The way to a better life

Gandhi's three monkeys, a lasting symbol of the Mahatma's maxims of good mind, speech and action for a high moral life, had various types of modern imagery attached in the computer age. But it's the \"fourth monkey\" imagery on the importance of a defecation-free India that is making waves, as the country focuses on building more toilets to ensure better sanitation. The Swachh Bharat initiative, begun by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014, may have drawn only periodic allegiance so far with celebs chipping in on days of national importance, but it's the Open Defecation Free (ODF) initiative where it has made the most impact.The scheme, driven by a toilet-building fund of nearly Rs 2 lakh crores, has so far enabled Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat to announce they have progressed dramatically in reaching ODF status, with the former proudly claiming 110 towns and 1,368 panchayats are ODF compliant, the highest in the country. Andhra is being encouraged by its chief minister to put into motion the \"ODF Plus\" initiative for total sanitation through solid waste management and improved sewage in villages too.

These social initiatives will, besides cleanliness, promote the dignity of women, as women's self-respect is so often dependent on ending open defecation. India is doubtless on a path to sanitation and, hopefully, healthy lives. The \"fourth monkey\" promotes novel concepts like gifting a sister of marriageable age with funds for a toilet. Unlike the Western idea of the three monkeys turning a blind eye to impropriety, Gandhi's monkeys show us the way to a better life.