Unfortunately, sitting in dry Mumbai,
much as though one wanted to (like many other Indians), I could do nothing to
help citizens of Chennai. However, images of people and vehicles trapped under
water reminded me of 2005, of that dreadful day when the sky literally fell upon
our heads. I was one of those stuck in office till late at night, unsure of the
extent of the damage, unsure of what my next move should be. This, despite being
a journalist working for a daily. All we were getting was sketchy information
from colleagues who had ventured out. I prudently decided to stay put at
office, many Mumbaikars didn’t, and lives were lost as a result.
What we in Mumbai lacked at the time
was social media, and indeed it is this new tool that has helped people in
Chennai fare better than we did ten years ago. There have been continuous
updates and tweets on the situation… information on the most affected areas, localities
that need urgent help, the kind of help that is needed, information about
missing family members, and the general dos and don’ts. Am quite certain if we
had this support back in 2005, some lives could have been saved. So the next
time you scoff at rubbish chatter that goes on on Facebook and Twitter,
remember they can help you in perilous times.
One other thing: Mass media had pretty
much ignored the Chennai floods, every other silly story was being covered but
no attention given to the sufferers there. Once social media got into the act,
guilty Big Brother mass media had no option but to emulate. In fact this has
become a trend now, social media usually takes the lead. Just goes to show where
the future of the media lies.
Hasta la vista, baby.
So the ‘juvenile’ who was involved in
the brutal assault on the Delhi gang rape victim will be out of the ‘correctional
facility’ this month. And he will dive into the waiting arms of a caring NGO
that will provide him ‘vocational training’ (I hope the staff is all-men). If
the incident hadn’t been so tragic, this would have me go ROFL. I understand that
the chap can’t be sent to an adult prison, but does that mean we have to treat
this ‘juvenile’ rapist cum murderer with kid gloves? Can a person responsible
for this level of monstrosity be expected to reform? Was he charged with picking
a pocket on that bus? Make no mistake about this: This criminal will be back to
his dirty tricks in good time. So what’s the solution? I am no legal expert but
the least that should happen to him is to be put on a technological leash, an electronic
bracelet, so that there is 24X7 surveillance on his every activity. If the law
doesn’t permit even this, well, we should go ahead and do it anyway. Laws are
made for the welfare of people, not to put them in danger.
Incidentally, for the statistically
inclined, a study in the US reports that 66% of juvenile criminals who have
been arrested will become repeat offenders within 24 months. 49% of them will become
repeat offenders within the first year. And this includes youngsters involved
in petty crimes. Now imagine the probability of the Delhi juvenile growing up
to be a gentleman.
Delhi’s odd car(t) strategy
Arvind Kejriwal wants you to drive your
car only on alternate days. Nothing wrong with that, this experiment to reduce
pollution and traffic has worked in a few other nations. The problem here, as
usual, is that the damned cart has been shoved well ahead of the bloody horse.
For one, public transport in Delhi isn’t geared up for the fresh load, so this ploy
will create more mess on the streets and inside the underground trains. And
two, because they have suddenly set the cat amongst Delhi’s well-fed pigeons
(contrary to Kejriwal’s famous public referendum theory), many would rush to
purchase their second/third/fourth gaddi, thus creating a whole new set of
problems. Until the public transport system is made to rock, such ideas are
bound to fail.
By the way, I don’t think Kejriwal
worries about offending the city’s middle class citizens, he doesn’t care, his vote
bank is the lower middle class and the poor, who have no direct stake in this
policy. And when the idea fails, he will simply blame the central government
for not supporting him. One more brownie point in his war against Modi. At the aam
aadmi’s cost.
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