Hari the Hadron

Saturday, January 22, 2005

DEVELOPED INDIAN MINDS – THE ULTIMATE ROAD TO DEVELOPED INDIA

Let me first admit that the idea of this post is not conceived by me. In fact I have borrowed both the inspiration to this post as well as the Title from my blogpal “Phantom”. I am sorry Phantom, but this was required to keep up my promise. For the original source of inspiration please visit Phantom at : mayavi.blogspot.com and read the blog titled “Will our Attitude change ever” dated the 16th January, 2005.

It is about how much each individual can contribute by even small deeds and minimal abstinence, towards development of a country. In the context of a country it is highly misconstrued that development means only economic development. In fact it refers as much to social development, development of moral values, development of ethics etc. And every individual whether rich or poor can definitely contribute a lot towards each of these aspects of development, more so by abstaining from certain unethical habits which have adverse impact on the economy, society and health of the country.

In this post I am focussing on a particular unethical habit or say sin committed by passengers travelling by trains in India. Let me confess that I myself have been guilty of this sin and that is the reason I took it upon myself not only to abstain from this sin but also to do my bit in highlighting the same to others.

I am referring here to the simple act of throwing used tea cups, plastic bottles, empty food packets and all garbage that we produce while travelling, out of the window of the train and make both sides of the Railway tracks among the most unhygenic places. The Indian Railway has laid down more than 63000 kilometres (kms) of Railway tracks in India. Imagine the whole stretch of the 63000 kms. being littered with garbage generated by the passengers and the magnitude of damage it creates. The range of damage includes Air pollution, spread of diseases by decomposed materials, corrosion of the railway tracks by chemical reactions, harmful and unlawful use of plastic materials by villagers surrounding the tracks to name a few. And the worst of all is the crime of attracting small poor children who would be encouraged to pick up those thrown food packets to eat the left overs which is a shame on any civilised country.

Now imagine the expenditure to the Government in undoing all these damages created by our very much avoidable sin. Some of these damages cannot be prevented and results in long term depletion in health of human resources in the country.

On the other hand if we collect all the garbages generated by us during our journey and put it in dust-bin in the nearest Railway platforms it would be so much economical for the Railways to segregate the degradable and non-degradable garbage, clean them up fast, use materials like paper cups etc for recycling, use the organic matters for production of organic manure which can be in-turn be used for providing us with pesticide free vegetables and a more healthy human resources. Let us understand that in proper disposal of garbage there is not only lot to be saved, but there is lot to be earned too.

I hope I am able to convey how a small sin can have such a huge adverse impact and how its abstenance can do a world of good to us. The impact of this sin is no less than the Tsunami we faced only that the impact is slow and invisible. All it needs is development of our minds enough to realise not only the good that we as individuals can do to our country but also the grave impact of the bad that we individuals are doing to the country.

If you find substance in what I have just told please spread this word of abstenance within your circle of acquaintence and request them in-turn to continue this chain of awareness creation, I am sure with our little efforts India can develop much faster.

One more campaign is long due to be launched for which I solicit the help of our bloggers associated with media to make it stronger and far reaching. The trains of the Indian Railway is among the most unique in the world where we have toilets open to the track below. I do not think we can ask for a more worse environmental pollution than this. Do you know that maximum corrosion or damage to the Railway tracks and steel sleepers joining these tracks, are caused by these open toilets. Indian Railway imports special non-corrosive steel much costlier than ones used internationally, to overcome this wear and tear. In this era of civilised, educated, sophisticated and westernised society that we live in, is it not high time that we make vociferous demand to stop use of this uncivilised primitive form of toilets in the trains.

41 Comments:

  • Hi everybody. Please feel free to comment. Even criticism would be a compliment. Sorry for the rather long post, may be it is because I am not good at driving the points with better and concised language.

    By Blogger hari, at 10:17 PM  

  • This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    By Blogger Loveena Raj, at 11:24 PM  

  • sorry - operation Costs ... forgive the mistakes - please :-)

    By Blogger Loveena Raj, at 11:25 PM  

  • This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    By Blogger Loveena Raj, at 11:41 PM  

  • Phanthom would be proud of you and all those details !!! Interesting to note that so much is wasted on operation coasts !

    It was fun throwing away the coffee cups and watching them fly by ...

    But ironically the last time I visited India I boarded the train in a state of emotional distress ... left the cup on the window sill and stared at it - trying to see ... something, or was it someone ??? Anyways, dint throw it from the sill, searched for a bin and couldn't find one - hung on to it and threw it in the bin when I got down! (OK My dry sense of Humour)

    I am inclined to write something else - but it will become politically charged - so I refrain from putting it here.

    Bottomline is - Why does our railway shy away from providing a cheap dustbins but provide cheap labour to clean tracks??? The same labour could be chanellised to other economic areas like ... cleaning and maintaining the roads ! Then we can write about not littering the roads !!!

    No Hari, I'm not being cynical or sarcastic - the truth when it comes to most Indians is - they do not use their brains - they go by emotions - the majority of them - otherwise how could cinema stars become politicians ??? I've seen people in my country (India) and from my country in other countries behave differently - at home they'd throw garbage in the front of the house and curse the muncipality when it does not clean it. In Abroad they'd smilingly comply with the simple garbage rule of tying the bag and putting it - try teling them to do the same at home in India - "Who do you think you are talking to ? Unakku vayasu yenna? Yenakku Vayasu Yenna? Yarra pathu yena solara???" Trust me - we are the worst hypocrites - at least our elder generation. I hope the younger generation - we - are different!

    Bottomline is - lets hope for the best - but be prepared for the worst - not ALL will comply - but lets hope MANY will see the truth and work towards a better nation.

    By Blogger Loveena Raj, at 11:43 PM  

  • Hi Trouvaille,

    Seemed to have undergone quite a labour putting up this comment. But it was worth it. It could not have been better. I think you have rightly said that we Indians do not deserve freedom and we misuse it everywhere we have it. Abroad where we have the fear of being thrown off or dumped in the ocean, we behave like a perfect gentlemen.

    By Blogger hari, at 12:06 AM  

  • Incidentally I just gotta fwd yday in which this person says she distributed paper bags to the people in her train compartment to stop them from littering the place...But I dunno how far all this is goin to help?
    We are just not disciplined enough.I feel only strict laws is going to help change the situation

    By Blogger Prabha, at 1:08 AM  

  • Good to read this Hari. And Phantom, you sure have made a difference.... u have a long way to go and best of! So, you better be good (like SRK in Swades) and stay back in India. India needs more people like you. Now you have Hari to accompany you to make this World (start with India) a better place to live. And 'we' are with you.. as always..

    'Ah what a rhetoric speech!! Clap Clap! DV at his worst!'

    By Blogger DreamClicks, at 9:56 AM  

  • Tx Hari....

    It cld not have been a better post in driving the point. And I liked the comment where a person gave paper bags to the fellow passengers. I did not think of it. Anyways, with this post I'm sure atleast a few more will be inspired !!! The facts about Indian Railways is new to me....

    When I came back from my few months stay in Canada, I was depressed to see how far we lack in basic common sense. And my friend who travels all around the world and behaves properly there had to give me this answer when I advised him not to throw things on the road and pee on the sides," It is this freedom I get in India...that I dont find anywhere else".....But this is the attitude of a lot...believe me....the so called literate youth.....But people like you and other bloggers can make a difference. You made it during tsunami....why not ? Youth today lack direction...and we shall try to provide it....

    By Blogger Enchanted Mind, at 8:50 PM  

  • Yep Trouvaille !!! Hypocrites true....

    But as you always say, you have the option to choose to be what you are...Lets forgive the elder generation. Let us bear them...They have given us our freedom and lets us bear them...It is the present youth who are gonna be here....They have to see the sense....and it is the kids who are building blocks...let us teach them the best and for this today's youth have to change....

    By Blogger Enchanted Mind, at 8:54 PM  

  • Hi Phantom,

    You are perfectly right Phantom. The youth in our country atleast defines freedom as right to indiscipline and uncivilised misguided life.

    Sorry to say but we have incorporated all the negetives from the western culture, but we have failed to learn from their discipline, patriotism and general respect for the law. We are happy with their fast foods, night life and freaking acts as it suits our indiscipline.

    By Blogger hari, at 9:17 PM  

  • hi hari,
    that was thought provoking one. We need to spread this awareness. Wel i guess railways too should come forward take initiative by providing some closed bins inside the compartments to collect all litter.
    aah.,.those kids who gather the waste. I feel bad.
    hmm i strongly protest the idea of open toilet. Wish the railways too are working on getting things better.
    chandu

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:44 PM  

  • Hi Prabha,
    Thanks for visiting. If we think of results before doing anything then we would end up doing nothing in life. The very fact that somebody has taken a step in the right direction is a great thing. My salutations to her. Regarding strict laws, how many laws in our country do you think are abided by and enforced strictly? Certain things cannot be taught, it has to evolve within ourselves.

    By Blogger hari, at 3:44 AM  

  • Hi Dream Vendor,
    The fact that you are with us and recognize the efforts itself indicates a beginning in the right direction. If we are able to garner the support of everybody in the same manner, person by person, group by group, block by block, colony by colony we can carry the whole world with us one day. Necessity is the father of invention. Let us make discipline our necessity; better humans will automatically be invented (created). Not rhetoric by any standards, I accept.

    By Blogger hari, at 3:45 AM  

  • Hi Jagan, My salutations to your friend. The best way to teach people is practice what you preach, even if each one of us is able to inspire one another person with our efforts we can consider our effort as successful.

    By Blogger hari, at 3:45 AM  

  • Hi Chandu,
    Yes, Railway coming forward and providing a dust bin in each compartment is a great idea. We can definitely put up this proposal to the Government. But definitely we should not wait for the Government to take the initiative because after all it is in our larger interest that we would be fighting for.

    By Blogger hari, at 3:46 AM  

  • Hari good one. "Thani manidha ozhukkan is Samudhaya ozhukkam".

    By Blogger REFLEX, at 9:08 PM  

  • yeah civic sense is the need of the hour.

    By Blogger saranyan r, at 9:31 AM  

  • Reflex. Well said. When bad habits and evil can spread like fire, why not good ones too.

    By Blogger hari, at 9:37 PM  

  • True Saranyan. But unfortunately the literate and illiterate alike behave with total lack of civic sense once they come outside their home.

    By Blogger hari, at 9:37 PM  

  • Kaush,
    as I said earlier too, that for Indians, freedom means an open road to indiscipline, lawlessness and uncivilized life. The so called educated professional touring foreign countries adapt all their negatives or say unnecessities like fast foods, night life, discotheques, blind dates etc., but fail to adopt their discipline, hygiene, respect for law and their love for public property and their country itself. The other day my blood boiled, when I read in the Internet news where an NRI Indian migrated to USA about 15 years back was trying to block some US agency funding development activities in India, saying that Indians do not deserve anything and they are best in the uncivilized way they live. That is typical gratitudeless educated Indian attitude, as they say in Hindi “ Apni aukaadh bhool jaate hai kuch log”.

    By Blogger hari, at 9:38 PM  

  • Brilliant post Hari..

    Right from my school days, I always make it a point to drop the rubbish ONLY in the bin and not elsewhere, while on the road.

    But while travelling in trains, for some reason, I have never done that. It has never struck me that I am doing something wrong. I am guilty of throwing cups & other stuff from the window. I did it even recently when I visited India... Take it from me, that was the last time I had ever done that.. wd never ever do such a thing again.

    See the effect of your post.. it has opened the eyes of someone.

    By Blogger Chakra, at 2:03 AM  

  • Hi Chakra,
    I am just overwhelmed to find that my effort has had an effect so soon. Thanks a ton Chakra, you have boosted my morale. I always told that even if I am able to convince one person with my post that would be an effort worth taken. And in fact I consider myself among the least equipped to make any rhetoric impact with my posts. So friends, if I have done it, as Chakra says, I think all of you can do much better.

    By Blogger hari, at 1:31 AM  

  • Hi Sowmya,
    Very noble habit indeed cultivated by you Sowmya. Now you are the best person to spread this word of nobility.My salutations to you for that for your habit. You said it right that Railways provide dustbins in upper class compartment where the windows are sealed. So in a way, we can say the Railways themselves are encouraging people to use the windows as outlets for littering, by not providing for dustbins. So we should also take up this with the Railways. Thank you.

    By Blogger hari, at 1:32 AM  

  • Hi Hari,

    It's a fact of life that the same Indians who keep their houses and toilets spick and span, who are so hygienic at home, dont care about dirtying/littering outside their home. I guess they see it as as "public property" and therefore not their responsibility to maintain decently. I honestly dont know how this attitude can ever be changed...

    By Blogger Shammi, at 3:56 AM  

  • Hi Hari,
    Ur post is so correct. Will not only follow what u say but also make my co-passengers to follow. And I agree with what Trou said about garbage. In the area where I lived in B'lore, there was a garbage collection process. My next door lady would dump garbage in the corner of the road with the logic, 'why should I pay Rs 25 for collecting garbage from my house'?Huh ? How do U explain to them ?:) Any way these things have to begin on an individual level. So at least I will..

    By Blogger Summer of 69, at 9:06 AM  

  • Hello everyone, if this is a rehash of someone else's comment, I apologize...but here is my take..

    Ownership..possessiveness..we folks do not have pride in our societies..we have not yet taken ownership of our colonies and streets..we are just satisfied with keeping our houses clean, nothing beyond, and this terrible idea is the reflection that we see in our cities now.

    Unless we start having pride in ourselves as a united people and until we start identifying ourselves and our quality of lives with the societies we live in, such squalor and filth will be part of our everyday lives.

    But, am glad to atleast note that on a very small but significant scale, communities are coming together with the Exnora initiatives for garbage collection and disposal...progress..however painful and slow it might..it is definite progress...pray it reaches further and farther...

    By Blogger Nth Dimension, at 3:17 AM  

  • Well,

    quite a few person have pointed out discrimination of the railways, and our attitudes - what lies outside doesnt matter, what lies inside my house matters most and I wld got any extent to see it lying outside my house....

    True.....Changing this attitude is difficult.....There are so many social, economic and pshychological perspectives to this......If it is so easy, we would not have this state of affairs in the first place. One leader would have been enough to influence everyone.....But alas, it is not....thats why we are discussing....Well, I was ignorant....ignorant of the fact that I shdnt be doing this till I finished my college.....I learnt it on my own will, experience and maturity.....Lot others havent....so as responsible person, we need to try to point the wrong doings...Majority of them are doing so because they are ignorant.....This ignorance is a major cause result of the attitude.....We all would ahve read, Government is for the people, by the people and to the people.....We consider only for the people...So just because we elected government does not mean we get everything....It only is a facilitator....we have got to tell them what we want and get it done....and they are responsible for doing it....But where does all this knowledge come from? I have read all this rather had it by heart, but did I know the meaning? did anyone emphasize on it? - That is where Education needs to act.

    Its gonna be a painful process as Daph said - Its gonna be slow, but we can make it happen only by being a part of it. If you talk about the problems, each one comes with a different reason .....one says, population, one says government's negligence etc etc...but shoulw we wait and watch or should we act? Remember we do it for ourselves. Yes, we will come across lots of others who do not follow! What are we to do? Only one thing....Lead by example - slowly but surely, people wld follow and one day, we wld not wait for a NEO to come and save us out of THE MATRIX !!!

    By Blogger Enchanted Mind, at 10:12 PM  

  • Well,

    quite a few person have pointed out discrimination of the railways, and our attitudes - what lies outside doesnt matter, what lies inside my house matters most and I wld got any extent to see it lying outside my house....

    True.....Changing this attitude is difficult.....There are so many social, economic and pshychological perspectives to this......If it is so easy, we would not have this state of affairs in the first place. One leader would have been enough to influence everyone.....But alas, it is not....thats why we are discussing....Well, I was ignorant....ignorant of the fact that I shdnt be doing this till I finished my college.....I learnt it on my own will, experience and maturity.....Lot others havent....so as responsible person, we need to try to point the wrong doings...Majority of them are doing so because they are ignorant.....This ignorance is a major cause result of the attitude.....We all would ahve read, Government is for the people, by the people and to the people.....We consider only for the people...So just because we elected government does not mean we get everything....It only is a facilitator....we have got to tell them what we want and get it done....and they are responsible for doing it....But where does all this knowledge come from? I have read all this rather had it by heart, but did I know the meaning? did anyone emphasize on it? - That is where Education needs to act.

    Its gonna be a painful process as Daph said - Its gonna be slow, but we can make it happen only by being a part of it. If you talk about the problems, each one comes with a different reason .....one says, population, one says government's negligence etc etc...but shoulw we wait and watch or should we act? Remember we do it for ourselves. Yes, we will come across lots of others who do not follow! What are we to do? Only one thing....Lead by example - slowly but surely, people wld follow and one day, we wld not wait for a NEO to come and save us out of THE MATRIX !!!

    By Blogger Enchanted Mind, at 10:12 PM  

  • hari-ji

    sorry, i took time coming here. but i'm glad i did. this is an issue that is very close to my heart. i hate people littering the place. its such a casual nasty act, isnt it, chucking a piece of paper out of the car window or as you walk on the road. i used to tell my friends not to and if they still did it, i'd pick up the paper or whatever from the road. :) they no longer do it now.
    little things... but i agree with u. but the bit bt corrosion cos of open toilets, its an eye opener! :)

    By Blogger Houseowner, at 7:21 AM  

  • Hi Shyam,
    The Indian citizen has for time immemorial been considering himself, the society, the system and the Government as different entities. Once he realizes that he is part of them all and they are just components of one integrated structure called India, we would become the most developed country in the world.

    By Blogger hari, at 8:40 PM  

  • Hi Vidhya
    Thanx a ton for pledging to support this cause. Great causes and events have all emanated from a very modest beginning. So why not we begin from here what would be a hygiene revolution in India.

    By Blogger hari, at 8:40 PM  

  • Hi Ramesh,
    As I said earlier to Shyam, The Indian citizen has for long been considering himself, the society, the system and the Government as different entities. Once he realizes that he is very much part of them all and they are just components of one integrated structure called India, we would become the most developed country in the world.

    By Blogger hari, at 8:41 PM  

  • Hi Phantom,
    You are absolutely right. Every change in this world howsoever great it has been has had a very modest miniscule beginning. So why not this attitude to a cleaner and healthier India from a few of us be just that modest beginning to a great hygiene revolution in India.

    By Blogger hari, at 8:41 PM  

  • Hi Ramya.
    Thanks for peeping in. You know my father was in a MNC manufacturing Steel and they used to manufacture special steels to supply to Indian Railways to withstand this corrosion. Now I need more support and ideas from you to put up this “Open Toilet” subject to the Indian Railways, not that they do not know about this problem, but to highlight the fact to them that the common man has began to realize the price that we have to pay for this problem.

    By Blogger hari, at 8:42 PM  

  • Hari,
    I AGREEE.... its pathetic to go by trains.. last time i went by a 2nd clas compartment when i tried to put my suitcase from beneath the berth, a rat came along as a added bonus :)..I think we as well as our governement need to sit up and take notice

    Anu

    By Blogger Anu, at 1:42 AM  

  • hi hari, wanted to come earlier to ur blog but have been busy. I agree with point u r making. I try to not to throw away things on the track and have fought with people who do this too but what to do, have never been able to convince people. most people argue that what difference would it make if I dont throw because everyone else is throwing. Some days back I argued with a lady who was throwing a bagful of garbage in the sea on Juhu beach, she got aggressive and tells me to mind my own business. her arguement was that if US dumps nuclear weapons in the sea and no one can stop them, who am I to stop her... that is the attitude problem we have. Since childhood we have not thought about ourselves, on our own. We copy, compare and convince ourselves that what the other person is doing. it is sad and people are changing but it will take a whole lot of time. btw if you feel strongly about environmental contanmination, you can make a diffrence by being a part of greenpeace's initiative, for more info go to http://www.greenpeace.org/india_en/

    By Blogger Priyangini, at 5:13 AM  

  • Hi Priya,

    Thanks for taking time to visit my blog. It is indeed a great pleasure to hear from brave people like you who are prepared to bold initiative irrespective of what the majority is doing. My salutations to your efforts. But please do not give up because of the difficulty in convincing people. Look a nice person like you was only successful in convincing me into this blog and the related pledge. And the commenters to this blog have also pledge not to throw litters from the train. So now we have a group. Come with this modest beginning let us start the revolution "Clean India". I would surely visit the site you mentioned and do my bit. I am in Chennai and you can always write to me in doodle if you feel I can do anything from here.

    By Blogger hari, at 8:04 AM  

  • hmm.....Good to see people from GreenPeace here....
    Am part of them for quite a while now.....Subscribe to their newsletter atleast to know the different things that have been happening around us while we were busy.

    By Blogger Enchanted Mind, at 3:06 AM  

  • no posts for a while hari... busy?

    By Blogger Chakra, at 5:52 AM  

  • Hari,

    Check this site - http://www.irfca.org/

    By Blogger Srihari SN, at 10:25 PM  

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