From a Government Scheme to a People's Movement

In 2014, when the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched, everyone ridiculed it as another slogan, another anniversary on the government calendar. But a decade down the line, the broom has swept away much more than roads—it has swept away the attitude of indifference, lethargy, and the belief that cleanliness is not one's concern. And now that the Limca Book of Records has authenticated it as the world's biggest cleanliness drive, not only has the movement gained legitimacy, but also attained immortality in the pages of history.

 

What's remarkable about this feat is not really the figures themselves—though they are staggering. Over 100 million toilets were built. Entire villages declared open-defecation free. Cities experimenting with waste segregation and plastic prohibition. These figures add up. But above all is the change in attitude. A child scolding her father for littering, a school teacher organizing children on a cleanliness procession, a neighborhood raising money to fix a broken drain—such little stories hardly get any publicity, yet they are the very beat of Swachh Bharat.

 

Cleanliness was treated as cosmetic effort for far too long, something done in advance of festivals or VIP visits. The mission defied that assumption, teaching us that sanitation isn't about appearance—it's about equality, health, and dignity. A toilet in a rural home is a woman no longer waiting till dark to use the toilet. A garbage-free street means fewer sick children from infection. A plastic-free school means future generations to develop an instinctive desire to conserve, not contaminate.

 

The Limca Book of Records award is not just a certificate. It is a reflection held against us, indicating to us that we, the masses, did it. Governments can launch schemes, allocate budgets, and design a campaign. But any cleanliness campaign can never succeed unless people raise the broom—literally and metaphorically. In that context, Swachh Bharat is perhaps India's most democratic movement in the past few years. It is so much the ragpicker's as it is the Prime Minister's who professed it.

 

Naturally, there are issues. Mountain-high trash dumps still line our cities. Rivers continue to carry untreated sewerage. Behaviour change is unstable, all too likely to be cast aside when convenience is called for. The journey from one campaign to perpetual cultural shift is a long, unfinished one. 

 

Can we move beyond symbolism and selfies, beyond broom photo-ops, and make cleanliness a part of our habits? Can education systems integrate sanitation awareness as seriously as they integrate mathematics? Can cities create systems that are simpler to obey than to defy? For record books' notice is a privilege. But recognition in our own day-to-days, in the manner in which we live and tend to our world—that is the reward we should seek.

 

Swachh Bharat is no more limited to a story of toilets and dustbins. It is about reclaiming dignity, health, and pride from our shared spaces. If the Limca Book of Records calls it the world's largest cleanliness drive, we need to make it the longest one as well. Because a clean India is not something we do for others—it is something we owe to ourselves, and to those who follow us.

 

Bio: Nibedita is an independent journalist honoured by the Government of India for her contributions to defence journalism.She has been an Accredited Defence Journalist since 2018, certified by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.  With over 15 years of experience in print and digital media, she has extensively covered rural India, healthcare, education, and women’s issues. Her in-depth reporting has earned her an award from the Government of Goa back to back in 2018 and 2019. Nibedita’s work has been featured in leading national and international publications such as The Jerusalem Post, Down To Earth, Alt News, Sakal Times, and others.