Nov 24 2014 : The Times of India (Delhi)
CITY CITY BANG BANG - Swachh: The Symbolism Of Symbolism?
SANTOSH DESAI
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Every day brings a new photograph, with newer and increasingly minor celebrities finding a street that has enough dirt that can be picked up on a camera, and swishing away at it with a broom. The act of affirming one’s belief in the PM’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan now comes with a prescribed protocol, which is why the alleged cleaning takes place in exactly one way. The same kind of broom coming in fleeting contact with the same kind of dirt, with one main protagonist accompanied by the same kind of hangers-on.It is tempting to conclude that the entire programme is a giant PR exercise awash in empty symbolism but that might not be warranted. The seriousness of the programme has little to do with celebrities using it as a photo-op, and it would be unfair to connect the two directly. But it raises some interesting questions about the uses of symbolism in today’s times. Given that the Modi government has a sophisticated understanding of symbolism and an ability to use it powerfully, the launch of an ambitious programme like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan becomes an interesting site to examine the uses and limitations of the symbolic.
When Narendra Modi wielded a broom and signalled the launch of the movement, it was without question, an act of symbolism. To ask if he was in fact cleaning ‘real’ dirt is meaningless, for his role was to send a message, something that his actions communicated quite effectively. But the purpose of symbolism cannot be to breed more symbolism but for it to lead to action. Symbols become powerful only when they point to something outside of themselves that is real, and not towards more symbols.
When celebrities across the country start replicating the symbolic rather than act upon it, there is a danger of the entire effort becoming farcical. In a world where representation is increasingly becoming a substitute of reality, where tweeting an opinion gets mistaken for actually doing something in the real world, the danger of noble intentions becoming confused with effective action is a real one. Symbols literally read and dutifully replicated multiply emptiness, rather than deliver change.
Some would argue that the very idea of locating the movement of this kind in the discretionary actions of individuals is by itself nothing but tokenism. A problem like cleanliness is not about individual intent but systemic overhaul. For this effort to work, a massive task of building infrastructure across a wide number of sectors, creating enabling administrative mechanisms and creating demand for public sanitation are some of the many complex problems that will need to be solved. The anecdotal efforts of a few individuals making occasional efforts might appear noble, but it does nothing for a problem as fundamental as this one.
These arguments carry weight but might be a trifle premature for it is early days yet. Given that the government has set 2019 as its deadline, it should be easy to evaluate whether or not any real change was brought about. Simply because some of the symbolism around the programme seems to be a form of tokenism does not mean that the programme itself is only symbolic.Besides, even the kind of symbolism that we have seen might have more value than is immediately apparent.
For one, it creates an expectation of collaboration between the state and its citizens by connecting a government programme with individual action. Even if the sporadic attempts made by citizens yield little by way of solving the problem, it marks a shift in the relationship between the state and the citizen, even if of a modest kind. There is another way in which a programme like this changes things at a fundamental level.
The act of self-conscious cleanliness is rooted in becoming aware of the self and its interaction with the environment. The transition to an identity rooted in the civic rather than the social, needs individuals to become more aware of their own actions and the footprint that they leave behind. The dominant reality in India is one where individuals live in a state of dream--like naturalness, marked by an inability to see themselves and their actions from any other lens except their own.Littering or urinating in public, for that matter, is really about spreading oneself generously over one's environment without thinking of the consequences of these actions. The outer world is seen as being somebody else's responsibility, and we plough on through our lives discharging our refuse around us, blissfully indifferent to the effect it has on the outside world. The deep immersion in one's own self can be seen most graphically in the way we drive and behave on the road--every minor gap on the road must be conquered, anyone who gets in our way must be honked out of existence, every level crossing means that we jam up the wrong side of the road so that we get out first, no matter how long it takes or badly it messes up traffic--what matters is our personal convenience, nothing else.
The idea of civic responsibility is founded on an acknowledgement of the reciprocity involved in the act of being citizens. Urban spaces, in particular, create unlikely neighbours who have to use the same resources. Without consciousness about the effect that individual actions have on public order, no civic responsibility of any kind can get undertaken. Successful governance needs enabled citizens who not only consume the services offered by the state but contribute actively to these. By placing cleanliness at the top of the national agenda, whether consciously or otherwise, the government is helping build the idea of a more selfaware citizenry. The attempt, beyond the immediate aims of the programme, is to give birth to the idea of the civic, and at this symbolic level, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan might be a small but extremely significant step.
santosh365@gmail.com
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When Narendra Modi wielded a broom and signalled the launch of the movement, it was without question, an act of symbolism. To ask if he was in fact cleaning ‘real’ dirt is meaningless, for his role was to send a message, something that his actions communicated quite effectively. But the purpose of symbolism cannot be to breed more symbolism but for it to lead to action. Symbols become powerful only when they point to something outside of themselves that is real, and not towards more symbols.
When celebrities across the country start replicating the symbolic rather than act upon it, there is a danger of the entire effort becoming farcical. In a world where representation is increasingly becoming a substitute of reality, where tweeting an opinion gets mistaken for actually doing something in the real world, the danger of noble intentions becoming confused with effective action is a real one. Symbols literally read and dutifully replicated multiply emptiness, rather than deliver change.
Some would argue that the very idea of locating the movement of this kind in the discretionary actions of individuals is by itself nothing but tokenism. A problem like cleanliness is not about individual intent but systemic overhaul. For this effort to work, a massive task of building infrastructure across a wide number of sectors, creating enabling administrative mechanisms and creating demand for public sanitation are some of the many complex problems that will need to be solved. The anecdotal efforts of a few individuals making occasional efforts might appear noble, but it does nothing for a problem as fundamental as this one.
These arguments carry weight but might be a trifle premature for it is early days yet. Given that the government has set 2019 as its deadline, it should be easy to evaluate whether or not any real change was brought about. Simply because some of the symbolism around the programme seems to be a form of tokenism does not mean that the programme itself is only symbolic.Besides, even the kind of symbolism that we have seen might have more value than is immediately apparent.
For one, it creates an expectation of collaboration between the state and its citizens by connecting a government programme with individual action. Even if the sporadic attempts made by citizens yield little by way of solving the problem, it marks a shift in the relationship between the state and the citizen, even if of a modest kind. There is another way in which a programme like this changes things at a fundamental level.
The act of self-conscious cleanliness is rooted in becoming aware of the self and its interaction with the environment. The transition to an identity rooted in the civic rather than the social, needs individuals to become more aware of their own actions and the footprint that they leave behind. The dominant reality in India is one where individuals live in a state of dream--like naturalness, marked by an inability to see themselves and their actions from any other lens except their own.Littering or urinating in public, for that matter, is really about spreading oneself generously over one's environment without thinking of the consequences of these actions. The outer world is seen as being somebody else's responsibility, and we plough on through our lives discharging our refuse around us, blissfully indifferent to the effect it has on the outside world. The deep immersion in one's own self can be seen most graphically in the way we drive and behave on the road--every minor gap on the road must be conquered, anyone who gets in our way must be honked out of existence, every level crossing means that we jam up the wrong side of the road so that we get out first, no matter how long it takes or badly it messes up traffic--what matters is our personal convenience, nothing else.
The idea of civic responsibility is founded on an acknowledgement of the reciprocity involved in the act of being citizens. Urban spaces, in particular, create unlikely neighbours who have to use the same resources. Without consciousness about the effect that individual actions have on public order, no civic responsibility of any kind can get undertaken. Successful governance needs enabled citizens who not only consume the services offered by the state but contribute actively to these. By placing cleanliness at the top of the national agenda, whether consciously or otherwise, the government is helping build the idea of a more selfaware citizenry. The attempt, beyond the immediate aims of the programme, is to give birth to the idea of the civic, and at this symbolic level, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan might be a small but extremely significant step.
santosh365@gmail.com
My Times, My Voice: Like this article? SMS MTMVSAN
