I have recently started driving in my dear city Bhubaneswar more out of necessity than of pleasure after almost struggling with the transportation system in this expanding city.
Today, my attention was fixed on the three men and their bike. The bike was being driven by the thinnest one who carried the two other hefty passengers with him. They were swiftly navigating through the morning crowd of school and office-goers and unfortunately following the same route that I take to my work. I could not help honking to keep them out of my way to which they hurled verbal abuse at me. I am not writing this to complain about them but about the unruly driving scenario that has marked our roads where even after the loss of a Minister to the tragedy of undisciplined driving in Delhi the apathy of the Government and the governed is shocking.
I wonder why the government does not implement strict laws to enforce rules of traffic. People are seen crossing anywhere and everywhere. Unwanted cattle are left to roam in the roads causing a huge traffic menace. last but not the least, the amateur drivers who require no evidence of wrong driving being allowed to drive causing damage to themselves and others. I fail to understand the rationale behind the reckless driving in the unruly streets of this huge nation where uncountable lives are lost every minute because of lack of discipline.
We cannot blame any single thing for the traffic mess resulting in unruliness that makes us so very Indian. The whole system is to be blamed. Unlike the developed world, we can easily get a driving licence sometimes even without knowing how to drive. Next, when it comes to teenagers on the prowl on roads, I think it is the parents who are to be held responsible. like in Singapore or even the United Kingdom where parents are questioned when children are absent from school, here also our parents need to be held accountable for the indiscipline in the roads by their teenage children.
On the other hand, our parents love their teenage children so much that they think it is their sacred duty to provide the children with a vehicle, otherwise they think they have failed as parents. However, when parents are handing the keys of the vehicle to show their love for their children, they must also remember that they are opening the gate for an intimidating disaster. The children, or rather teenagers, who get the keys of these flashy vehicles, are not accountable to anyone. And being inexperienced in the ways of life, their priorities are very different. Hence, they cannot be blamed for carrying three friends in their bikes when they cannot themselves keep the balance.
Why can’t parents make an attempt to instil responsibility in their childrenIJ Teenagers should be taught to be responsible for buying their own vehicles while their counterparts in the developed nations are responsible even for buying their food. This would give them a sense of accountability not only for their vehicle but for life in general. They will also understand the value of hard work and learn to appreciate that pleasures of life come with a price.
I think our behaviours on the roads are but a reflection of our attitude towards life: push your way through by hook or by crook; and when you reach your destination thank God to have helped you. However, this is not how a nation can aspire to develop. Development needs discipline; and adhering to law and rules is perhaps the first thing that comes in the ‘to do’ list for development. If you are late in starting from home, you ought to be at the back of the queue. If you want to be at the top of the queue, you have to work for it by starting early and not by crisscrossing around vehicles, causing harm to others and being a danger to yourself. But who will teach our growing nationals these rulesIJ
However, we learn the rules the hard way. When we face failure in spite of our not so scrupulous methods and survive to face frustration, we realise that there are no shortcuts to life. Unfortunately, by then it is too late for these aspiring citizens who then succumb to a life full of misery blaming it on God and destiny and, thus, making a beeline for temples and fake astrologers leading to yet another disastrous wastage of resources.
We tend to compare ourselves with China; but anyone who has knowledge of China will vouch that the development of this nation has come from sheer doggedness in following rules. It is perhaps high time our great nation came to terms with words such as ‘discipline’. Rights and responsibilities go hand in hand. Right to freedom has to be exercised responsibly; otherwise it will lead to anarchy.
A rule is established to bring in discipline without which there will be the law of the jungle which will ultimately lead to destruction of mankind. And one most important lesson is perhaps that jumping your way through could be disastrous, be it on the road or in the path of life. A developed nation not only has expensive cars on the road but has disciplined riders to drive them. Disciplined drivers are not only a pride for themselves but for the nation and for the society as a whole.
(Dr Gopa Nayak, DPhil University of Oxford, UK)