Its a matter of dignity of people!

World Toilet Day - 19 November.
At least there was one Chief Minister in India who dared to talk about toilets on World Toilet Day. The Bihar chief Minister Nitish Kumar declared that people who do not have toilets in their houses will not be allowed to contest the Panchayat or Local Body elections. For this he would make all efforts to get the changes done in the Panchayat and Local Body Election rules.
The dare is more than welcomed in a country where ministers have been bashed up badly just because they talked about toilets. First it was Union Minister Jairam Ramesh who said we need more toilets than temples. His lines were recently repeated by the Prime Ministerial candidate of Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), Narendra Modi, who advocated 'Devalaya se pehle shauchalaya' (toilets before temples).
Then there is one state - Uttar Pradesh - one of the worst performing state as far as sanitation is concerned, where ministers and bureaucrats nonchalantly avoided speaking on the toilet issue. A few organisations like WaterAid, FANSA (Freshwater Action Network South Asia) along with some local NGOs organised an event and invited the Panchayati Raj Minister, who simply sent a regret message and avoided the programme. Even bureaucrats from various departments concerned stayed away from the event.
Incidentally, Uttar Pradesh is a state where only about 35 per cent households have toilets, of which nearly 32 per cent toilets are lying defunct, which leaves merely 3 per cent households using the toilets.
The figure is horrifying and re-creates the early morning scenario, which is usual for any Indian though it shocks any foreigner visiting the country for the first time. The scene is - men and women squatting near railway lines or both sides of the highways releasing themselves in the open. Every time a vehicle or a train passes, they stand up and resume their natural call once the road or railway track is empty.
India is a country where, according to the latest Joint Review Mission 2013 report, nearly 60 per cent population is going to the open fields for defecation. In rural areas the percentage is even bigger.
Yet, in this country, talking about toilets is considered low. The decision makers avoid being seen at places where people are talking about toilets. They refrain from speaking about toilets.
These days noted film star Amir Khan has been figuring in a government campaign which is telling people not to use roadsides as toilets. He also asks the audience to think about the fact what the visitors to our country would be thinking about us if we do so.
But the question is: where should one go if he/she has to go when there are no public facilities in the shopping areas in the cities or on highways?
Even the posh localities and building, where the rich and mighties live, there are no toilets for the drivers and house workers, who serve the sahebs the whole day. So, they end up using all the corners and unused rooftops.
The suggestion is that apart from teaching people the civilised  behaviour, we need to ensure that there are enough public facilities, which are clean and functional to be used by all. This would be possible only when there is a political will in our politicians and there is enough respect for the dignity of every individual, irrespective whether poor or rich, rural or urban.
But, will it happen? And, if it happens, how long will it take?
India is the worst performing state right now where a maximum number of people are defecating in the open - 50 per cent of world's total population defecating in the open is in India.
The situation should be taken as alarm bells by the government which thinks its duty is over once the toilets are constructed or the money is released for the toilets. What the government need to ensure is - construction of toilets and ensure their use; releasing money and then physically verifying if it has been used properly; consulting the local people before constructing the toilet so that to ensure its use; and lastly and most importantly work with communities for changing the behaviour and age old practices.
I hope someone is listening and is ready to take the situation by hand and bring a change before it is too late!!!      


    

Dying Young!

Two brief news items in one of the Hindi newspapers today, made me sad and left me thinking  - A young girl was coming back from gym when she was ran over by three buses, one after another, in Mumbai. The girl obviously died on the spot. A young boy was coming back from school and was crushed by a speeding train while he was walking down a railway crossing. He too died.
There were two similarities in these tragic deaths - both the girl and the boy were young and both were using their headphones attached to their phones. What a colossal loss of human resource and a lifelong pain for the parents!
The news reminded me of an article "Cellphone Kills", in the Reader's Digest, which I read long time back. Then there are cases regularly being reported and studies frequently being done too tell the world about the harms of using phones on the road - be it by a pedestrian or by a driver. These reports also reveal as to how many lives can be saved only by not using the phone when on the road. According to these reports more than 75,000 people die every year in India in road accidents and more than 25 per cent of these deaths are preventable if basic traffic rules are followed by drivers and a common vigilance is adopted by the pedestrians.
But do these figures sound an alarm bell? At least not to those who claim that they find the best time to talk on phone when they are driving; or those who claim to be cool because they are not bothered about the world and are busy in their favourite music even when they are walking!
In India, wearing  seat belt in the car is below dignity (some pretend to entangle the belt when approaching a  traffic signal fearing the presence of the cop. Wearing a helmet is an ordeal and most of the  riders prefer to keep the gadget hanging, some riders just put it on their heads as caps. Others put it on their head to fool the cop.
Talking on mobile phone when driving is a common phenomenon, here. And, if you tell the driver of the car not to use the phone he would certainly take an offence as this means you have challenged his driving skills! He is a competent driver and that is why he can talk on phone and drive.
Same is the case with pedestrians - they feel they are safe since it is only the vehicles which meet with accidents.
Bikers, scooterists, car drivers, lorry drivers, and pedestrians - for all of them - those few minutes or hours on the road are the most important times of their life when they have to finish the business and close the deals. Whereas the reality is that most of these law breakers are most of the times late for their appointments, delay their work and are never able to finish their work on time.
Then why this rush!  
People need to understand that it is not cool to talk on phone and drive but cool is to pull over and take the call. It is not cool to be using headphones while walking on the but cool is to be vigilant and follow the rules laid for the pedestrians - like crossing the road when its signal for you - looking before crossing - not trying to cut across the traffic flow - walking on the pavement and so on.
It is not cool to neglect the rules which are not to make the law makers or cops happy but cool is to follow all the rules which have been formulated for our safety.
Whether it is seat belt or helmet or a strict ban on telephone use - following these norms not only ensures our safety, it tells that we are considerate about the lives of other as well.
I wish the day comes when young and old everyone starts finding it cool to follow the law and abide by the rules!
  

Legislations? NOT for Legislators!

Laws are not meant for those who make them. This is true at least in Indian context. Here, the makers of law feel small if they are asked to follow the normal legal procedures which every other mortal Indian follows. The so full of ego politicians of this country have now gone a step ahead and want the world to comply the norms they have set for themselves here.
First it was the temperamental minister of Uttar Pradesh state, Mr Azam Khan, who is better known for his  tantrum-throwing nature, who felt insulted when questioned at one of the US airports. Another minister, Mr Shivpal Yadav  followed suit and refused an "invite" to go to the US because the country dared to let Mr Azam Khan go through the normal security ordeal.
Then there was the Speaker Uttar Pradesh state assembly Mr Mata Prasad Pandey who cancelled the visit of a delegation of legislators to the US, fearing security check.
Now its Meira Kumar, the Speaker of Indian Parliament who has refused a trip to Ukraine because the country had the guts to refuse her appeal to exempt her self and colleagues from the normal security check.
The question is - why the Indian politicians are so sensitive about going through the normal security process?  
A simple answer is - their big ego!
The answer may be simple but it is loaded with concerns.
This attitude of our politicians has extended to their relatives and other near and dear ones, like a contagious disease. Anyone in India, who is even remotely related or linked to any politician aspires and demands the same status as his `almighty politician friend, colleague, relative, malik or whatever'.
This also explains the rising number of crime against women, a northward graph of kidnapping and murders and also the intermittent tomb blasts and terrorist attacks in the country. And, despite having laws for all such crime, the nation had been unable to curb anyone of them. It is not UPA government or NDA government - whose failure it is. It can be any government and the situation will be the same.
The criminals (in most cases having links with the 'lords') are confident that law cannot harm them. The most alarming part of this problem is the fact that irrespective of whether or not these patrons of criminals are in power, they have the clout to call the shots, especially when it comes to save their criminal alliances.
So, that leaves all legal procedures for the lesser mortals - and in this case it is the ordinary citizen of India. The legislators, when making the legislations, are well aware that it is not for them or for those close to them (who may be committing the crime).
One last question - what is the harm in going through the security check in a country, which (unlike India) is trying to follow its security norms strictly? And which is trying to protect its citizens from untoward incidents!
The flip side of the whole issue is that the day our (Indian) politicians start behaving like any other citizen of the country, and start following and respecting the law they have made for their people, most of the crime and chaos related problems will automatically will be sorted in this nation. But it will never happen for the simple reason that the Indian legislation is not meant for Indian legislators! 

http://www.citizen-news.org/2013/01/demand-for-speedy-trial-and-higher.html