This is in response to the Open Page Article published in today's Hindu titled Civic Sense, last on our list by Dr Sheila Balakrishnan from Trivandrum(http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-openpage/civic-sense-last-on-our-list/article5276987.ece).
It is always easy to find fault with our country and this is another such article. I would like point out a few things and in no way am I saying that civic sense is not required.
It is always easy to find fault with our country and this is another such article. I would like point out a few things and in no way am I saying that civic sense is not required.
Coming to dog poop, I have lived in the US and seen everyone pick up the dogs poop and drop it in the bins. I also thought this was great and then realized that its by law that people are required to pick up their dog's poop. I would suggest that the doctor watches the beautiful movie called Milk where Sean Penn plays the first elected gay activist Harvey Milk and how he championed the law to force dog owners to pick up their dog's poop. In UK also its a law. I also feel bad when I see dog poop, cow dung and what not on the road and when I have jump around on the road to avoid stepping on them. I have also felt that we should have a law like in the west to force but when I realize that many human beings today defecate in the open as they don't have toilets at home we are asking for too much (at least for now).
Road usage is an issue that I agree with the doctor on. However, you should drive in New York city to realize that there is nothing different from what happens in India.
Public place behavior again I would request the doctor to read this beautiful article in New York Times titled The Good Men of India (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/20/opinion/sunday/the-good-men-of-india.html), we definitely need outsiders to tell how good people are in India. Also how many times have we had strangers take the kids on buses and keep them on their laps? In which other country would you see that? Everyone is so selfish about what they do and what not do.
Mobile Phones, agreed but this is an issue across the world. Case in point the ex-NSA chiefs telephonic interviews being posted live on twitter.
In end I would have been happy if the article was note just addressed to us Indians. All things that the doctor has raised happen across the world and not just in India. That being the case why would she point out about India alone?
Civic sense is required for everyone period. Not just Indians.
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