There is a growing
trend today that tries to solve behavioral problems, determined by the state
and surroundings we are in, through entrepreneurial means. Let me explain it
with two examples. First one is related to the perceived attempts from
politicians on the street to saints in the jungles to protect planet through
afforestation by planting saplings ranging from one to millions. I am not
against this efforts or not debilitating its relevance whatsoever. Instead, my argument is that this kind of
efforts to increase the green cover of the planet is sub-optimal as there is alternative
optimal and less celebrated method to expand the green cover. That is reducing
deforestation. The effect of not meddling with functioning of the nature and
thereby allowing expansion of the green cover on its own is far stronger and
effective than that of human driven afforestation drive. Restrict the
intervention of the human being on the nature followed by sensitization efforts
; nature will take care of itself. It is
here we have to see the difference between behavioral problem and
entrepreneurial solution. Felling of
trees and mindless destruction of green cover is essentially a behavioral
problem. One who has a mind to love environment and enjoys its beauty cannot
destroy it. He/she cannot accept the indiscriminate destruction of green
cover. He/she will be at pain upon
seeing such wanton behavior. That is, such a state of mind will treat a tree as
one among us with a soul and blood. The destruction of forests today is mainly
driven by pecuniary motives of human being which has made the minds of people
hard and numb. Thus, the issue is behavioral.
However, the solution that we celebrate is entrepreneurial in the form of
politically driven massive planting campaign. One can easily mobilize a group
of people and organize a mega plating bandwagon that too in front of camera to
achieve intended quick-return whereas taking oneself to the course of allowing
nature take care of itself without permitting others in meddling in its natural
functioning would be a enduring struggle. Once again, let me reiterate that I
do not hold the view that efforts of tree planting are fully sans results. Along
with such campaigns, we should have devised a strategy and plan to influence
the behavior of the people, sensitize them and thereby develop a mindset which
enables them to treat trees like one among us wherein restriction will pave way
to restraint. We need restraint to solve this menace.
The second example is
Modi government’s swatch bharath initiative. Here one instance of
entrepreneurial solution that this government has sought is the construction of
toilets. Of course, I do appreciate the compulsions of competitive politics
which might have influenced such short term pursuits. Having said that let me
submit here that if India still remains to be stingy and filthy, it shows that
something is rotten in the system and we are breathing the stinky air generated
in it. I mean the real problem is somewhere else. Indeed, India as a democracy has had achieved
many milestones in the past. However, that does not mean that we have lived up
to expectations. I mean that until India liberates its true claimants in the
form of ordinary people from the clutches of poverty, deprivation and
destitution India will remain to be stinky. There are two reasons for this.
First, such a destitute would have other more important preoccupations in the
form of trying to meet the ends of their life which often makes them unable to
remain clean. For instance, a hapless working woman with a toddler will be
forced to take her ward with her to the work site and where she will find time
to take care of her baby, for example, from flies? Her kid would be toddling in
the mud, could be relieving of the basic necessities around and all these would
be termed as unhygienic by those whose kids have palatial mansions floored with
costly ceramics. The point I am making here is that poor people are in a sense
helpless to remain so called hygienic on account of their real life
compulsions. Certainly there must have a
debate who pollutes the most? While one can use fuel guzzling luxurious vehicles
contributing to country’s pollution according to their whims and fancies, our
pre-occupation solely with those who openly defecate should also be
debated. Secondly, the hygiene is a
behavioral issue which gets shaped up by the socio-economic environment as
outlined above. That is why it was reported even after construction of toilets,
people are hesitant to use them as they find it comfortable to relive in the
open. This means that an entrepreneurial
solution in the form of construction of toilets will be a failure to solve a
behavioral problem. Apart from that, the massive drive to clean India raises
the question of who will undertake cleaning. Can we consider cleaning effort in
isolation from India’s prevailing social system? Can we expect members of upper
caste communities be scavengers in Indian cities? If answer is no, it means
that the problem of filth in modern India can only solved with a solution
suggested by Mahatma Gandhi who suggested that everybody should be their own
scavengers. This great well-thought-out solution has addressed both social and
behavioral aspects involved in the maintenance of hygiene. Specifically,
regarding social aspect, if everybody cleans their surrounding, then the
customary practice of treating those at the bottom of social hierarchy as the
potential scavengers could be automatically disappeared. Concerning behavioral
aspect, nobody would clean his surroundings without such a bend of mind or a
positive attitude to do so. Thus, to
make India’s geographical surface and air clean and tidy, government along with
short term measures, must also try to make India’s socio-economic scenarios
clean from all evils it has been suffering from over the years. This would help to change the attitude of the
people which is the only effective way to bring about revolutionary changes.
(Views expressed here are in an academic spirit and therefore, need not
attach any sort of sympathy and antipathy to it)
