What is the value of a life in IndiaIJ Two lakh rupeesIJ That is what the pilgrims who were run over by a train in Bihar have been promised. We value life at $3,000! But let alone Governments, even people do not value their lives and those of others
The death of 30-odd pilgrims on the railway tracks started a litany of allegations, but a key fact remains that Indians on the whole pay little attention to their own personal safety.
The deaths of 37 pilgrims at Dhamara Ghat station in Bihar a few days ago grabbed national headlines. If the Railway Board is to be believed, the pilgrims who had alighted from another train and were crossing the tracks, thought they could stop the train. It is doubtful that the pilgrims understood basic physics; stopping a speeding train takes an immense amount of energy. Of course, the other tragedy was the wanton destruction of public property after the incident, but that is another story.
Every year, hundreds of people die crossing the tracks or falling off trains in Mumbai’s suburban rail system. Hundreds more die across India because they travel on train roof-tops, over-crowded buses and transport vehicles. Our rush to ‘low cost’ products has more often than not come at a massive cost of personal safety.
India aspires to be a developed nation. It has been portrayed by economists as part of a group of fast-growing nations, the so-called ‘BRICS’ group. It is true that India has progressed immensely over the past few years. However, the overall perception of life, or the value of life, in India is the biggest single gap between the rich and poor. A gap that is several times that of the income gap.
It might be a gross generalisation to say that Indians have a fatalistic attitude towards life, but incidents every day on Indian highways seem to prove the point. Motorcyclists rarely wear helmets and people drive on the wrong side of the road with abandon. From the way we treat electrical appliances to the tangle of wires on light poles, our lack of concern for human life is evident.
This lack of safety consciousness is not just restricted to people but also governmental agencies: look at the way pavements are designed, if they even exist in many parts of the country. This year, several people, many young people among them have died in flood-hit areas, not because of the water but because they inadvertently touched live electrical wires that they could not even see. The number of children who die when they fall into open civic manholes and in borewells that are carelessly left open is stunning in this country. For every case of a successful rescue of Prince, there are hundreds of children who die due to sheer negligence.
While such accidents occur everywhere in the world, they are seen as tragic exceptions. Here, we see them as just another accident. That reflects a sense of selfishness that we have, a selfishness that proscribes the view that “I want to save driving for 300 metres and taking a U-Turn, so I will drive on the wrong side of the road.” And that is possibly a bigger tragedy than the death itself.
This is also reflected in the way that we in the media also report these incidents. Car crashes, which occur with alarming regularity on newer highways when cars and trucks crash into vehicles parked on the road usually find mention on an inside page. Sometimes a bigger accident might make it onto the front pages and action might follow, but many of us, and that includes journalists, rarely give them a second glance.
The lack of safety consciousness is a disease that inflicts most Indians. People drive on the wrong side of the road or even reverse in the face of heavy traffic to save some time and fuel. The concern that we as a people show towards our own lives, and particularly towards the lives of our fellow Indians is abysmal.
Take for example the steel-bar frame fitted on the front and back of some vehicles, which are clearly illegal because vehicles have not been certified with these bars, and god forbid the car hits a pedestrian! The additional steel bar could shatter bones. And we fit these bars to protect our own cars from damage.
This needs to change.
And the change needs to come from the judicial system. Many people make fun of the United States as a litigation-happy society where, if I, a consumer, do not like something, I sue. In the United Kingdom, Health and Safety laws have apparently gone so bizarre that recently policemen refused to act on burglars on a roof because they did not have equipment, forcing the businessmen affected by the crime to act on the criminals themselves.
Yes, the law can get a bit out of hand. But by not taking cognisance or punishing authorities and individuals for negligence, the need for change is not seen. There need to be cases of exemplary punishment, the Government ought to be fined for its negligence.
Municipal authorities would realise that unsafe construction, often leaving building material on main roads without cordoning them off is not safe. Insurance companies often pick up the tab for motor vehicle accidents caused by negligence, but why are the traffic police allowed to get away without punishmentIJ
Why should electricity distributors and their executives be allowed to get away with what can clearly be termed as murder when someone dies due to an exposed electricity main wireIJ Their lawyers will do their jobs and ensure clients do not get punished and cases often fizzle out. The upper middle classes and rich will sometimes raise a stink if one of their own die due to official apathy, but when was the last time you heard of a child from a rich family fall down a borewell or die due to an open manhole coverIJ
This apathetic view we have towards personal health and safety has to change. Children ought to be taught that the system of jugaad, or short-cuts is dangerous. And courts and authorities have to crack down, both on the public that regards safety as someone else’s problem, as well as the authorities, who ignore the problem and issue apology letters and a pittance as compensation a few times a year.
What is the value of a life in IndiaIJ Two lakh rupeesIJ That is what the pilgrims who were run over by the train got. We value life at $3,000. That says a lot about us as a people.