changeadminWe don’t really need to explain Mohandas Gandhi’s contribution to India’s independence struggle. Thousands of books have already been written, and many documentaries and films have covered his role in great detail.
But, seldom do we realise, and rarely do people know that he had said, “Sanitation is more important than independence.”
Let us examine some of Gandhi’s experiences with issues related to sanitation and hygiene.
Here are a few stories from Gandhi’s life on Cleanliness and Sanitation
Early Childhood
Gandhiji showed his affinity for sanitation and cleanliness at a very young age. When he was 12 years old, he questioned his mother about why she would ask him to take a bath every time he touched the community sweeper.
He quoted the Ramayana and asked his mother if God Ram had embraced Guhaka, a chandal (considered untouchable), what stopped them? His mother, Putlibai, was unable to respond.
Propagating Cleanliness
After spending 3 years in South Africa, when he returned to India to take his wife and son back, he was welcomed with the plague in Bombay.
While there was a great chance that it would spread to his home state, Gujarat, as well, Gandhi offered his services to improve sanitation.
Back then, people used to excrete anywhere and everywhere; there were extremely despicable conditions. He emphasised the importance of keeping homes and surroundings clean, with a special focus on latrines and toilets.
He pointed out that the leading cause of many diseases was the unhygienic conditions of toilets. He suggested using two separate buckets for urine and night soil, which many residents began to follow, and gradually, things started to change for the better.
Days in South Africa
During his stay in South Africa with his family, there were only Western-style toilets that had no water outlet, and a chamber pot was used for disposing of excreta.
Notwithstanding his wife, Kasturba’s reluctance, he compelled her to help him ensure that the chamber pot used by his colleagues was cleaned.
Picking broom
During one of the Congress sessions in Calcutta, he observed many delegates using the verandah in front of their rooms as latrines without any inhibition. Gandhi, dressed in his Western attire, took a broom and started cleaning the area, putting many onlookers to shame.
This was not just one occasion when he picked the broom; on countless other occasions, he assumed the role of a sweeper, scavenger, and sanitation worker.
Affinity toward sanitation workers
He devoted a great deal of focus and attention to eliminating the practice of untouchability in India.
Gandhi advocated for bringing the socially weaker, downtrodden, and sanitation workers into the mainstream. There are numerous occasions when he put this deprived section of society over anyone else.
A few years before his death, he chose to live among sweepers and ate the same food as theirs.
He spoke about cleanliness in numerous public meetings, preaching the importance of cleanliness and highlighting the pitfalls of not following it.
During his many visits to various parts of the country, he observed people’s behaviour and habits, including spitting on roads, throwing garbage on roads, littering public places, polluting rivers, and even defiling religious places.
Gandhi’s life on cleanliness and sanitation is equally important as his struggle for India’s independence.
His advocacy for cleanliness was intertwined with his efforts to bring independence to the country through peace and non-violence. While we remember him for the latter, it’s time we also imbibe his teachings from the former.
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