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| An analysis of Gandhi Jayanti celebrations | | | Mahadeep Singh Jamwal | 10/12/2019 10:24:10 PM |
| The phobia of photo show engulfed the entire Jammu region on the day of Gandhi Jayanti. Across the region everyone right from NGO's, Social Organizations, Government Institutions, Educational Institutions, Religious Organizations, Para-Military Forces as well as Police Department one and all were in a race to get attentions of their cleanliness drive carrying brooms and brooming the much cleaned areas on the day of Gandhi Jayanti and were in a race to get space in print media and live media. Excessive focus on publicity of cleanliness by center can be taken as to divert the attention of common man from real problems and can be construed as motive and platform and an event behind Gandhi Jayanti celebrations. At the same time local Channels in various cities exposed the working of the departments connected to keep cities neat and clean, while shooting the garbage dumping spaces not cleaned even on the Gandhi Jayanti. The message to organize a week-long cleanliness drive from September 25 to 2 October, 2019, was conceived to the extent that during the week long, the children from schools, colleges, were used as readymade material to roam from street to street in adverse weather conditions to enjoy shouting of slogan 'No plastic use' and as observed, the people of those area, where these messengers were utilized even not opened their doors to the bell call by these ambassadors. Many government schools as well as private institutions managed some programs in their schools about cleanliness at the cost of the education to children. At the district administration level, a responsible officer, one or two workers from Municipal Councils and few children dressed as Scouts and Guides, visited one or two known houses in a ward with lens men and news bite that whole ward has been sensitized to the concept of the cleanliness drive and bad effects of the plastic use. The media was fully utilized by the administration in propagating the activities regarding week long celebrations of cleanliness drive with not much activity on ground and I am sure the funds might have been drained on this futile exercise? What to talk of civil scenario even the PMF as well as police department kept them self busy in cleanliness drive forgetting that they are supposed to make the society crime free and for garbage cleaning we have full fledge department and ministry that utilize large amount of tax payers money for the purpose. Had the Police department launched special drive to catch hold of criminals roaming freely in society, launched a special drive to curb and shackle the drug mafia operating under their very nose, had organized the drive to aware the public about traffic observations, these would have been appreciated much as 'Cleanliness drive' over criminals than coming on clean roads with large brooms according to the status. The DLSA also remained very vibrant during this week and their focus also remained much to plantation drive, and ban on plastic. Thousands of saplings planted by various agencies including Para Military Forces and that might have cost out of the tax payers wallet, who has to take care of this plantation for their survival? All that required is sensible moving on all these issues. The politicians have to look for such drives for their political mileage but those responsible on the ground for implementation must use their own senses as to the survival of the plantations and impressive awareness than just making photo sessions.
We can take the HE Governor's 'Shramdaan' program for massive plastic and waste collection drive along with his Advisors and senior officers as the highest function on 150th birth anniversary of the Gandhi in the state held in Srinagar. A detail read out of the reporting in print media of the mega show is confined to the message of the Governor that our regular contribution towards ensuring cleanliness in our surrounding is the befitting tribute to the Gandhi as Cleanliness was next to Godliness for him. The other valuable messages of Gandhi for the cause of society, for down trodden, his contribution towards India's struggle for independence as one of the greatest lessons in patriotism and his sacrifice and non-violent, peaceful fight for freedom and great message of non-violence were found missing from pages of the many print media houses. The turbulent Kashmir was required to be conveying the message of peaceful society through non-violence philosophy of Gandhi and it would have impacted more than the message of plastic and waste collection as the only source with common man is print media rather than live media. To some up, we can say that only message of weeklong drive on cleanliness that has trickled from center remained focal point of celebrations of 150th birth anniversary of a great soul, Mahatma Gandhi and nothing moved beyond that? Wherever such functions were held, the message of simplicity and life of Mahatma were missing from majority functions.
At the same time, at some places, the best part of the celebrations of the day remained as managing the rallies and runs to aware the society about drug menace, and such events attracted large number of people than in the managed cleanliness drives. The week long awareness programs in various schools and colleges remain confined to four walls of the institutions whereas such programs much deserve to be in common public. Now after the Gandhi Jayanti, we failed to witness any live or print news or any concern of any NGO, social organization or any one of them regarding cleanliness or plastic free activities, who remained in photo shows during week long celebrations. We believe that such organizations have gone into hibernation and waiting for another program from the center. A regular activity is required to aware the common man about necessity of the cleanliness and to get rid of plastic. |
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