Rural India gives us a glimpse of plain existence, simple thinking and archetypal idyllic scenery. But deep inside, the inherent practice of ‘open defecation’ evokes an image of a mass still living in filth and unhygienic environment. According to WHO, more than half a billion people in India still continue to defecate in the open. This ‘rural shock’ presents a very unusual image of about 70 percent of our population that live in villages. It depicts a state of deprivation, dependence and low social set up that continues to plummet. As changing the mindset and attitude of the people remains the biggest challenge, the objective of the project was to identify rural communities across four states- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh- in India, which have significantly reduced open defecation in the context of deeply embedded attitudes that perceive open defecation to be a normalised, preferred and positive behaviour. As photographs are the nearest approximation to reality, BBC Media Action created photographic content in an engaging and narrative manner, to sensitise people for dignified living and exhibit the image of a clean rural India. The content has been captured into a coffee table book titled “An Open Mind” –that captures inspiring real-life stories of sanitation champions from different walks of life, who are driving positive sanitation behaviour change through their individual efforts as opposed to the mindset mummified by old beliefs. The book is targeted at relevant government and NGO practitioners. It intends to give them a better understanding of ‘what’ works and ‘why’ for ending open defecation in India. It also aims to encourage people across the country to practice and indoctrinate good sanitation habits and showcase a best-practice movement of the people, by the people and for the people.

4. PEOPLE HERE USED TO
SAY THAT WORKING ON
ISSUES LIKE TOILETS AND
DEFECATION WASN’T THE
RIGHT THING TO DO FOR
GIRLS. BUT NOW THEY
ALL AGREE THAT IT IS THE
MOST IMPORTANT THING,
ESPECIALLY FOR US.
Chaman Sahu and Arti Dubey –
Yuva Forum members

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