Paper short abstract:

The paper looks at several campaigns to clean up India's public spaces. It raises key questions about the moral and ideological premises of such initiatives, and what kinds of politics and 'publics' of hygiene and sanitation are they advocating and trying to constitute?

Paper long abstract:

In this paper I examine recent campaigns lead by middle class youth answering the call by the Prime Minister to clean up India. I look at what might be the ideological and moral premises of such initiatives and prefigurative action? What kinds of politics and 'publics' of hygiene are they advocating and trying to constitute? What do they reveal about India's youth, including their fears, need and aspirations? And how are we to understand the articulations between these "grassroots" or "civic" movements, and the efforts of the state. I argue, that while such campaigns might harbour good intentions and present a benign and positive outlook for a future India; they also mask and contribute to the reality of exclusion and subordination.