Swach Barath needs Swatch minds..

The toilet at my pharmaceutical factory was in a disgusting condition. Despite all 56 employees being well-educated, the entire toilet, except for the tap, was covered in some form of human waste. Repulsed by this despicable sight, I grabbed the broom, and a bottle of phenol kept outside and started cleaning.

Plant Manager Shivakumar came running and snatched the broom from my hands, profusely apologizing. “That loafer Janitor Somashekara has been absent for two days,” he said. Enraged and incredulous, I asked, “Why can’t someone else clean it?”

Shivakumar replied sheepishly, “Saar, no one touches that broomstick except him since it is impure work.” I could only shake my head in disgust as one of the workers feigned cleaning the toilet.

Although the Indus Valley Civilization had toilets with flushing systems 3500 years ago, sanitation in India today is probably the worst in the world.

Why?

-Over time, the manual scavenging and cleaning of human waste have become the duties of a particular caste. This division made sanitation and waste management exclusive to a specific caste, making others never do so. While such discrimination is illegal in India, almost all the country’s sanitation workers who deal with human excrement, including those who clean septic tanks and sewers, are from the lowest caste rung in their communities.

– Public apathy and Reluctance:

There is a deep-rooted reluctance to participate in cleaning activities, ignoring civic and communal responsibility. The problem emerges from a mentality that waste collection and cleaning is someone else’s job
that is devoid of waste disposal ethics.

– Over time, people become accustomed to seeing litter and garbage, accepting it as normal.

Solutions:

– Sanitation in India is not only taboo but also stigmatized. Unless recognition and very high rewards, both in public and private enterprises, are given to those who handle waste, waste will continue to suffocate India.

– Schools should teach that sanitation is everyone’s responsibility and that carrying back litter is a civic responsibility if garbage bins are unavailable.

– Ensure that enough water is constantly available. Millions of toilets were built, but rarely is enough water available to clean them after use.

Influential leaders and celebrities participating in human waste cleaning activities can set positive examples, showing that cleanliness is a collective effort and not linked to social status.

For a cleaner India, societal conditioning that views cleaning as demeaning must change. While initiatives like Swachh Bharat are steps in the right direction, the profoundly ingrained caste biases towards sanitation tasks present significant hurdles. Before trying to clean garbage outside, we should first
Swachh Bharat Starts with Swachh Thinking.