"The Deeper Reasons behind India's Civic Sense Problem"

 Civic sense has been a topic of discussion in recent times on social media. There have been arguments with both sides providing their points on who is right or wrong on the basis of their moral standards. Morality is very subjective and different people view it differently, therefore pointing fingers and judging individuals based on their actions may not be the best way to approach.

Often times, we see people being blamed for their behavior in public places. So while it might be justified for their actions. But, if we go more deeper in this, this is a more complex issue . It's not one individual acting irresponsibly- its interconnected with a lot of societal problems.

THE CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC CORRELATION:

Civic sense as a subject is very culturally connected with the society. It reflects the standards of living, purchasing power, cultural capital. The one common factor that we see in all the developed countries, the values of civic sense comes from how much empathy people have for each other. They care how their actions can affect another person. 

In contrast to a country like India, where majority of the population still struggles from poverty, basic facilities, survival naturally becomes the most common objective. Some of the factors like overpopulation, high competition, lack of opportunities creates a environment where individuals are forced to think about themselves. When the survival instinct is so strong in a society, social responsibility takes a backseat. Now, necessarily this does not mean that people lack values rather their priority changes due to these circumstances.

INFLUENCE OF SURROUNDINGS:

Another important factor that influences civic sense is the surroundings and the environment we live in. People often follow the rules when they see others doing the same. Human behavior is often influenced by the crowd you are in. Many a times we see people follow the rules when people around them follow rules. 

I have personally noticed a stark difference in my locality over the past ten years. There has been a significant change in the way people react to things as small as of dumping their garbage, keeping their surroundings clean. Today, there is greater awareness and accountability. This did not happen automatically but through active participation.

Here the role of leadership and top level management comes into place. A good example of this instance is- in housing societies the board members have a active role in implementing decisions that leads to greater outcomes in return. When there is structured implementation, feedback, follow-ups people respond positively. People cannot change overnight but with better systems in place there is a change in behavior often positively.

The first stage to a good civic sense is to teach everyone what it is to mean to be a citizen of a country. Education plays a crucial role. Awareness alone is not enough. Real change comes from practice. Here schools play a major role by engaging children in community building activities, empathy, social responsibility. 

Civic sense is not an individual trait but should be seen as a collective responsibility, It's a reflection of how a society functions culturally, economically and socially.