Recently a friend visited Bangkok, ( an Asian city, mind you, not a North American or European one ) and tossed, as most of us do, a wrapper onto the road. Immediately a warden descended on her, pointed imperiously and meaningfully to the waste bin nearby. My friend hastily picked up the offending item and put it into the bin. As a parting shot, she was red-faced when the warden looked at her, making her feel embarrassed. 

 

That was a day, and today is a day -- My friend has changed drastically. One comment on her by a stranger had made her so conscious that after returning, she has never done such a thing in her own country. In fact, now she acts as the warden when she finds people littering. When one such incident can change the way one looks at life, then think if all of us together build this chain of change, wouldn’t the country benefit?

 

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is the first step towards bringing this change. As said by the Prime Minister on Mann ki Baat, now less people litter around and even if they do, they are stopped.

 

A creative colleague has called the Prime  Ministers’  S B A  a Super Bonding Approach.  Normally leaders are able to unite people during times of stress, such as war, internal strife, or public calamity by raising unifying slogans. This seems to be the first time that a leader has sought to unify an entire nation, famous for the complexity of its diversity and immense magnitude, by focusing on an elementary but vital necessity – public hygiene.