Nothing can be taken to symbolise the need for cleaning up our environs more than a broom. The sweeping reform that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day speech has already attained some momentum. And Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on October 2 this year will be additionally significant for being the day on which the broom will be most prominent as the high and the mighty join the movement to sweep clean government premises and public places. The Father of the Nation did not hesitate to clean his own toilet and the first task given to any intern at his ashram was to clean the latrines. “No matter how insignificant the thing you have to do, do it as well as you can, give it as much of your care and attention as you would give to the thing you regard as most important. For it will be by those small things that you shall be judged,” Gandhi said.
It would be the highest symbol of equality if all were to join in this campaign. A government office is often characterised by slovenly disregard for hygiene and order. The state of cleanliness, with stains liberally caused by the spitting of chewable tobacco products, leaves so much to be desired that government offices are seen as having an undesirable dynamic of their own. With directives coming from the very top, lakhs of public servants will be in office on a commemorative public holiday to pledge to promote cleanliness. This could be the moment that will go towards upholding the dictum that cleanliness is next only to godliness.
