When it comes to practising hygiene and having civic sense, the Indian has two distinct personalities. In his first form, he cleans his house and washes his vessels and his clothes every day. It even includes cooking fresh food, worshipping his god in a clean space with lamps being lit and the burning of incense. However, there is his Other Self which is revealed when he is outside. There is a complete transformation. He spits, creates stains with paan ,urinates on the roadside, on walls, and on the side of buildings. He even throws garbage as if all the world were one vast receptacle for his rubbish.
And this is only one part of his schizophrenia. The man who worships a mother goddess and even fiercely protects the womenfolk in his family, now unabashedly ogles other women, tries to feel them up in restricted public spaces, passes bawdy comments at girls and does other unmentionable things, even molesting them.
This is the Indian who drives as if he has no clue about road rules; considers traffic a challenge to overcome rather than as a way to show discipline on roads; roars down the wrong side of one-way roads with impunity; parks vehicles and disappears for hours so that he blocks gates and lanes, unmindful of drivers who may need to drive away. He clusters around ticket counters instead of queuing; pushes through crowds to get ahead; drops and throws shells, peels and wrappers in train compartments; hogs the lower berth on a day train just to sleep; never flushes public toilets after use, and leaves the floor completely wet.
What is this monster we have created? Who is this Ugly Indian who has become so set in his ways that it is almost impossible to change his mindset, his way of thinking and his lifestyle?
I have begun to think that this paradoxical Indian is a child of many parents. He has been shaped (father) by his ancient culture, which decrees that he will bathe, wash, clean, cook and worship every day. He has been mollycoddled (mother) by a public system that has no rules, no enforceable laws, no forms of punishment.
Then, he has an indulgent uncle in the form of cheap technology, which has given him all the gadgets but forgotten to tell him how to take care of them. So, his vehicles are never serviced, he talks loudly into his phone in public and plays songs at volumes that are bound to disturb others.
He uses his phones to secretly click pictures of girls, and then uses Whatsapp to share them with his equally uncouth friends.
And finally, he has a big brother in the form of Western entertainment who creates aspirations and cravings he has no means to satisfy. So, you have an Indian with all the freedom and independence, but no accountability and discipline.
In some strange, warped way, are we not, as an educated strata of society, to blame for all this, especially as it is we who suffer the most? Instead of wrinkling our nose, rolling our eyes or placing a hand over our mouths and later complaining to friends, shouldn’t we do something? How do we even begin bringing about a revolution in the way people think?
We could start by becoming the Ugly Indian’s missing Teacher.
We need to firmly, yet politely, learn to Speak Up. When queues are jumped, teach the offenders that it would benefit everyone if they waited in line. When movie hall or audience discipline is poor, speak up. Whenever I have protested, I have found that many others have joined in as if waiting for a cue. Stop and admonish anyone on the road who spits. If in a group, shame those who urinate in public by clapping or cheering.
However, it is also a fact that we urgently need spittoons, covered dustbins and clean public toilets with water supply. Only then will our actions be credible. There is no point in telling someone to use a receptacle if there isn’t one available.
Public toilets are the most talked about subject, but using them the right way is still an elusive practice. In the metros, Sulabh Shauchalaya and the Infosys-sponsored Nirmala toilets have seen dark days. Either they are too dirty to use or are under lock and key due to ‘staff shortage’. If the unemployed and the destitute were given paid jobs to care for these toilets under supervision and with gloves and other cleaning tools, they could have a daily income instead of having to beg.
Disrespecting traffic rules or throwing garbage on the roadside need institutional punishment.
The police force always claims to be understaffed, but if you visit the homes of senior officers, you will find at least 10 to 15 policemen working as cooks, masaldars , clerks, washermen, security guards or even nannies.
We need these constables on the beat on every street, to stop anti-social activities, be it flouting traffic rules, indulging in eve-teasing, spitting, throwing garbage, or being a public nuisance.
Swachha Bharat will happen only when the man on the street starts treating his public spaces the way he looks after his home.
Malathi Ramachandran is a writer of fiction, travel stories and features.
