What are you looking for when you’re planning on giving your children the best future? Better education, opportunities, and lifestyle?
Great, but have you considered society? I mean, all these are part of the society they’ll be a part of.
A cleaner, more responsible, more respectful environment, where public spaces are not treated as dumping grounds, but seen as an extension of their homes.
Looks impossible but civic sensibility won’t appear with the swish of the wand. It’s about cultivating respect for what’s ours collectively.
You can tell them a thousand times not to litter or scribble on walls or waste water but it won’t matter unless they see you doing it, following those very same values you preach.
If they see you throw that empty wrapper or tissue paper from the moving car, they’re learning that responsibility is as per convenience.
So their first lessons on civic responsibility begins at home. And you’re the instructor.
Do We Need Stricter Laws or a Change in Mindset?
How, and where do we begin to get this change? Should there be stricter laws and vigilant policing to deter bad behaviour? Will they help change the mindset?
I don’t think so. It can create short-term compliance but not long-term transformation. That has to come from within – a sense of ownership and pride.
People need to feel the need to maintain the space, do it voluntarily.
Recently I saw a video about a tiny village deep inside the Tadoba national park. They’ve worked together to transform their dusty village into a sparkling habitation.
Children help collect garbage. Villagers take turns to clean the village streets. A RO plant ensures everyone has access to clean drinking water. They’ve dustbins in every corner.
It’s not magic; it’s collective responsibility. It’s a quiet revolution showing that small steps help to cover big distances.
Every neighbourhood can start their own initiatives. Have a volunteer day or clean up drive once a month to clean their surroundings.
The biggest culprits here are our favourite neighbourhood eateries. Incentivise maintaining hygienic and clean surroundings.
Creative external enforcement can be the starting point for developing internal discipline.
Maybe once they see the transformation, people will be more willing to participate.
But then again should responsibility need a reminder? It shouldn’t, but if reminders can get results, I’m ready to give them, again and again and again.
Public Spaces Are a Reflection of Our Collective Character
My friend came back from a trip to Japan and went on for days about how they maintain cleanliness in public places.
His anger at the apathy displayed here felt justified until I noticed him casually throwing his used tissue into the shrubs nearby.
When I pointed that out to him, he was indifferent and didn’t see what the problem was.
That’s the sorry state of attitude here. It’s never seen as our responsibility, but as someone else’s.
Our public spaces tell more about us than we want to let out. They reflect our discipline, our sense of empathy, and sense of community.
The overflowing bins, the graffiti covered walls, the empty wrappers strewn across every road or path. They’re all signs of our apathy. Along with signs of poor management.
Development and progress should not be restricted to the glittering malls or corporate towers or gated societies. Because once you step out of them, what you see is broken roads, clogged drains and littered pavements.
And somehow we’re ok with them.
No point talking about Japan or US or Germany. If what you miss is their quality of public spaces, then you’ve to work towards it.
If we aspire for global standards, then the development can’t be in fragments. Civic growth must be holistic, and it must involve all who live there.
A city is only as clean as its dirtiest corner.
The easiest thing to do is to point fingers. The system, the people, the infrastructure, the weather, the dogs. But begin with pointing one at yourself too.
Systems are built and maintained by people. The starting point is the apathy at the individual level. Then move to the system.
When you say it’s not my job, you’ve already closed the door to any improvement.
Raising a Responsible Generation
Sending the children abroad to enjoy a better quality of life is not the answer. Turning a blind eye never is.
Why not create the same environment here?
Children have to be taught to be responsible citizens, not just successful individuals.
Parents can, and must, coordinate with the schools to encourage children to participate in civic duties.
Practice simple ways to implement it:
- Encourage them to carry their waste till they find a bin, and not just throw it wherever they want.
- Get them to participate in cleanliness drives.
- Graffiti isn’t art if it damages public property. Let it be part of the beautification drive.
- Open public spaces like parks and gardens are shared spaces, and need the same respect as their homes.
- Create awareness by holding community activities, educating the shopkeepers and eateries in your neighbourhood.
- Use social media to generate interest.
It’s not going to happen in a day, but it can begin today.
Civic responsibility is learned when it’s lived, observed and absorbed through years of conscious practice.
A Shared Responsibility
Social progress can be measured through its civic sensibility. This is what separates a developed society from a developing one. Not the skyscrapers, not the GDP, not the infrastructure, but the shared accountability.
So when teaching about responsibility to the children, it can include their responsibility to the society. And more importantly, how much responsibility are the adults willing to take?
I’ve been lucky to see a city transform into a clean, thriving society. It needed the combined efforts of the civil administration and the people.
It’s doable. So let’s take up this responsibility of passing on a cleaner city to our children.
Let them inherit not just our culture and values but also a cleaner city. A city they can be proud of.
