On 7th of March, 2024, our school had the good fortune of listening to Dr. Saswata Narayan Biswas, Professor at IRMA with over 35 years of professional experience. A passionate teacher and trainer, he has conducted hundreds of Management Development Programmes (MDPs) in India and abroad and has been a consultant to several Government agencies, NGOs, cooperatives, and corporate business houses. He has authored over 50 research papers and co-authored a forthcoming book, ‘Adoption of Toilets in Rural India’ (Routledge). Related to this pressing issue he delivered a talk for us where he discussed about adopting the new practice of using toilets in rural India. Such new practices call for a change in the physical structure, psychological barriers, and social norms. The talk touched upon the three dimensions that play an interactive role in facilitating the adoption of toilets in rural India. With the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), the country witnessed a silent revolution in constructing toilets. The talk highlighted that access to the toilet strongly correlates with the principal source of drinking water. The gender of the household head also impacts access to a toilet. A female-headed household is less likely to continue open defecation. The primary occupation of households also impacts access to the toilet. Dr. Biswas also addressed issues such as low awareness about sanitation, insufficient subsidy for toilet construction, unfriendly toilet structures for differently-abled individuals, and cultural beliefs around purity and pollution. Lack of effective Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) strategies and socio-cultural norms hinder toilet adoption. Sitting amidst the privileges of the city, the talk was an eye opener for budding social scientists and students alike.
We thank Dr. Biswas for his talk, as well as Dr. Girija Shankar Panigrahi, who was the convener of the event, Dr. Keshab Das, Dean of our school graced the occasion by his presence, and Dr. Damodar Suar, head of Social Science Research, KIIT who was also present and felicitated the guest speaker.
