credits: The Ugly Indian
Have you noticed the open garbage dumping grounds, or people( i.e. men) peeing along walls, or that slight little teeny-tiny hand peeping out of a car window and hurriedly throwing a water bottle or a chips packet out on the road?
Well, I have and frankly its shameful that how when it comes to cussing the government the people have no qualms about listing all their negative facts and how the government has ruined our country yet they do not feel one ounce of shame when they themselves litter the roads and streets of our country. On my way to college, I pass the MCD garbage dump just beside the Saket City Hospital, you can see the wrongfulness of that situation itself, and if that is not enough then the stench is urghh, and especially when it has currently rained, you can smell it 10 feet away.
We all have those colony meetings, or even when we all meet in groups and a discussion begins, it usually comes around to how our government is good for nothing and that it does not implement rules properly and its because of them that our nation is at an all time low, and yet when it comes to our own actions we all conveniently overlook them.
There was this one time, when I had stopped someone from littering and had asked him that “would you do that if it were your own home?” and do you guys know what he said, he said “I do the same at home.”
That…is just pathetic and sad, to see how callous and unaffected some people can be towards their own country, towards their own streets that they do not think twice about dumping garbage in the middle of the road. I have had the pleasure of taking a few trips abroad and once when I was in Singapore, I saw one lady walking her dog and with her there was this plastic bag and this stick with which she would pick up the poop and throw it in the bag and then the bag would go in the dustbin. That is sensible cleaning, and there were workers everywhere, who were throughout the day, picking up and cleaning the sidewalks and roads of any wayward garbage, because there it is illegal to throw anything on the road.
The constitution gives us RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITES. You can’t just have rights and forget about your duties to this country, and yes not littering the streets is a duty towards our country.
In 2010, this group called THE UGLY INDIANS, was created, they are a group of people from the state of Bangalore and their main motto is showing the ugliness within Indians and confronting them to this ugliness, so that we can finally start to clean up ourselves. We have to come to the realization of our ugliness, and only when we come face to face with this reality can we start to clean up.
Their motto is simple: Kaam chalu mooh bandh. Stop Talking, Start Doing.
And I must say, that is one of the best philosophies I’ve heard yet. No speaking, no debates, no discussions…just plain simple hard work to make our country just a little bit more cleaner.
And this group has had a lot of success too… you can visit their channel at youtube-
One of the examples of their great work is in this video, where they devised a way to reduce public urination
Till now, they are mainly centered in Bangalore and most of their work is centered around the Church Street of Bangalore, but that doesn’t mean that we in Delhi and other states cannot take inspiration from this amazing group and try to clean our city as well.
So, pull up your sleeves and get to work, don’t bother with talk, just work and the next time you are throwing trash on the streets just take a second and think about your actions. And please, walk those 5 extra steps to the bin and throw it there.
Thank You.
Do visit the Facebook page of the group- THE UGLY INDIANS , and like them, and don’t stop there, do your part in making your city just a bit cleaner.
