Gandhiji's vision in the context of cleanliness
The starting point of understanding Gandhiji's vision in the context of cleanliness may be that we first try to find out on how many fronts Gandhiji stood together. Then it would be easier to know how Gandhiji used the weapon of cleanliness on those fronts. In fact,Gandhiji was fighting many battles at once. On the one hand, they were fighting for freedom,which required nation-wide solidarity against the British. This solidarity could be established only when the then Indian society,forgetting its internal differences, came together. But 'forgetting differences' is not such a mechanical process that it should happen suddenly, especially when the difference is tothe extent of 'untouchability', so it was necessary that this inequality should be abolished. From here begins Gandhi's social front, which seeks to unite the conflicting voices of abolishing untouchability while maintaining the 'caste system'. Along with this, Gandhiji was also creating his own kind of nation in which equality was an essential element. At the same time
Gandhiji was also standing in 'opposition to domination', therefore challenging the ideological basis of the dominance of Western civilization.Gandhiji wanted to integrate himself with the common man, to reach whom it was necessary to pass through 'dirt'. And also that the 'voice of conscience' that Gandhiji talked about was even possible without internal cleanliness? We can understand Gandhiji's vision near all these ideologies.During his visit to India, Gandhiji foundone thing in common every where, whether itwas a train journey, a visit to a religious place,an educational institution or a Congress session;Not only was there dirt every where, but there was an equally insensitivity to cleaning it up. At that time, plague-like epidemics often created chaos in the country, one of the main reasons for which was dirt.He considered cleanliness as an indispensable part of everyday life and was opposed to seeing it as a separate task. He believed that it is the duty of every individual not only to maintain cleanliness personally but also to follow the value of cleanliness in public life. same time, they marked cleaning as a'personal act' i.e. it was not a task to be done by someone else, as was the common belief among the so-called upper-class people of the time. In this context Gandhiji's Shantiniketan experiment is very relevant. In fact, after returning from South Africa, when Gandhiji once reached Santiniketan, he saw that the residents there themselves were not doing their work and a helper was kept for this. Gandhiji not only opposed it at the level of thought, but also set a personal example by washing his own room, clothes and utensils. Even one day Gandhiji himself picked up the scavenger and threw it to the disposal site.It was so impressive that the students of Santiniketan themselves started doing these works. Inthis context, Rabindranath Tagore says, what I could not do in years, Gandhiji did it in a few days." Similarly, Gandhiji inspired people for cleanliness by personal example in the Calcutta session of Congress, in the wake of the plague-like epidemic. Did house-to-house cleaning work. Served as a member of Rajkot Safai Samiti, what is the condition of 'toilets'.Gandhiji spread the word about personal and public cleanliness being essential for good health And even said, "Our toilet should be as clean as the living room."Gandhiji had started the campaign for cleanliness even before coming to India. In fact, in South Africa, Gandhi observed that the British treated Indians 'unequally' on the standard of cleanliness and opposed the presence of Indians in public life. In fact, the British believed that Indians did not have the value of cleanliness like the Europeans, so Indians should live in 'separate fixed places'. It was in away an attempt to divide the way of living on a civilizational level in which the western world naturally considered itself superior.
Opposing this, Gandhiji wrote an open letter to the Natal Legislative Council,saying that "Indians can be as clean as Europeans provided they have the same level of facilities and opportunities." Here Gandhiji opposes the ideology that Indians are dirty by 'nature',rather Gandhiji considered the 'state' of uncleanliness to be more guilty. He believed that the filth is visible due to the difficult conditions in which Indians have to live. However, at the same time Gandhiji also acknowledges that the awareness about cleanliness among the average Indians is at a negligible level. In South Africa, he made people aware by publishing a booklet called 'General Knowledge in relation to health'.'Untouchability' was a subject on which Gandhiji remained very serious and was committed for life to remove it from Indian society. Gandhiji felt that the perception about the work of cleanliness among the common Indians that it isan 'unclean' act had become 'rudimentary'.The result of this contradiction was that the person who removed the dirt from the society was considered 'untouchable'. Gandhiji tried to tackle this challenge in a dual way. On the one hand,he tried to prove that it was not an untouchable act by carrying scavengers on his head,even he called it a 'divine act' and on the other hand he tried to ensure a better standard of living of the sanitation workers from the institutional level. did. Apart from this, Gandhiji kept on appealing to the people that they should not depend on anyone else to remove their filth,but to do their own enterprise. Gandhiji was highly sensitive to the better living of the sanitation workers in the district called 'Bhagi'.In 1946, a foreign correspondent asked Gandhiji what would he do if he became the Viceroy of India for a day? Gandhi replied that he would clear the slums adjacent to the Viceroy's building and would repeat this task till the conclusion.Such loyalty to cleanliness and sanitation worker scan only be in Gandhiji. Gandhiji understood very well the importance of cleanliness to establish a harmonious society.Even at the spiritual level, Gandhiji's insistence on cleanliness is quite sane. Gandhiji laid great emphasis on internal purity and believed that external filth spreads only due to internal uncleanliness, Gandhiji considered the philosophical aspect of cleanliness i.e. purity
of mind as essential for Swaraj. He believed that in the absence of this the requisite courage which is necessary for Swaraj could not be produced.Disturbed by the filth at religious places, Gandhi in his autobiography expresses doubts about the rewards of such religious purposes.Gandhiji's relationship with cleanliness is so wide that it is almost impossible to cover it in a single article. The purpose of the above explanation was only so that we can know what Gandhiji's views were on cleanliness. With this,the present cleanliness campaign also gets a vision.
