I had an unusual mail in my inbox a couple of days back. It was from UNICEF stating that it was organising a photo contest for observing World Toilet Day (which falls on November 19). It said, "All you need to do is take a picture of yourself or your family and friends with your toilet, upload it (in their site), and show how happy and proud you are of using your toilet."
The UNICEF was in fact promoting the World Toilet Organization, an initiative taken up by a Singaporean businessman Jack Sim in 2001, to highlight lack of sanitation in developing countries.
Quite predictably, the mail had some depressing statistics regarding the world in general and India in particular. Though we are aware of the seriousness of the problem, the actual numbers will still make us wince in disgust - 600 million of our countrymen still defecate in the open. That is close to 60% of the population.
Apart from the government's monumental failure, which is very apparent; it has also to do with skewed priorities of our citizens. According to census 2011, the country has more cell phones than toilets!! Clean sanitation somehow is never considered a priority. The residents will keep their houses clean, also take care of personal hygiene, but defecate in open without any hesitation. No wonder diseases such as diarrhea, dysentry are so rampant.
The problem may seem very in your face as you approach any major city by train, as areas near railway tracks have become the unofficial open-air restroom of the country. However, its origins lie in villages, where these practices evoke not even a shrug. Maybe because they have the luxury of sparsely populated areas and secluded spaces.
These very villagers often migrate to cities to escape poverty and other adversities and end up in slums. They bring along their sanitation habits too. The general congestion in cities and high real estate prices leaves them with little choice.
The problem has been a long standing one and despite Mahatma Gandhi's valiant efforts - he had in fact declared that 'sanitation was more important than independence', the hideous practice outlived him.
There are in fact many jokes connected with this. A very popular one is set in Jawaharlal Nehru era. The then US President John F Kennedy visited India and felt disgusted by the sight of rampant open defecation and complained to Nehru. A hurt Nehru decided to pay back in same coin. During his visit to US he went around looking for persons relieving in the open, but tough luck. Finally, much to his delight, he did manage to find one. But he turned out to be an Indian embassy staff!
When V S Naipaul came to India and wrote about this eyesore of a practice in An Area of Darkness and India a Wounded Civilization, it did raise the hackles of many in the country. But instead of working towards eradicating this social evil, they just banned his latter book. Sanitation was always considered a dirty word a taboo topic, a low caste activity. Due to such primitive sanitation methods the practice of carrying nightsoil is still prevalent in many parts of the country.
In independent India, with the sole exception of Sulabh movement, no social or political organisation tried to squarely face the issue until Jairam Ramesh came along. At least he brought the issue back to spotlight and made it a talking point, notwithstanding the controversy over his remark that the country had more temples than toilets. I hope it does not die down after the recently concluded Nirmal Bharat Yatra. Some recent incidents of newly-wed women refusing to stay in husband's house due to lack of toilet is indeed holds out some hope.
Also Read: Bangalore Beat
The UNICEF was in fact promoting the World Toilet Organization, an initiative taken up by a Singaporean businessman Jack Sim in 2001, to highlight lack of sanitation in developing countries.
Quite predictably, the mail had some depressing statistics regarding the world in general and India in particular. Though we are aware of the seriousness of the problem, the actual numbers will still make us wince in disgust - 600 million of our countrymen still defecate in the open. That is close to 60% of the population.
Apart from the government's monumental failure, which is very apparent; it has also to do with skewed priorities of our citizens. According to census 2011, the country has more cell phones than toilets!! Clean sanitation somehow is never considered a priority. The residents will keep their houses clean, also take care of personal hygiene, but defecate in open without any hesitation. No wonder diseases such as diarrhea, dysentry are so rampant.
The problem may seem very in your face as you approach any major city by train, as areas near railway tracks have become the unofficial open-air restroom of the country. However, its origins lie in villages, where these practices evoke not even a shrug. Maybe because they have the luxury of sparsely populated areas and secluded spaces.
These very villagers often migrate to cities to escape poverty and other adversities and end up in slums. They bring along their sanitation habits too. The general congestion in cities and high real estate prices leaves them with little choice.
The problem has been a long standing one and despite Mahatma Gandhi's valiant efforts - he had in fact declared that 'sanitation was more important than independence', the hideous practice outlived him.
There are in fact many jokes connected with this. A very popular one is set in Jawaharlal Nehru era. The then US President John F Kennedy visited India and felt disgusted by the sight of rampant open defecation and complained to Nehru. A hurt Nehru decided to pay back in same coin. During his visit to US he went around looking for persons relieving in the open, but tough luck. Finally, much to his delight, he did manage to find one. But he turned out to be an Indian embassy staff!
When V S Naipaul came to India and wrote about this eyesore of a practice in An Area of Darkness and India a Wounded Civilization, it did raise the hackles of many in the country. But instead of working towards eradicating this social evil, they just banned his latter book. Sanitation was always considered a dirty word a taboo topic, a low caste activity. Due to such primitive sanitation methods the practice of carrying nightsoil is still prevalent in many parts of the country.
In independent India, with the sole exception of Sulabh movement, no social or political organisation tried to squarely face the issue until Jairam Ramesh came along. At least he brought the issue back to spotlight and made it a talking point, notwithstanding the controversy over his remark that the country had more temples than toilets. I hope it does not die down after the recently concluded Nirmal Bharat Yatra. Some recent incidents of newly-wed women refusing to stay in husband's house due to lack of toilet is indeed holds out some hope.
Also Read: Bangalore Beat
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