Was speaking to an onsite colleague of mine from Singapore who plans to visit India for the first time. The biggest shocker that she has heard/read about India, is that there are a lot among us who defecate in the open. I believe she must have read this.
The Government, in its health plans and high morality statements always talk about providing toilets for this lot. I've seen some of these provided toilets and let me tell you, I'd rather let go in the open! On the other hand I'd once come across an article saying that a Social Service Organization (Sulabh) has created amazing toilets which work at a nominal fee. The fee is towards maintaining the loo and paying basic labour charges for people who work there. This is a model that has worked, both for the toilet-less and for people in transit. The failure if any has been to provide enough number of these. For e.g. 60% of Mumbai lives in slums, that's close to about 10 million in Mumbai itself. The number across India will be humongous of course.
The act of defecation in the open is noteworthy. Most people with any degree of self respect would do it with their backsides facing you. So while its spoils your view, it protects his identity. The favourite zone for most defecators is next to the railway tracks. This has several reasons, the obvious one being that most slums are located next to them. The not so obvious reason is that the railway track afford anonymity. The constant rush of local past you potentially means 5000 people every train seeing you go in the open. The upside of course is that the trains pretty quick and the traveller has better things to look at, like whether there's a bomb in the luggage rack!
The other aspect that highlights the sheer abhorrence for the act is the fact that most open air defecators, given a choice, would like to do it at such a point where in they really don't have to see their own do, which is probably why riversides are favourite haunts in the countryside and nallahs in the cities.
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