What's the 'izzat ghar' that PM Modi has been talking about?

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has of late been referring to something called 'izzat ghar', or 'home of honour'.

He did so today, too, as he dedicated the first ever All India Institute of Ayurveda to the nation on the occasion of the second 'Ayurveda Day'.

But what is this 'izzat ghar'? A hint: It has a connection to the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', or the 'Clean India' program, a campaign close to the PM's heart.

Here's what PM Modi said today: "I was happy when I was told that newly constructed toilets in UP have 'izzat ghar' written on them and not 'shauchalay'", said PM Modi.

'Shauchalay' translates to 'toilet' and sounds decidedly more common than 'izzat ghar'. The PM believes that too.

This novel nomenclature is the brainchild of the UP government. Last month, the PM visited Varanasi to lay the foundation stone for a toilet at a village about 30 kilometres from town. That's where he encountered 'izzat ghar'.

"When I was laying the foundation stone for toilets at a village, I saw 'izzat ghar' written on them. I was happy to see the name. I congratulate the state government for coining this name," said Modi at the time.

In April this year, the world's richest man Bill Gates said "India is winning the war on human waste." He lauded the PM for not just devising the Swachh Bharat initiative but for also talking about the issue of human waste.

"Nearly three years ago, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made one of the boldest comments on public health that I have ever heard from an elected official...I can't think of another time when a national leader has broached such a sensitive topic so frankly and so publicly," wrote Gates about the PM's 2014 Independence Day address to the nation.