'Who is the killer' screamed the headlines on every news channel as they covered the stampede in Madhya Pradesh that claimed the lives of 115 people. While it is true that the administration fell short of providing adequate crowd control measures, it would be wrong to lay the entire blame squarely at their doors. We Indians simply don't seem to have discipline in our DNA.
The idea of forming a queue never occurs to even the educated among us. I went to my favorite shop to buy Jalebi and Fafada on Dassera morning. I had mentally prepared myself to get jostled in a sea of bodies but was pleasantly surprised to see people waiting in a queue. Happily I joined it. The queue was moving ahead at a fair pace because the shop attendants were efficiently handling the orders. Just then a group of 2-3 people came along clutching money. They looked at the queue, went ahead and asked for some items while proffering the money. No one in the queue said anything so I said in a raised voice 'how can these people barge in like this?'. Taking a cue, two gentlemen ahead of me told those people politely that there was a queue and they would have to wait their turn. Those people seemed surprised that they were asked to join the queue and pretended to walk away. But I could notice them moving to the head of the queue trying to get attention of the attendants. So I complained to the attendant standing next to me and he assured me that they will not be serviced.
I would have believed him except for the fact that I noticed the lady who was standing behind me calmly collect her purchase and walk away while I placed my order. I opened my mouth to complain yet again but then dropped the idea. Why spoil my mood on an auspicious day? It wasn't worth it simply because people who follow rules are exception in this country. You see the chaos on the streets as people take illegal turns right under the nose of the traffic cops, near the elevators as people try to barge in without giving the occupants a chance to get out, in the parks as people stand chatting in groups right in the middle of the walkway. We want to be the first one to race ahead when the signal turns green, the first one to get in the bus/train/elevator and the first one to get out. Why? No one knows.
This same lack of discipline has led to these deaths. And we will keep seeing such deaths unless we realize this and choose to act on it.
The idea of forming a queue never occurs to even the educated among us. I went to my favorite shop to buy Jalebi and Fafada on Dassera morning. I had mentally prepared myself to get jostled in a sea of bodies but was pleasantly surprised to see people waiting in a queue. Happily I joined it. The queue was moving ahead at a fair pace because the shop attendants were efficiently handling the orders. Just then a group of 2-3 people came along clutching money. They looked at the queue, went ahead and asked for some items while proffering the money. No one in the queue said anything so I said in a raised voice 'how can these people barge in like this?'. Taking a cue, two gentlemen ahead of me told those people politely that there was a queue and they would have to wait their turn. Those people seemed surprised that they were asked to join the queue and pretended to walk away. But I could notice them moving to the head of the queue trying to get attention of the attendants. So I complained to the attendant standing next to me and he assured me that they will not be serviced.
I would have believed him except for the fact that I noticed the lady who was standing behind me calmly collect her purchase and walk away while I placed my order. I opened my mouth to complain yet again but then dropped the idea. Why spoil my mood on an auspicious day? It wasn't worth it simply because people who follow rules are exception in this country. You see the chaos on the streets as people take illegal turns right under the nose of the traffic cops, near the elevators as people try to barge in without giving the occupants a chance to get out, in the parks as people stand chatting in groups right in the middle of the walkway. We want to be the first one to race ahead when the signal turns green, the first one to get in the bus/train/elevator and the first one to get out. Why? No one knows.
This same lack of discipline has led to these deaths. And we will keep seeing such deaths unless we realize this and choose to act on it.
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