The glaring mismatch of pace

Now that the 2019 general elections are over, social media has gone from spreading hate and misinformation to sharing unsettling vignettes of India that Indians serendipitously stumble upon. 

Recently, two clips were doing the rounds on social media. One was that of a vegetable vendor washing vegetables in a sewer and angrily shooing the person recording him.  The other recorded a helper at a railway station food kiosk preparing lime juice out of old lime rinds, using his bare hands to fish out the rinds and storing them for reuse, before washing his arms and pouring that water into the lime juice. 

Are these just other examples to be added to the thesaurus on Indian mentality? What comes to mind immediately from both these episodes is that hygiene is not on top of the mind. 

Such behaviour suggests irresponsibility, a lack of concern and a disconnect between action and consequences. Truth be told, I am no longer shocked by the impunity and audacious thoughtlessness with which my fellow citizens act. In fact, deep down I have come to expect no better, given the challenges most Indians face.  

What creates and fosters such behaviour? The washing of vegetables and lime juice episodes are two examples of jugaad at their best. Could these actions have been caused by the absence of infrastructure - clean water supply? 

Nineteen per cent of the global population without access to drinking water lives in India. If so many people do not have access to drinking water, then one can appreciate the limitations under which small and micro enterprises work. 

A vegetable vendor needs water to clean his vegetables and keep them fresh, while a food kiosk owner needs water for a wide range of functions. They have to choose between spending the day scouring for water and having insufficient wares to sell.  

So, the desperation to make a living is reason enough to put everything else on the back burner. 

Lack of infrastructure inculcates, nurtures and ossifies bad habits. Absence of basic amenities brings out the worst in people because it demands they prioritise - a choice between being a good citizen versus surviving or feeding one’s family.  

But, is the lack of infrastructure really a problem? According to a 2018 report submitted to the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), big strides have been made in the provision of almost all basic amenities from water to electricity and everything in-between. For example, in 2011, only four crore households had access to tap water; in 2018 it was 19.3 crore. 

If everything is so hunky-dory then what gives? A look at the Open Defecation Free (ODF) campaign can be indicative. According to this report, 38% of Indian households have no toilets, 27% have toilets without running water and only 35% have both. 

One can immediately see that civic amenities build and support each other’s utilisation. The absence of one ensures the failure of others. 

This glaring mismatch of pace in the provision of interlinked amenities is exacerbated by the inability to maintain them. The responsibility of maintenance does not only fall on the authorities, but also on the users. 

Herein, lies another problem - the lack of education - which amplifies manifold the lack of amenities. One is not pointing to the 3 R’s. Education is also about understanding and appreciating the role one plays in society, instilling civic sense and the responsibility for common amenities, and knowledge and respect for the rule of law.  

The education system in India is similar to the practice of religion; both are devoid of social praxis. Religion guides one to heaven, aids in the escape from rebirth, provides a shortcut to riches and inspires one on ways to avoid obstacles; nowhere does it tell its practitioners to be responsible members of society. 

Likewise, education places emphasis on marks and not on being members of a community and the responsibility that comes with it. 

So it comes as no surprise that being a conscientious citizen is not on top of anyone’s list. Thus jumping a signal, littering or wasting water is par for the course because it has no punitive consequences. The powers that be and society as a whole choose to look the other way.  

That being said, laws and their implementation are not only seen as a hindrance, but also as being inconsequential and ineffective. Irrespective of age, education, caste, religion and economic class, laws are dispensed with disdain every day. If this isn’t secularism at its finest, then what is? Children imbibe this behaviour, ensuring the legacy continues.

Each type of infrastructure cannot be seen in opaque silos devoid of its impact on another amenity. But yes, that is how India has worked for years – newly-paved roads are dug up immediately to lay pipelines, the construction of a flyover destroys the road currently being used, and the list goes on. 

The inertia of low or completely absent expectations ensures the cycle is not broken. The reason for such a lackadaisical attitude is education. It does not tell people of their rights and responsibilities, is detached from its potential to impact behaviour vis-a-vis infrastructure utilisation and civic duties.  

Just as it is imperative that all Indians are treated as one, all forms of infrastructure need to be given equal importance so that they work in cohesion. Further, the premise of education has to extend from just jobs to instilling civic sense. 

The current muscular image that India projects, belies an inner reality - a weak skeleton. The question is what is the cost of ignoring the basics while splurging on grandiosity?

The author has worked in the development sector