As the third anniversary celebrations of Swachch Bharat Mission commences, one must say that the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan as the brainchild of Narendra Modi has been receiving the sort of attention and nation-wide response that no other plan ever envisaged by any other PM in the history of the country has ever got. Second only to the much-hyped Garibi Hatao campaign which however failed to have the desired impact with the country still reeling under the effects of poverty for the past 70 years, cleanliness as an important national agenda and focal point of public awareness will be relegated to the realms of the rhetoric with Modi's Clean India drive going much the same way as Indira Gandhi's Poverty-free India campaign, if not pursued in right earnest. Raking subjects that have a direct bearing on the populace, leaders usually strike an emotional chord with the masses. Modi, in an apparent bid to popularise his schemes, is trying to appropriate national icons of the past in order to drive home points that would otherwise appear vague. Synchronising the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan with the Mahatma's birth date, it was made evident that his government endorsed the teachings of the great soul who stressed on the importance of the highest levels of cleanliness and sanitation in our daily lives. It is the social responsibility of every citizen to keep his surroundings clean and this must start from one's own house. However, the lack of civic sense or our deliberate attempts to overlook it has ensured that improvements on this front have been bare to nil. Moreover, the proclivity shown by the government to bring about awareness about cleanliness amongst the public only in tiny fits and starts has been all the more damaging. One has got tired of watching media pictures of broom-wielding leaders undertaking the mission on commemorative occasions. While the clean ‘private' places in sharp contrast to the dirty ‘public' places across the country are a mute testimony of the people making better efforts at keeping their areas clean, the instructions of the PM being relayed down the hierarchy to achieve the target is indicative of the apathy that epitomizes the government attitude towards converting the slogan into a viable multi-faceted programme.
PACHU MENON, Margao
