The Clean India Campaign to mark the Mahatmas birth anniversary is laudable. But to blossom as a major national effort, it has to acquire a voluntary character rather than forced participation under governmental diktat. Nobody underrates the value of family planning in a country like ours. But the coercive element in its practice and propagation made it a dirty word during the Emergency. Duress is antithetical to any democratic movement, more so when it is sought to be propelled by the government of the day. The support for causes Bapu took up was voluntary, as our PM himself emphasized in this speech at New Yorks MSG. But the pride Narenbhai took in not taking even a 15 minute breather since assuming office, defies scientific human resource management. CEOs across the globe agree with the old adage that all work and no play makes Jack (or Janardhan) dull. To deliver quality work in their jobs, public servants need to spend quality time with families at home. Making them wield a broom on a national holiday might be good television. Not incisive vision.
Posted on: Thu, 02 Oct 2014 03:12:46 +0000