A Cleanliness Drive in India: Assessment on Its Psycho-Social Impact

Abstract

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (a cleanliness campaign) was initiated in 2014 under the regime of the NDA government. As the name signifies, the term ‘Swachh' denotes cleanliness in Sanskrit. In its nascent stages, the program attempted to ameliorate waste management – most predominantly open defecation and efficient utilization of resources. With the primary motive of having a hygienic surrounding environment for its people, the government of India initiated sundry cleanliness drives under this campaign. However, the conceptualisation and formulation of plans is one aspect – the praxis, i.e., the practical implementation of these plans is another important consideration altogether, which is perhaps the primary concern for the Government of India – for, if there is an inability to acquire mass involvement and participation then there is an automatic implication of failure. By having a comprehensive understanding of the motivational factors and attitudinal characteristics that members of a given community harbor – it would be relatively efficient at gaining mass involvement. Consequently, by addressing those factors and formulating plans on the basis of such fundamental facets there could be an exponential rate of success for such programs. Adding on to the literature and knowledge, which pre-exists within this domain, the subsequent research can aid in the better understanding of social perceptual phenomena and the successful implementation of programs related to campaigns addressing such issues. The study undertaken had a sample size of 1000 respondents. The findings of the paper suggest that the cumulative assessment across the concerned thematic factors (political, social, environmental, and communicational) apropos the initiative indicate an effective social (r)evolution with respect to the perceptual notions of the sample population involved.

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4318588