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Somehow, most Indians do not care much for civic sense. And this attitude is prevalent across all
sections of society. People today are so driven towards their personal goals that civic sense as an
ethic has become a low priority, almost a nuisance.
But this attitude could be harmful for India in the long run. Civic sense has dropped to an all-time low in
recent years, as is rather obvious from the current state of society. Let's see what people and specifically
parents can do to curb this downswing.
A new consciousness is dawning upon us as a nation. Incredible India campaign has just
released a television advertisement that shows Amir Khan urging Indians not to litter the public
places, not to spit on roads and not to pee in public places. This is a welcome, timely and much
needed initiative.
As we travel from Kashmir to Kanyakumari or Gandhinagar to Guwahati, we find the roadsides
or public places littered with garbage, people spitting and peeing in public places. This leaves us
with a feeling that the whole country has been turned into a garbage dump. How have we
allowed this state of affairs as a nation? It is truly a matter of concern. This has happened when
India has been rising at unprecedented economic growth rates during the past decade.
We Indians are personally very clean people. We brush our teeth and take a bath everyday and
wash our hands before eating. We keep our houses speck clean. But when it comes to public
places, as people we are simply unable to keep our streets, our railway stations, hospitals, or
places of worship clean. This is the state of affairs everywhere in India including hundreds and
thousands of villages, towns, mega-cities as well as in the streets of the national capital New
Delhi. We simply have very poor civic sense or social ethics.
What is Civic Sense? Civic Sense encompasses unspoken norms of society that help it run
smoothly without someone tripping on somebody elses toes. Civic Sense is all about having
consideration for a fellow human being. It means being polite, showing consideration to elderly,
women, children and disabled people, driving in ones lane without honking, throwing ones
garbage in dustbins, smoking only at designated places. The list can go on.
Why is Civic Sense needed? The WHO report shows that India leads the world in number of
deaths resulting from road traffic accidents. 126 thousand people lost their lives in road
accidents in India in 2009. According to the National Crimes Records Bureau 14 people die
every day in India in road accidents. This is many times more than the number of people who
die as a result of terrorist attacks or conflicts. Our careless and chaotic driving is taking its toll
everyday yet we continue to buy driving licenses, put ourselves, our family as well as our fellow
countrymen at grave risk.
Recently a road rage incident at the very posh market area in New Delhi took the life of an
innocent person who had a family to feed and spoilt the career and life of a promising pilot.
These are some of the examples of the huge cost we are paying for our poor civic sense or
rather lack of it.
While travelling abroad we have often observed that even some of the poorer countries
compared to us have cleaner streets, smoother and orderly traffic, wider footpaths with ramps
for pedestrians, parents with prams and people on wheel-chairs as well as a dedicated lane for
bicycle riders. Back home in India, try walking in Chanakyapuri, the heart of New Delhi where
most of the Embassies are located, youll find to your shock how many times you have to hop
up and down from the footpath to road and from road to footpath. If you happen to be a person
with disability with a wheel chair or a parent with a baby in a pram, then be ready for nightmare
while walking in any part of New Delhi.
When I brought this state of affairs of Delhi roads to the attention of Delhi Traffic Police on their
Facebook page, I got no response. When I wrote and spoke to the head of the New Delhi
Municipal Corporation bringing the issue to his attention, I was told that we Indians have terrible
civic sense and if the Corporation built footpaths friendly for people with wheelchairs then
people will drive their scooters and bikes on the footpath. I was further told that I was the first
person to put forth this kind of new sensitivity to their notice and they will take action though it
may take time. I offered myself to walk with them and show them all the footpaths and zebra
crossings in Chanakyapuri which needed to be redesigned to make them friendly for
pedestrians, parents and persons with disabilities.
A few days ago, along with a group of concerned citizens, we decided to start a nationwide
cleanliness campaign Come Clean India to express our angst against the state of affairs in our
country by physically cleaning parks, tourist spots, hospitals, railway and bus stations. Doing
this we were fully aware that a long term solution needs to be found and implemented. Buying
garbage is one such idea, so that people can rush to collect all garbage lying in the street and
sell them to the municipal corporation or a private company. Converting garbage into energy is
another idea that could possibly make buying garbage economically viable. We need more such
innovative ideas to make our country cleaner.
How do we instill civic sense in us? Many are of the view that civic sense should be taught in
schools and colleges along with other subjects such as Maths and English while others think
that the government should start a nationwide campaign to instill civic sense in people in
association with civil society groups. This brings us back to Incredible India campaign featuring
Amir Khan and his lessons in civic sense on Television. More celebrity messages of this sort are
needed. I would suggest that we involve the corporate sector along with government and civil
society groups in this noble endeavour.
Abhay K
Abhay K, a writer-poet-artist & diplomat, is author of six books. His most recent publications are
Candling the Light and Colours of Soul. His writings have been published by Times of India,
Diplomatic Sqaure, India Abroad, Literary St. Petersburg, Womens Petersburg and several
other magazines. His art works have been exhibited in several countries including Frnace and
Russia. You can reach him at www.abhayk.com.
Civic issues in India. I say these words aloud, and confused/confusing images form
in my mind. A lax attitude on part of the powers that be, a lack of awareness on part
of the common citizen; this raises more questions than it answers.
I know we all are bothered by civic problems we face. We speak out in frustration
against the plethora of issues that are ignored by the Government, but dont really do
anything about them ourselves. Those who want to take actions do they even know
how to go about it? An understanding, sympathetic ear to the common mans issues
thats hardly the impression the Government gives us.
Improper road maintenance, poor hygiene, inadequate medical facilities, transport
problems, education issues, safety concerns, water supply, encroachments, traffic
problems the list really is endless. You walk out after a hard day at work, and there
are a hundred possibilities of something or the other becoming a source of
exasperation for you, right from your mode of conveyance to the place you live in.
Improper/non-existent maintenance on part of the Government leads to society
ending up hapless. Public properties like zoos, national parks, historical monuments
become littering grounds in decrepit, shameful conditions. Dengue epidemics are
often a result of water-logging becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Lets not
even talk about the pathetic condition of roads, leading to countless accidents and
many unforeseen puncture situations.
As much as we might want to blame the Governments incompetent ways in
handling these issues and see them as a deterrent, Id dare say we dont seem to
make the surroundings we live in any good for ourselves. Even a cursory respect for
the name of the law seems to be a far shot when the onus is on us to clean the mess.
We are a people that learn by example, so Ill venture one:
Mumbai monsoons are notoriously famous for wreaking havoc with their
unannounced torrential thunder. A few months back, many of us were stuck in our
offices because of continuous showers, but a few bravehearts decided to make their
way to the local train station. An hour later, they were still stuck near the Lower
Parel station, which is hardly 10 minutes away. They were walking (or at least trying
to walk) in knee-deep water with tonnes of garbage for company. This particular part
of Mumbai has garbage littered around every corner of every locality. The mere
thought of making my way to the station induced cringe and horror. Drainage,
maintenance on part of the Government and civic sense when it comes to disposing
of garbage, on our part could probably have made things better.
Littering is my pet peeve, to the extent that I carry multiple wrappers in my bag
because of lack of dustbins over the city. But I know that Im unaware or maybe even
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