Gandhiji offered detailed comments in Navajivan dated 2-11-1919 on cleanliness and good habits and indicated its close relationship with good health:
“. . . No one should spit or clean his nose on the streets… In some places spitting on the road is a criminal offence. Those who spit after chewing betel leaves and tobacco have no consideration for the feelings of others. Spittle, mucus from the nose, etc, should also be covered with earth.
“Near the village or dwellings, there should be no ditches in which water can collect. Mosquitoes do not breed where water does not stagnate. Where there are no mosquitoes, the incidence of malaria is low. At one time, water used to collect around Delhi. After the hollows were filled, mosquitoes were greatly reduced and so also was malaria.”
Pointing out our unhygienic habits Gandhiji strongly emphasized observing cleanliness in lavatories, and wrote in Navajivan on 24-5-1925:
“The cause of many of our diseases is the condition of our lavatories and our bad habit of disposing of excreta anywhere and everywhere. “
Source-http://www.gandhimanibhavan.org/gandhiphilosophy/philosophy_environment_sanitation.html
But I feel sorry that even after 95 long years from the time Gandhiji made the above statements , we have not been able to change the image of India in the world from a filthy land to a clean and developing state .Even though now we have far more people with basic education and far more advanced means of communications like the television etc .
How can we maintain personal hygiene ?
1.Always wash hands with soap and water before meals.
2.Take daily baths .
3.Clip your nails short , comb your hair daily.
4.Personal toilets in every household and to be kept clean too.
5.Proper disposal of sputum , urine and faeces.
How can we maintain hygiene in our surroundings ?
1.Not to litter our surroundings .
2.To segregate the waste into biodegradable and non-biodegradable.
3.Not to spit ,urinate or defaecate or discard any other bodily discharges in the open .
Are these things very difficult to follow ?No , all we need is to remind ourselves all the time that we Indians are responsible for keeping our city ,village or locality clean .
“Strepsils “ is also supporting the “Clean India “ campaign through its campaign #AbMontuBolega , you can visit this page here-http://www.abmontubolega.com/ and watch the video .It is a wonderful video about a boy Montu who finally finds the courage to speak up his mind .
Leave a Reply