Toilet and Asipration

When the word aspiration was first invented no one might envisaged that someday this could be linked with Toilet also.How is it possible to make squatting aspirational and dignified? Let me quote some different stories from my village diary.

Chandrapur

I was visiting a village in Chandrapur three years before. It was mid summer, very hot, water shortage and I was addressing a big panchayat on water safety and security issues. During the discussion difficulty of usage of toilet was raised by Village Development officer. Everybody joined him trying to establish the statement. But after enquiry it was found they are taking bath every day. Quite funny!! Then I asked how many do you have mobile phones and everybody raised their hand with lot of joy. When I asked the same question about toilet, one old person found my question very funny and he protested with lot of anger as why I am linking mobile phone with toilet. So I tried to explain him. He laughed at me. He said one sentence which was such a great realisation for me. The person said: ‘you need toilet only for 1-2 times usage of a day, but mobile phones are required in every second’. After that visit I stopped comparing the examples of mobile phone with toilet as the understanding of need and aspirations are totally different between urban and rural communities.

Satara

The four years old story. A very senior representative from my organisation was visiting a village and was addressing a self-help group. Only one lady of the group had a toilet. How was it possible? While asking lady told that she motivated and inspired her husband to construct the toilet at home. Lady told her husband: ‘if  Emperor Shahjahan can construct Taj Mahal for Mumtaj, can’t you construct a toilet for me?”

Latur

This happened this year only. I was visiting a village with district people and thought of doing a round to meet the villagers along with the Panchayat Head. Panchayat person took me to a family head who constructed a toilet just few months before. The head of the family was surprised to know that I came from Mumbai to see a toilet!! He thought that my intention is different and I am more interested to know his income. However, after talking to me he understood. His wife was also beside me and both of them are in there end thirties. The lady was very jubilant to show around the toilet, but the guy was not happy with the toilet. He told me that he had been forced to construct it. I asked why and who forced you? He told that development of the village and shrinking land.  I was taken aback. ‘There used to be an open land  now a road has come up and there is no place to defecate.’

All the above three examples from the field are different scenarios which states the aspiration and motivation of having and not having the toilet. The quotes of three families I shared, first let me tell you all of them were from BPL families and they did not utter a single word of money or incentive scheme of GoI.

Rural sanitation (toilet) has always been a topic which is not been so openly discussed and talked about. It is still very difficult to get a space in mass media on this issue. Even our MPs do not like to take this portfolio at central or state level.

But if you see the examples of Satara, actually she glamourized the issue while comparing the toilet with Taj Mahal which I found amazing examples by which we can slowly create a social norms against open defecation. In many states movement has started ‘ No poo no do’ where brides are not ready to go to a family which does not have a toilet.

Rural India is changing. May be the change is not so fast but there is an increasing awareness on sanitation and linking sanitation with dignity and privacy.

We have a still long way to go as more than 600 million defecating open in India. I am just waiting for a day when Prime Minister of India accepts this as a National Shame for a middle income country like India.