Human life's cheap, so think political masters in India

For most of the politicians, human beings in India are only numbers to be counted as votes, which provide the essential number to reach positions of immense power, questionable prestige, endless privileges and almost zero accountability, at least till the next elections. Last week, the country witnessed the unfortunate and absolutely avoidable stampede at the bridge on river Sindh in Datia district in Madhya Pradesh when pilgrims had congregated to celebrate Navratri festival at Ratangarh Mata temple. More than hundred persons died as per the official record, which quite possibly is understated, and more than an equal number got injured. During the same time, lakhs were evacuated in Odhisha when cyclone Phailin devastated the coastal state.

In Madhya Pradesh, it is not the tragedy itself which shows the apathy and indifference of the political class but the sheer lack of vision, anticipation and inaction which hurts, and should be adequate reason to nail the political leaders in the government along with the bureaucrats who are supposed to be the eyes, ears and limbs of administration. In 2006, more than 50 pilgrims had been washed away in the same river which must have compelled the government to construct a bridge, but the bridge has been managed in such shoddy manner that the disaster was almost planned, proving that the disaster was planned to happen.

Managing the number of persons crossing a bridge is not rocket science and the crowd which gathered to cross the bridge was not unprecedented. Nothing had happened on the day of stampede which could not have been anticipated, and that too by sharp intelligent political masters who can deftly play the dirty political game, and the brightest of the bright who are selected after getting through the gruelling public examination to be part of the elite administrative service. At the time of joining they all join to serve the nation, but we don’t know how the priorities change so fast, and serving the nation and caring for the minions in the country goes to the bottom of the list, with, unsurprisingly, serving the political master as the topmost item in the to-do list.

Different versions have been reported as to how the stampede started: rumour of bridge falling apart, a tractor hitting the bridge, alleged lathi-charge by the police, some other rumours by a section of pilgrims to get ahead in the crowd, etc. But, nothing can be termed as falling in the category of force majeure, something beyond control, or any natural calamity. There are numerous religious shrines in India and abroad where sea of humanity converges, and all plausible arrangements are made to avert any unfortunate incidents. With the growing population and more and more persons visiting these shrines, it is all the more important for the administration to take stock of the situation, learn from experiences and apply simple principles of management to regulate the flow of pilgrims and make proper arrangements for smooth conduct of festival-related rituals and other functions. Advantage is taken of the knowledge and experience of management experts, several of them from well-known management institutes in India, including IIM Ahmedabad, for managing the large number of persons by Tirupati temple, Mata Vaishno Devi, etc.

The role of any leader – whether political, business, social, technology, or any other – is to anticipate, have vision and perceive as to what can be required in the times to come. A true leader will not stop at simply doing what is essentially required of him, but would like to go a step further, walk that extra mile, to make life better and things easily manageable. That is what we expect from our political leaders and the bureaucrats. They are competent, intelligent and sharp. Can they take care of these issues effectively? Of course, yes. Then, why don’t they act well in time?

One possible answer is that human life is cheap in India, as we can easily understand from the political decisions – irrespective of party in power – and the judicial pronouncements. The latter is much more dangerous as it sets the benchmark. What can one expect from the political masters when the judiciary has shockingly set the quantum very low as has been our experience in Union Carbide Bhopal Gas tragedy case, Ansal’s Uphaar cinema tragedy and other cases? Peanuts!

And, to rub salt into wounds, political masters always set up a judicial enquiry; an enquiry with usually a purpose to conceal more than to reveal. Also, such judicial enquiry provides ample work to retired judges, with a good number believing in ‘justice hurried is justice buried’ and prolonging the enquiry to ridiculous extents, usually till the time the matter is forgotten and does not remain a hot political potato.

Interestingly, these judicial enquiry reports are not binding on the government. Thus, it is a win-win situation for the government: if in its favour, implement it; otherwise simply shelve it.

Keeping in mind that till the other day, these judges, while sitting on the Bench, used to ‘order’ the government, why would they agree to head any such enquiry which is not binding? Reasons are not difficult to fathom: post-retirement engagement, keeping busy, getting prominence, pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefits. Shouldn’t these judicial enquiries be stopped? It is high time when reason prevailed and political exigency took a back seat. Judges must not take any post-retirement engagements. Recently, after the coal scam and FIR against Kumarmanglam Birla and former coal secretary Parakh, TSR Subramanian, former Cabinet Secretary, has suggested that retired bureaucrats should not be permitted to take up any job and their retirement benefits need to be enhanced. There is merit in this argument.

In the absence of any efficacious accountability, there appears to be no reason to value human life in India. The day realistic compensation is awarded by the courts, things hopefully will fall in place. To make politicians value human life and force them to make all efforts to protect it – whether in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, or elsewhere – the courts have to take the initiative.