Swachh Bharat Abhiyan( Swachh Bharat Mission or Clean India Mission)

(Picture Courtesy: Google Image)

In past few years, it has been a big deal in India i.e. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a new campaign started by the honorable prime minister of India, Mr. Narender Modi. I wonder that India always takes pride in being one of the oldest civilizations in the world, then why is it that India has to start such a campaign in the 21st century. At one end, India is anticipated as the fastest growing economy and progressing fast on being the world's superpower. And, on the other hand, India does not have safe, hygienic household toilets. I believe India is one of the nations where Women are celebrated as Goddess and reality is a huge number of females in suburban and rural India have no access to a clean household toilet. No doubt, there are many ironies in India and it is the one among many.

India is not alone in overcoming this challenge. It is a global problem. Around 4.5 billion people live without access to a clean, safe private toilet and to overcome this global sanitation crisis, UN has announced November 19 as the 'World Toilet Day'.

Open Defecation is a free invitation to many big problems. It is an open invitation to many diseases like diarrhea. It questions our civilization. It hurts our self-esteem, especially of the females. It promotes the crime. Many rape or sexual-assault cases has been reported when women go for the open-defecation in the dark.

Until the start of this campaign in 2014 in India, even I was not aware of the severity of this issue. Being brought up in an urban city and always had access to a hygienic, private toilet, I have never bothered that toilet is something of global concern. Moreover, I never realized that having access to a safe, clean toilet is also a privilege. A big attempt is being made to make this campaign a huge success in India. WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms are playing a great role in this regard. Even a recent Bollywood movie, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' is another creative attempt to promote this campaign and to highlight the importance of this issue. This movie shows that why is it a big challenge to make toilets in a country like India. How deeply rooted this problem is...

Many jokes are circulating on WhatsApp that vegetables don't taste the same as they used to be because of the ban on open-defecation. Jokes apart, this is a big issue and this blog post is a small attempt to raise the awareness on this issue. Please leave in comments, your thoughts and share this post to promote awareness on this issue and contribute to making this campaign of cleanliness a global success.