The water tragedy in Thekkady, kerala.
The fire cracker tragedy in TN on the eve of Deepavali.
And today, two trains collide near Mathura.
Do we Indians have to die daily from all sorts of avoidable accidents and for frivolous reasons? Each one of the above were perfectly avoidable and you wouldn't expect such tragedies out from any of the first-world countries.
It stuck me odd because when I (and my roomie) saw the news, both of us didn't even feel pity, rage, sympathy or any other normal human emotion at such level of ineptitude. We just took in the news as if it was as some level expected.
Whilst we desis don't want our country to be clubbed in the so called third-world countries, in reality we would probably be one of the last countries to move of out this club given the huge population that has to be lifted out poverty, a bureaucracy thriving in its ineptitude and corruption and a populace resigned to "Chaltha Hai" attitude. Add to this our frivolous media. (Talking about media, this is probably one of the best takes on one of our fabled news channels - NDTV On Jack and Jill)
Makes me wonder if the little bit of humanity that might have been somewhere within us is dying within just from watching the news each day.
5 comments:
I agree we Indians are desensitized to these deaths but it's not necessarily true that we lack humanity. We, both you and I, live in a developed country and all the development in the world did not help much when Katrina hit South Louisiana/Mississippi and Alabama. It took weeks to get proper help in place because of the same things you mentioned about India. Louisiana is still in recovery mode. A tragedy of larger scale happened 8 months before that with the Tsunamis. How long did it take for relief to get to the general population?
But the tragedies you were talking about are indeed avoidable. Hindsight most tragedies are avoidable but with increasing population and lesser resources, compromising on something is the only choice. Unfortunately, basic safety is the choice for many. How else would you manage? We should change this attitude but the change will come gradually. Maybe not in our lifetime but it will come.
Just my thoughts...
The challenges associated with handling a poor and over-populated country cannot be overstated in a democracy. Like in the US, there are special interest groups in most democracies which block even obviously good reforms. Also, its not as if India is rich in valuable natural resources like gold, diamond or fuel and, just being in the 21st century doesn't mean that vices like greed, lust and corruption will go away from people magically.
To put 'avoidable' tragedies in perspective, if the administration of health care is compared between India and USA, the US may have fewer 'freak' deaths but that comes at an enormous cost. Indian health care is cheap because it doesn't require tens of tests (most are probably unnecessary; but avoiding some tests are, at least, 'risky') before routine procedures. But then, as a result, there will be the occasional accident which people accept as 'part of life' or the so called infamous 'chalta hai' attitude. Those who want a 'safer' environment, have to pay extra. Rail accidents are common but when was the last time an airplane crashed in India? Its a viscous circle with overpopulation, poverty, hunger, and corruption with no quick-fix in sight.
All said, one should still look at the future with hope and optimism and help the system in whatever small way possible.
Karthik,
There is a huge difference between the Tsunami, Katrina (though the Bush Govt along with the state govt was completely inept here), even the floods that affected Karnataka and AP recently and the freak accidents that kills 10s (and sometimes 100s in our country). The boat accident was completely avoidable. So was the fire accident in TN or for that matter the train accident. None of these have anything to do with Overpopulation and lack of resources. All that was needed was a little, very little oversight and an eye towards basic safety measures. It is not that US is without any of these accidents. There was a ferry accident a few years back where the ferry driver in New York fell asleep due to overwork and lack of rest, a metro train accident in Washington D.C. But the point is they are few and far between because the rules and regulations are enforced (and to an extent the employees take ownership of their job and follow the regulations). Thats my gripe.
Anand,
I can't agree to the overpopulation excuse for everything. I accept the toll in any natural disaster in our country would be high compared to US just because of the density. But unlicensed fire cracker shops, no safety precautions in a boat etc., have nothing to do with population. It has to do more with corruption and the culture of chaltha hai. Also, the number of flights are miniscule in India, and hence the low number of accidents. Even here our pilots and crew members manage to fist fight while on Air. I think that says it all.
I disagree with your post Karthik, there are people in developed countries falling victim to bigger and more avoidable accidents and here the excuse cannot be made because they have much lesser populatrion and higher literacy rates. Example: If you google it, you will find out that a man in US took his kid to a gun fair and handed him a loaded UZI machine gun to play with and the kid died from a ricocheted bullet. The number of such incidents in the developed world is unbelievably high especially in the US so your gripe about it being few and far between in US lacks fact checks..there are so many so called 'cool' ways that Americans find to die that its not even funny!
Raghavan, you too have misunderstood the whole point of the article. There will always be stupid people who with their reckless behavior put themselves and others in danger. What i am taking about the failure of institutions in our society. The boat tragedy or the train or fire cracker thing is not comparable to a moron giving a gun to his child.
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