EDITORIAL: SWACHH BHARAT: OUR PRIDE - OUR RESPONSIBILITY (Nov )

Summary

The Swachh Bharat Mission, launched in 2014, achieved its goal of a Clean India by October 2019, coinciding with Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. The mission successfully constructed over 11 crore toilets, eliminating open defecation for approximately 750 million people and significantly reducing communicable diseases. It also promoted waste management and hygiene awareness, yielding financial and economic benefits for millions. The editorial highlights India’s historical emphasis on cleanliness, rooted in traditions like Shaucha (cleanliness of mind, speech, and body) and ancient civilizations such as the Indus Valley. However, foreign invasions disrupted social structures, leading to neglect of public sanitation. Leaders like Swami Vivekananda and Gandhi revived the importance of cleanliness, with Vivekananda personally cleaning toilets at Belur Math to inspire others and leading efforts during the 1899 Kolkata plague. Sister Nivedita further emphasized women’s role in promoting public cleanliness. The Ramakrishna Mission’s Swachh Mangaluru Abhiyan exemplifies modern public participation in sanitation. Despite progress, sustaining cleanliness requires individual responsibility in waste disposal and maintaining clean neighborhoods. The mission’s success, costing over ₹20,000 crores, underscores the link between social cleanliness and prosperity, urging continued collective effort to uphold these achievements.