India is a massive country with over a billion citizens calling it their home. Through keen observance and the national English newspaper (The Hindu), it has become abundantly clear that to progressively govern and police such a state is as far as I’m concerned is nearly impossible. We as a collective come from a nation where rubbish collectives are weekly and recycle fortnightly, the closest bin in public is nearly always within working distance (these are cleaned and maintained regular by councils) and fines in place for infringements. In the starkest of contrast I was reading this morning in the newspaper that the government are struggling to even look after its world recognized and heritage listed monuments. You see in India the ONLY place to dispose of your rubbish is on the ground next to you, leaving streets lined with the stuff, eventually making its way to the water ways and streets where swine and peoples pet chickens feed. When this mess is accumulated some one generally takes action and rakes it into a pile and set fires to a CO2 bonfire. These waterways are used for drinking, laundry, bathrooms and in some cases holy sights.
I’m currently reading Hunter S. Thompson’s account of the 1972 election (Fear and Loathing on The Campaign Trail ’72) and if its taught me anything it’s the complex and intricate nature of an election process of a first world nation. I cannot even imagine the electoral process in India. The need is so bleedingly obvious here for help from those of us better off. Unfortunately the perception spoon fed to us is that outside of Australia there lie a lesser people, and that without these people we wouldn’t necessarily be able to live our privileged lives to the extent that we do. It takes more than apathetic knowledge/ignorance to make changes to the lives of others, I'm glad that I could first hand take action in this proccess and to everyone who has supported us along the way - thank you.
Callum Vass