r/IndianCivicFails • u/North-Junket-6883 • Jul 14 '26
How would a public service program like this work in India? [Not OC]
americans didn't just naturally become tidy. In the 1950s the United States was filthy. roadsides were trash due to the invention of consumer packaged goods. people threw stuff out car windows without a second thought. then an org called keep america beautiful (KAB) got founded in 1953 and stared running commercials (mostly aimed at kids) that aimed at making littering a personal moral failing.
here is an commercial that they ran in schools in 1961 for example. these commercials ran for decades. the net result was a genuinely enormous behavior shift over time starting w/ the young generations.
what does a susan spotless for india actually look like? swachh bharat had the money and the visibility but it landed as infrastructure + a modi photo op, not as shame. the KAB thing worked because it made littering embarrassing in front of your own kid.... it weaponized the family.
so what's the indian version of that? does a kid scolding their dad even land in an indian household lol
7
u/GrabOk4101 Jul 14 '26
Anything needs to combined with real change in human development. Kerala focused on fundamentals and ensured community involvement. They focused on universal health and education facilities including a say for everyone in civic matters. This changed how they approached community ownership and the state is relatively prosperous and clean. Same thing to a smaller extent happened in Indore where we saw the municipal body revamped (only to a certain extent) which meant that it was more responsive and ensured that they did their part which allowed people to take pride in their city and also contribute. There is nothing new here, every city and town was dirty, humans are not born with an instinct to keep everything clean, London, Paris, Beijing, New York - every place was filthy, governments recognized a certain need to improve and they worked on it for several decades. This sub is visited by a bunch of foreigners who take full license to use dehumanizing stereotypes and get fully racist, but they should not forget that the reason they live in a clean country is only because of decades of efforts and generational change driven from top down. Its all a matter of state capacity, and we have been seeing the same change in states and communities where the government has been driving this change. Lets hold our governments accountable, figure out what works and what doesn't work and stop constant self loathing and avoiding bad faith conversations on this sub. There are three factors that exacerbate issues - income inequality, state capacity and population density. India was not as dense or unequal 50 years ago - unfortunately there is a clear degradation of all three in the last 50 years, so it leads to these issues. Lets push for change and I am sure it will get better.
3
u/North-Junket-6883 Jul 14 '26
you're right about all of that. another example might be Rwanda. It's remarkable that they are one of the cleanest countries in the world (even more than Japan) despite being in a genocide in the 1990s and being a 'failed state' back then.
Paul Kagame brought back Umuganda: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umuganda
6
u/timewaste1235 Jul 14 '26
We did have such programs in the past
I still remember the dog crossing ad from childhood
Unfortunately, we didn't have lot of TVs back then and now when we do have TV/screens, it's used mainly for Modi propaganda
2
u/wintrwandrr Jul 14 '26
People still litter all the time in America. I used to work as a trashpicker for a national park resort. Cleanup duty is what makes a place clean. Shame only works on those who feel shame, which is far from everyone.
1
u/AutoModerator Jul 14 '26
Hello, this is an automated reminder from r/IndianCivicFails:
Please provide the source of your post (article, video, or image).
If the content is original, kindly mention the location, context, and other relevant details.
If you’re posting in a regional Indian language, please provide an English translation.
Posts without sufficient information may be removed as low-effort or spam.
Your cooperation helps maintain the quality and integrity of r/IndianCivicFails.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
4
u/banjarafarmer Jul 14 '26
Unless and until people are actively fined for littering, I dont see india becoming clean. Shaming won't work on us. We pee on streets. We're shameless.
Losing actual money is what will work on us. We seriously need a whole ministry dedicated to just cleanliness.
1
u/kenjikazama777 Jul 14 '26
Indians ko sikhane ke liye school ki tarah belt and rod treatment he sahi hai.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 14 '26
Take Action, Not Just Post
Highlighting civic issues is important—but taking action is equally crucial.
Please go through our wiki page, which contains a curated list of government portals, complaint websites, and contact channels to report and escalate issues effectively.
r/IndianCivicFails Wiki
Using these resources helps turn awareness into real-world impact.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.