The Economy of Permanence: A Quest for a Social Order Based on Non-violence (स्थायी अर्थतन्त्र)

Economy of Permanence
be the training grounds in which the villages will be prepared to take up the
responsibilities in regard to public administration and self-government. Hence
it is important that we should lay great emphasis on these village organizations.
When the village organization is properly formed it should develop a peculiar
culture of its own which will be a distinguishing feature of group, just as the
personality is of the individual. These aspects of village life should bring us
nearer to permanence. Human lives cover at best three score years and ten,
but these units based on village culture endure for all time. The quality of the
culture we develop will depend not only on human nature but also on the point
of approach we have adopted all along in this volume. We have been
approaching the problems as an application of the principles of non-violence
and truth to our everyday lives. If this is done carefully and attended to in
every detail conscientiously we shall realise a society based on these principles.
Sanitation: Personal habits of cleanliness-Villagers had generally a fairly high
sense of personal cleanliness derived through tradition and habit. Unfortunately
some of these good habits are being given up under a false sense of modernity.
Therefore the value of all good old personal habits of cleanliness should be re-
emphasised and where necessary new good habits included.
Collective or group cleanliness-This is the weakest link in our village life.
Village paths, roads, public places and tank bunds have all become so many
public latrines. Villagers answer calls of nature anywhere indiscriminately,
polluting most of the places on which people walk about and defiling even the
available drinking water. But the fault is not the villagers¹ wholly. There are no
organized latrines or urinals in a village and houses are so crowded and small
that each house has no such facilities. Therefore the construction and proper
maintaining of latrines, urinals and bathing places on common basis becomes
very necessary as also a plan to convert all rubbish and night-soil, etc., into
manure. Such a programme is necessary from the point of view of sanitation
and of village economy. The following details of group cleanliness are indicated
(a) Suitable and cheap drains, even if only open ones, and their periodical
claning and disinfecting with indigenous materials.
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