What Rubbish! We are Indians!
Jun 15 2008 | Views 61 |
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A recent news story has reported that a UK councillar had to eat humble pie and apologise, after residents of Indian origin took umbrage, for alleging that Indian immigrants were responsible for littering a housing estate. She is also stated to have remarked that littering was normal behaviour in India.
I do not know what was so extraordinary in her remarks for us to have taken such offence, for is it not true that we do not find anything wrong in littering our public spaces with all manner of refuse? Is there any other reason for all our public properties to be so filthy? It is inded paradoxical that we who are so conscious of our personal cleanliness should show such utter disregard for our immediate surroundings.
It is widely accepted that we do take extraordinary care to keep both our persons and our homes clean. Most would bathe daily and keep their homes and businesses spick and span. But when it comes to keeping our neighbourhoods similarly clean, we turn the proverbial blind eye. One reason could be that we do not believe in the concept of public property being the property of all. We have a healthy regard for privte gain only. If public property can be used for private profit, we are all for it. That explains the large encroachments on our public lands. We do not make any distinctions between rich and poor, educated or illiterate, when it comes to such encroachments. All indulge in it unabashedly. We are truly egalitarian in this common endeavour. The poor atleast have their need for an excuse, but the rich have only their greed to blame.
On the other hand if public property can not be used privately, we could not be bothered for its maintenance. It is then treated as no one's property and thus nobody is responsible for it. Our duty is then only to beat our chests, occasionally, over the govenment's failure in maintaining them. We do not owe any responsibility as citizens! We are supremely indifferent to anything that does not yield personal gain. It is then no wonder that our villages and our cities should be so dirty.
We are also extremely ritualistic and double faced. We claim to believe that cleanliness is next only to godliness. We also claim to worship our land, mountains, rivers and all things animate and inanimate. We will offer "aartis" dutifully in our temples, on our rivers and mountains and yet we do nothing to keep them clean. On the contrary we do everything to despoil them. The most sacred of our shrines bear testimony to our utter disregard to communal cleanliness.
When we go abroad, we marvel at the manner in which public spaces are kept there. We observe how civic minded their citizens are and we behave similarly. Perhaps we are scared of being found out if we do not behave. But our best behaviour is forgotten as soon as we land on native shores. Maybe it is due to the fact that there is neither any incentive nor any punishment for responsible civic behaviour. We think that the place is already so dirty that a little filth contributed by us would not matter. Even otherwise, who would punish us?
Though the situation seems pretty much bleak of our ever reforming, the recent example of Delhi Metro has shown that there is still some hope left. It is uncharcteristically neat. Perhaps it is due to the fact that enforcement is strict. Or perhaps citizens feel genuinely proud of a world class facilty. The lesson to be learnt is not new. It seems that the proverbial carrot and stick may still yield the desired results.
I do not know what was so extraordinary in her remarks for us to have taken such offence, for is it not true that we do not find anything wrong in littering our public spaces with all manner of refuse? Is there any other reason for all our public properties to be so filthy? It is inded paradoxical that we who are so conscious of our personal cleanliness should show such utter disregard for our immediate surroundings.
It is widely accepted that we do take extraordinary care to keep both our persons and our homes clean. Most would bathe daily and keep their homes and businesses spick and span. But when it comes to keeping our neighbourhoods similarly clean, we turn the proverbial blind eye. One reason could be that we do not believe in the concept of public property being the property of all. We have a healthy regard for privte gain only. If public property can be used for private profit, we are all for it. That explains the large encroachments on our public lands. We do not make any distinctions between rich and poor, educated or illiterate, when it comes to such encroachments. All indulge in it unabashedly. We are truly egalitarian in this common endeavour. The poor atleast have their need for an excuse, but the rich have only their greed to blame.
On the other hand if public property can not be used privately, we could not be bothered for its maintenance. It is then treated as no one's property and thus nobody is responsible for it. Our duty is then only to beat our chests, occasionally, over the govenment's failure in maintaining them. We do not owe any responsibility as citizens! We are supremely indifferent to anything that does not yield personal gain. It is then no wonder that our villages and our cities should be so dirty.
We are also extremely ritualistic and double faced. We claim to believe that cleanliness is next only to godliness. We also claim to worship our land, mountains, rivers and all things animate and inanimate. We will offer "aartis" dutifully in our temples, on our rivers and mountains and yet we do nothing to keep them clean. On the contrary we do everything to despoil them. The most sacred of our shrines bear testimony to our utter disregard to communal cleanliness.
When we go abroad, we marvel at the manner in which public spaces are kept there. We observe how civic minded their citizens are and we behave similarly. Perhaps we are scared of being found out if we do not behave. But our best behaviour is forgotten as soon as we land on native shores. Maybe it is due to the fact that there is neither any incentive nor any punishment for responsible civic behaviour. We think that the place is already so dirty that a little filth contributed by us would not matter. Even otherwise, who would punish us?
Though the situation seems pretty much bleak of our ever reforming, the recent example of Delhi Metro has shown that there is still some hope left. It is uncharcteristically neat. Perhaps it is due to the fact that enforcement is strict. Or perhaps citizens feel genuinely proud of a world class facilty. The lesson to be learnt is not new. It seems that the proverbial carrot and stick may still yield the desired results.
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