a clean India that had been lying under the rug for far too long. Now is the time for the people of the country to be and be a part of the cleanliness drive.
It was relaxed Saturday afternoon. My friend and I had planned to meet to discuss our individual prospects. I was telling him about the web project that I had undertaken with a couple of college mates. It was of least interest to him but since he values my appreciation of art and poetry, he clung to the conversation anyway. We walked towards his home. Having met for along time, he had lined up his musical compositions he was working for. I was there to listen and give my feedback. We reached there in a minutes. He asked me to wait outside. He sneaked in to get his guitar. Standing peacefully on the road side, I saw couple of shops thronged on a pedestrian path on the opposite side of the road. There was a taylor chit chatting with some clients, a shoddily thatched roof under which a lady was ironing clothes in a haste with heaps of clothes on the deck and next to it was a chai wala in a deadpan motion pouring chai in the little plastic cups.
A minute had passed, I went over to the other side of the road under the shade of the tree. I could hear the taylor clearer now, sharing a laugh. I couldn't help but notice him finish his cup of tea and throwing the glass on the ground. I surveyed the distance of between his counter and the bin. The bin was hardly seven steps away from where his chair was placed. He continued with his conversation and promised a timely delivery to the guys at his service. I waited for them leave. As soon as they left, I went up and asked the taylor if he had knowledge of any trash can around that area. He moved his head, scanned by hands and replied "Why? what happened..?" I pointed towards the bunch of used cups lying on the road. He looked at the nearly empty bin "This is cleaned up everyday" he retorted hesitantly. I smiled and went to the pick the cups and before I could get my hand to one of the cups. He joined me to clean the place. He willingly picked up the rest of the cups and dumped it in the dustbin. The place was cleaned before my friend arrived. I smiled and gently greeted him for showing the positive efforts. I tread back with great hope.
A large amounts of funds from Swachh Bharat abhiyan are going towards structuring toilets in rural areas, employing garbage disposal pick ups, keeping up the sanitation drives. Moreover, there's a new 0.5 percent Swachh Bharat tax introduced by the government to keep the funds steady. All these attempts are going to be in vain if we reject the idea of clean India. It's the responsibility of the youth to take the challenges. We've heard often how people litter freely on roads and complain how India is never going to be like other countries. Every time you speak negatively of Swachh Bharat campaign you are forcing your belief on others. You are directly or indirectly a part of it whether you accept it or not. We are already proceeding with a great effort.
There are indexing of clean cities in the country. There are awareness programmes in schools and plantation drives to bring down the pollution levels. Adopting healthy lifestyles is also making swachh bharat successful. We can only move with greater pace if each one of us actively joins the campaign by keeping our surroundings clean. It doesn't need a broom to get thing going, the acceptance of the problem could lead to greater changes.
Every story starts with an idea, but it's the characters that move this idea forward. If you see Swachh Bharat abhiyan failing. It is not the idea it is you. If you can't stand up for what you believe in then there's no point in advocating for a clean India. Next time you see a kid throwing a plastic bottle on the road and you see their parents looking the other way, it's on you. Time is now. You have to option to choose. You want to live in a clean India or a nation of helpless people who are too afraid to take a step forward. Ending this post with one of Victor Hugo's good quotes.
"There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come."
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