India is now digesting the data from its most recent census tracking the changes of the last decade. Some of the data is dull like who is using what cooking fuel but an interesting statistic is that more Indians have access to telephones than toilets. Ten years ago the number of Indians with a phone connection was 9.1% but in the last decade this has jumped to a staggering 63.2%.
Of course it is easier to buy a sim card than install a toilet, phones don’t need plumbing or a room of their own. What can one do with a loo if it’s not connected to a sewage system? I can think of more comfortable and attractive seating.
An interesting side story also involving toilets involves a young woman in some obscure rural Indian village who reportedly started a revolution as she refused to move into her marital home until they installed a toilet. Her in-laws duly complied and since other families have had to bow to pressure from their brides to install loos.
The thing I love the most about spending part of my life in India is that change and progress is tangible. I wonder what the next census will reveal…
Bubbly
