Page 140 - SocialHarmony

144 Social Harmony

around river banks. Civilization has always entirely developed
on river banks. Our ancestors were fastidious about cleanliness
and health in their own way, and we have been taught the basics
of health and hygiene as part of our tradition. We have a culture
of personal hygiene. We have been taught to wash our hands
and feet after using the toilet, bathe regularly, and remove shoes,
etc. Hygiene is observed all over the world, but in India it is a
tradition. Other countries emphasize public health and civic
sense. When civic sense is ignored, it creates a disgusting
environment. In foreign countries, people will put a scrap of
paper in their pockets till they find a dustbin. I do not criticize
their personal hygiene, but we have a lot to learn about public
health and civic sense from the other countries of the world.
Our neighbouring country Singapore has set new standards of
cleanliness through proper laws and has created recognition
for itself in terms of economic development.

Medical tourism is developing in a big way in Gujarat. Our
medical capabilities can attract the world, but before that we
will have to cultivate civic sense and cleanliness. We should
accept this responsibility as a society. Instead of relying on others
to clean our garbage and throwing our garbage on the streets,
we should resolve to keep our surroundings clean. We chant
slogans like, “Bharatmata ki Jay” and, “Vande Mataram” and
then spit on the same earth. This is an insult to the country.
That is why it is very important to develop a sense of social
cleanliness.

Our next target is harmony. Mahatma Gandhi worked very
hard to remove untouchability. No society can improve without
removing narrow attitudes and disharmony. The strength of
society lies in its unity. If we want society to come out of ills
such as inequality and the lure of cushy jobs we must work
towards harmony. We want to organize a string of folk
performances that will talk about the principle of harmony.
Unfortunately, the Gandhian philosophy is not fully understood;
therefore, we have accepted equality but not harmony. We
erroneously believed that harmony would be cultivated along
with equality; children of upper and lower classes would be