What is Littering first of all?
Littering is the act where WE - THE PEOPLE, forget the basic code of civic ethics AND unlawfully dispose waste at public places. As per Wikipedia - Littering is a form of visual pollution.
Littering can be caused by any of the following behaviours:
- Carelessness - This is the most prevalent act Indians do. We dont care or take pain to dump the Trash in the bin. We just throw it.
- Hooliganism - People in India feel proud to do this. Roadside Romeos feel proud when they vandalise monuments like Jantar-Mantar in the name of love. Brats feel proud by doing the same in public transports and unethical group activists feel stronger by showing the same at shops, theaters and public places.
- Unmindfulness - This is a behaviour where people are careful enough to perform there common public duties, but inadvertently couldnt do.
Now the question - Why i do it?
- Lack of sanitation activities done by Indian Government - If i take a walk on an Indian Street, usually i dont see any dustbins at the road side to use. If by-chance i get one, usually it's so overflowed that half of the trash already lies on the ground. But is that a reasonable fact to support the Littering i do? I dont think so. Why cant i just cary the trash with me for so long till i could dump it at home, office or at the nearest dustbin around the corner?
- I dont Litter. Uneducated, Illiterate, low-class people do this - This is the biggest misconception many educated or high-class INDIANS have. I have seen trash thrown out of BMWs. I have seen people spitting out of Pajero. I have seen employees of MNCs like IBM, Infosys, Oracle, Emerson etc, throwing cigarette butts, candy wrappers outside there offices. Isn't this strata of society well-educated? Dont they have trash-dumps readily avalable in there comfortable cars, offices?
Our Carelessness behaviour explains the reason for the above mentioned facts. Why we would take the pain to carry and dump the waste into the nearest available dustbin, when we can just dump it there itself.
But then a question which pops-up is - Why i dont show this behaviour of mine when i am in US, Canada or in any other well developed country? Answer to that would be that maybe this behaviour of Carelessness is not part of me but of my Land. Its the part of the CODE we follow. A Supportive fact would be that even many foriegn nationals show the same behaviour when they are in INDIA.
So I can Conclude - Indians dont litter, People in India do.
But then how to make Carefulness a part of the Basic Code of our LAND? It has to be done gradually by us - GenNEXT. Indeed education has to play a major role there. I would say - Basic Code of an individual is developed not by the Academic knowledge we get from School or College, BUT from the Basic Education which we get primarily from our Parents and then from Family, Friends, Colleagues. So being an educated, qualified and sensible INIDAN its not enough for me to drive an expensive vehicle OR sit in an AC office. My biggest responsibility would be to impart the correct, ethical Basic Education to my Friends, Family and specially to my Children so that they become Better INDIANS then ME... And i'll do it.
Thanks -- Inderpal Singh Dhami
Also See - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHi2dxSf9hw
