International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected]

Prof. Yelamanchili Satyanarayana, Chairman, Board of Studies & Coordinator, 5 Year LL.B Course (SF), Dr. B.R. Ambedkar College of Law, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam- 530003.

The world is beset with many natural and social problems especially environmental degradation, global warming, climate change, pollution and access to clean water are some of the gravest challenges placed before the world today. The deep ecology and the conservation of mother earth have become the catchwords for environmentalists all over the world. The first global environment protective measures were taken in Stockholm Declaration in 1972. In this conference the global environmental issues were discussed with implications for appropriate policies to be pursued by 178 nations. The other International Declarations like Rio Declaration of 1992, Johannesburg Declaration of 2002 and Rio Declaration of 2012 are concerned to the protection of Flora and Fauna which is centric of survival of mankind in sustainable manner. ’s philosophy of life provides a sustainable development paradigm which is symbiotic with nature and ecosystem. He was deeply concerned with all problems confronted by humanity, and it was quite natural that he expressed his apprehension on matters relating to ecology and environment. philosophy, Vasundhara, Vasumati,

is the Nation. Cleanliness was very dear to mantra of Mahatma Gandhiji, Father of . He had said that Nation. He demonstrated, propagated cleanliness is next to Godliness and that and insisted for individual and sanitation was more important than community cleanliness throughout his political freedom. life. The Government of has launched Swachch Bharat Abhiyan on 2/10/2014 with a vision to dedicate Clean Indians gained freedom under the India on 150th birth anniversary of leadership of Gandhiji, but his dream of a Mahatma Gandhi on 2/10/2019. Mahatma clean India is still unfulfilled. Mahatma Gandhi Swachhata Mission is integrated Gandhi said "Sanitation is more with Swachch Bharat Abhiyan towards important than independence". He made realizing this laudable vision. Oct., 2019 cleanliness and sanitation an integral to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of part of the Gandhian way of living. His Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the dream was total sanitation for all. International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected]

Cleanliness is most important for South Africa, he returned to India to physical well-being and a healthy fetch his wife and sons. Plague had environment. It has bearing on public broken out in the Bombay Presidency at and personal hygiene. It is essential for that time. There was a chance of it everyone to learn about cleanliness, spreading to . Gandhi immediately hygiene, sanitation and the various offered his service for improving the diseases that are caused due to poor sanitation of Rajkot. hygienic conditions. The habits learnt at a young age get embedded into one's personality. In some countries spitting on During Gandhiji's second trip to the road is a criminal offence. Those who India from South Africa, he attended the spit after chewing betel leaves and Congress session in Calcutta to plead the tobacco have no consideration for the cause of the ill-treated Indians in South feelings of others. Spittle, mucus from Africa. The sanitary condition of the the nose, etc, should also be covered with Congress camp was horrible. Some earth. ( dated 2 November, delegates used the veranda in front of 1919). their room as latrines, others did not object to it. Gandhi reacted immediately. When he spoke to the volunteers, they The Gandhi family was well said; “This is not our job, this is a known in Rajkot. His father and sweeper's job." Gandhi asked for a broom grandfather served as (Prime and cleaned the filth. He was then Minister) in Rajkot and other dressed in western clothes. The neighbouring states. Being a Prime volunteers were astonished but none Minister's son and a barrister to boot, he came forward to assist him. Years later, must have needed guts to go round the when Gandhi became the guiding star of town for a house to house inspection of the Indian National Congress, volunteers the drains. Gandhi seldom failed to show formed a (sweeper) squad in the moral courage when necessary. I, Congress camps where for once the therefore, believe in the absolute Brahmins worked as . necessity of a clean place for answering the call of nature and clean articles for use at the time. I have accustomed myself to them and wish that all others should In South Africa the whites do the same. The habit has become so despised the Indians for their slovenly firm in me that even if I wished to change habits. Gandhi inspected their quarters it I would not be able to do so. Nor do I and asked them to keep their homes and wish to change it" ( on 24 May, surroundings clean. He spoke about it at 1925). public meetings and wrote in newspapers. Gandhi's house in Durban was built in western fashion. The bathroom had no Gandhi learnt scavenging in outlet for water. Commodes and South Africa. His friends there lovingly chamber-pot used by his clerks residing called him the great scavenger. Mahatma with him had to be cleaned. He compelled Gandhi said, “Everyone must be his own his wife Kasturba to do the same. He also scavenger.” After a three-years stay in taught his young sons this work. International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected]

Kasturba once expressed her disgust clean. It needs no less courage to when asked to carry the chamber-pot become an expert scavenger than to used by his caste clerks. Gandhi rebuked win a Victoria Cross." her and told her to leave the house if she The villagers near his ashram wanted to observe caste bias. He was refused to cover excreta with earth. once socially boycotted by his own They said: "Surely this sympathizers for admitting an is work. It is sinful to look untouchable couple to the Sabarmati at faces, more so to throw earth on Ashram. them". Gandhi personally supervised the scavenging work in villages. To set an example, he for Gandhi's group launched a mass some months, himself used to go to contact programme in the villages. “At the villages with a bucket and a the end of the morning's march,” writes broom. Friends and guests went Tendulkar, “a batch of men and women with him. They brought bucketfuls from his party visited of dirt and stool and buried them in the quarters of the village near pits. the camp, taking with them brooms and All scavenging work in his ashram spades.” They talked about the “necessity was done by the inmates. Gandhi of sanitation, about keeping their yards guided them. People of different clean, of burying rubbish, instead of races, religions and colours lived leaving it to blow here and there. there. No dirt could be found anywhere on the ashram ground. All rubbish was After twenty years stay in that buried inpits peelings of vegetables alien land, Gandhi, at 46, finally returned and left-over food was dumped in a to India with his group. During his visit separate manurepit. The night-soil, to Kumbh Mela at Hardwar that year, he too, was buried and later used as with his Phoenix boys served manure. Waste water wasused for as at the mela. gardening. The farm was free from flies and stink though there was no drainage system. Gandhi and his co-workers Gandhiji said, “So long as you do undertook sweeper's work by turns. not take the broom and the bucket He introduced bucket-latrines and in your hands, you cannot make bicameral trench latrines. Gandhi your towns and cities clean." showed this new innovation to all When he inspected a model school, visitors with pride; rich and poor, he told the teachers: “You will leaders and workers, Indians and make your institution ideal, if foreigners all had to use these besides giving the students literary latrines. This experiment slowly education, you have made cooks removed a version for scavenging and sweepers of them." from the minds of orthodox co- To the students his advice was, "If workers and women inmates of the you become your own scavengers, ashram. you will make your surroundings International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected]

The sight of a carrying a government. It is the responsibility of all night-soil basket on his/her head Indians. It is the responsibility of the made him sick. He explained how Government officers, NGOs and the local with the use of proper instruments, community to make India completely cleaning could be done neatly. clean, all the people should actively Scavenging is a fine art and he did participate to clean India to fulfill the it without becoming filthy himself. dream of Mahatma Gandhi for the He wrote, "Village tanks are protection of the environment, for our promiscuously used for bathing, safety, and for a healthy future. washing clothes and drinking and cooking purposes. Many village tanks are also used by cattle. Buffaloes are often seenwallowing His ideas were expressed in terms in them. The wonder is that, in of two fundamental laws: Cosmic law and spite of this sinful misuse of village the Law of Species. Cosmic Law views the tanks, villages have not been entire universe as a single entity. destroyed by epidemics. Medical Nothing could malfunction outside the evidence shows that lack of pure threshold limits built into the grand water supply in villages is system that includes both living and non- responsible for many of the diseases living phenomena. He believed that “the suffered by the villagers." universe was structured and informed by ( 8 February, 1935 the cosmic spirit, that all men, all life and indeed all creation were one”. He was an We can conclude that cleanliness is advaitist who believed in the essential important in our life as well as for the unity of man and nature. He wrote: “I nation. It is well known that the believe in the advaita (non-duality), I Mahatma Gandhi personally took the believe in the essential unity of man and effort to achieve the change that he for that matter, of all that lives. wanted to see. It is of course too much to Therefore, I believe that if one man gains expect our present day leaders to go spiritually, the world gains with him and around the cities with their rising if one man fails, the whole world fails to number of slums, and initiate a genuine that extent.” Regarding the law of species drive to clean-up the surrounding. It is Gandhi believed that without the even less probable that they will pull cooperation and sacrifice of both human themselves away from their market- and non-human beings evolution is not focused pursuits and ineffectual, possible. Being rational human beings, exclusive pursuit of GDP growth, to focus we are the custodians of the rest of on the task of nation-building. Teachers creation and should respect their rights and students role is very important to and cherish the diversity. It is for this create awareness on cleanliness. In to reason that taking more than the dayâ world the role of social media is required resources is seen as theft. important to create awareness among the people and inculcate a feeling of nationality among them. Cleanliness is Truth and are not only the responsibility of the the fundamentals of Gandhian (sanitation worker) or local philosophy. His life itself was a relentless International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected] search for truth. His views on truth are environmentalists acknowledge their embedded in his religious beliefs and debt to Gandhi in understanding the practices and offer “a cosmological view problem from a holistic perspective. In of our relationship with one another and Gandhi’s life time, ecological and a pervasive sense of duty we owe to one environmental issues were not matters of another.” Nonviolence or means serious discussion as now. But Gandhi non-injury, but to Gandhi nonviolence was deeply concerned about the damages was much more than the absence of done by modern industrial civilization to violence. He used it to mean non-injury the environment which he portrayed in in thought, word and deed. He viewed his seminal work Hind or Indian nonviolence as the philosophy of life. Home Rule written in1909. Truth and Ahimsa are intertwined terms. To Gandhi truth is that “which Gandhi has not built up any determines the spirit in which one lives theory of environmental philosophy or or the religious and ethical criteria which system which strictly falls within the govern the way in which he thinks and scheme of present environmental science. acts.” He believed that truth can be Gandhi was deeply concerned with all achieved only by means of nonviolence. It problems confronted by humanity, and it affords the fullest protection to one’s self- was quite natural that he expressed his respect and sense of honour. If truth is concern on matters relating to ecology the highest law, then nonviolence is the and environment. One who scrutinises highest duty. Gandhi claimed that truth Gandhi’s speeches and writings will be was the most correct and fully significant amazed by the deep eco-consciousness term that could be used for God. To rooted in his philosophy of life. Eco- practice Ahimsa is to realise truth and to consciousness embedded in Gandhi’s realise truth is to practice Ahimsa. Philosophy of life and Worldview Gandhian environmental ethics stems from his philosophy of life and his worldview. In the Gandhian world view, 1 The "deep ecology" and the human life cannot be divided into conservation of mother earth have watertight compartments such as become the catchwords for economic, political, and religious and so environmentalists all over the world. It is on. Human life is an undivided whole. He interesting to note that Arne Naess, who believed that “One’s everyday life was coined the term ‘deep ecology’, has never capable of being separated from his acknowledged his indebtedness to Gandhi spiritual being. Both acted and reacted in the formulation of this term. Many upon one another.” He believed in the unity and oneness of all life and its 1 Deep ecology's core principle is the interconnectedness. This relational worldview is equally applicable to animal belief that the living environment as a and plant life. He wrote, “I do not believe whole should be respected and that an individual may gain spiritually regarded as having certain inalienable and those that surround him suffer. I legal rights to live and flourish, believe in advaita. I believe in independent of its utilitarian theessential unity of man and for that instrumental benefits for human use. matter of all that lives. Therefore I International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected] believe that if one man gains spiritually, leaves were necessary…. We should feel a the whole world gains with him and, if more living bond between ourselves and one man falls, the whole world falls to the rest of the animate creation.” that extent.”

According to Gandhi, “A seeker of Unity and oneness of life is the the Truth, a follower of the law of Love crux of Sarvodaya2 ideology which can be cannot hold anything against tomorrow.” considered as the underpinning of deep Gandhi’s ideal of Aparigraha calls for a environmental philosophy. Gandhi’s giving up of all possessions. Gandhi had philosophy of is based on the given a new meaning to the verse in Isha principle of wellbeing of all human as Upanishad - tena-tyaktenabhunjeethah well as sentient beings. Gandhi wrote in (enjoy the wealth by renouncing it). He the last chapter of his Autobiography “To said “Earn your crores by all means but see the universal and all-pervading Spirit understand that your wealth is not yours; of Truth face to face one must be able to it belongs to the people. Take what you love the meanest creation as oneself.” In require for your legitimate needs and use the Sarvodaya society of Gandhi’s vision, the remainder for society.” It calls for the the organization of the society must be application of doctrine of and based on the Law of Non-violence or everyone should use the resources of Love. nature with a sense of aparigraha for the common welfare of the people. The Gandhi had profound concern for sarvodaya society which Gandhi nature and all living beings including visualised is free from undue exploitation plants and animal kingdom. He led a life of nature. In such a society everyone has which was essentially non-violent giving to perform Yajna3 to lead an ideal life in due respect to nature and its creations. tune with nature trying to return There are many telling passages in whatever he or she takes from nature. Gandhi’s life which show his commitment for environmental protection. Let us cite an incident from 3 Gandhi explains his concept of Yajna his life. It was painful for Gandhi to see as folows: “Yajna means an act large numbers of leaves plucked at night directed to the welfare of others, done for him while only few were necessary. without desiring any return for it, He lamented, “Trees are living beings just like us. They live and breathe, they whether of a temporal or spiritual feed and drink as we do and like us they nature. ‘Act’ here must be taken in the need sleep. It is a wretched thing to go widest sense, and includes thoughts and tear the leaves of a tree at night and word as well as deed. ‘Others’ when it is resting! And why have you embraces not only humanity, but all brought such a huge quantity? Only a few life….. Yajna having come to us with our birth, we are debtors all our lives, 2 It means "Happiness of all" which and thus forever bound to serve the includes all living things. universe.” International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected]

He made a conscious effort to use people and giving demonstration on the resources of nature to the bare health, hygiene and sanitation. Hardly minimum in an attempt to conserve any political leader of his stature in the natural resources even if it is available in world had ever devoted so much of time abundance. His attitude was that one and energy on these problems with so should not take even a single thing from much sincerity and dedication. Gandhi nature when it is not actually required. tried to carry the message to the mass Gandhi placed before humanity a lifestyle through the life he himself led. This is which was in tune with the environment. what made him an environmentalist with The application of Gandhian principles a difference. will allow human beings to satisfy their basic needs without harming interests of fellow beings. Gandhi stated that “the earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not for every man’s greed.” This well-known dictum of Gandhi reminds us that man cannot infinitely exploit nature to satisfy his unlimited wants. Gandhi’s philosophy of life provides a sustainable development ---The Constitution of India paradigm which is symbiotic with nature and ecosystem.

1 . Thomas Weber, Gandhi ,Deep Several decades before the rise of Ecology, Peace Research and Buddhist environmental movements, Gandhi , Journal of Peace Research, picked up fundamental environmental Vol. 36, No. 3,1999. issues like over-consumption, violence to man and nature and so on. There are 2 . Nirmal Kumar Bose (ed.), Selections several movements in different parts of from Gandhi, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, me globe fighting against environmental 1996). injustice. Some of them are violent in 3 . Romesh Diwan and Shakti Bethea, nature, but in India environmental “Spiritual Living, Gandhian Economics movements have been forged by and Well-being” in M.P. Mathai, M. S. Gandhian traditions of non-cooperation John and Siby K. Joseph (ed), and non-violence. Gandhi is not Meditations on Gandhi, (New Delhi: environmentalists who will analyses the Concept, 2002). causes and consequences of depletion in the ozone layer. He is not competent to 4 . M. K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or recommend measures against The Story of My Experiments with environmental pollutions and safeguards Truth, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan,1993), against all kinds of environmental p.420. hazards. He belongs to the school which believes in remedy rather than cure. 5 . M. K. Gandhi, From Yeravada Mandir, Throughout his life he kept on telling (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1992). International Journal of Academic Research ISSN: 2348-7666; Vol.3, Issue-9(3), September, 2016 Impact Factor: 3.656; Email: [email protected]

6 . R. K. Prabhu and U. R. Rao, The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1996).

7 . M. K. Gandhi, In Search of Supreme, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 2002), Vol. 1.

8 . Pyarelal, Towards New Horizons, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1978).

9 . K. Joseph, “The Principles of Gandhian Economy :Integrating Spirituality and Ecology”, Gandhi Marg,Vol.28, No.30.

References:

1 . Thomas Weber, Gandhi ,Deep Ecology, Peace Research and , Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 36, No. 3,1999. 2 . Nirmal Kumar Bose (ed.), Selections from Gandhi, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1996). 3 . Romesh Diwan and Shakti Bethea, “Spiritual Living, Gandhian Economics and Well-being” in M.P. Mathai, M. S. John and Siby K. Joseph (ed), Meditations on Gandhi, (New Delhi: Concept, 2002). 4 . M. K. Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of My Experiments with Truth, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan,1993), p.420. 5 . M. K. Gandhi, From Yeravada Mandir, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1992). 6 . R. K. Prabhu and U. R. Rao, The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1996). 7 . M. K. Gandhi, In Search of Supreme, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 2002), Vol. 1. 8 . Pyarelal, Towards New Horizons, (Ahmedabad: Navajivan, 1978). 9 . K. Joseph “The Principles of Gandhian Economy :Integrating Spirituality and Ecology”, Gandhi Marg,Vol.28, No.30.