India: need for "Be clean" lessons

A visitor said he took a train trip to see "Incredible India," but what he saw instead was people squatting in front of the railroad tracks. An unbelievable 1 out of every 2 indians defecates in the open (WHO).

Lack of toilets – what the world considers a basic requirement for human living – is not the only dirt issue. Our rivers (yamuna, ganga, cooum, etc) are the world's dirtiest. And with the exception of the insides of some homes, hotels, and offices, pretty much everything is dirty including sightseeing spots and places of worship. So I'm not surprised to read that Indians abroad are discriminated for lack of clean habits.

While there are many exceptions (some of us are clean to the point of being obsessively compulsive), the rule sadly is that we Indians need to improve fundamentally.

The solution: We need basic lessons on cleanliness at preschool and elementary school levels. Where kids do not go to school and thus cannot receive such lessons, the dirt issue will unfortunately remain a challenge.