Accident or Mass Human Sacrifice?

Eleven people, including seven primary school students of Bami Lower Primary School in Tenkulepady, near Kaikamba in Mangalore, were killed when a school bus with 36 people fell into the flooded Phalguni river in Ulaibettu early morning on the 14th of August, the eve of India's 61st Independence Day. The driver of the bus also died in the mishap.

If a follow-up news article in the Times of India dated 16th of August is to be believed, 13th and 14th of August had been declared holidays for the local schools due to inclement weather. However, the same could not be communicated to the school on time since the approval of holiday declaration first got delayed in bureaucracy and the subsequent announcement of the holidays was stuck in red-tape, thereby forcing the hapless tiny-tots to attend school on both the "Holidays" at their own peril.

At this age, when superstitious Animal and Human Sacrifice at the altar of deities has been banned, these eleven people have been sacrificed at the altar of bureaucracy and red-tapism, as if these two are greater than God.

Seven tiny-tots were sacrificed and Twelve other tiny-tots in the same bus, who were lucky enough to survive were put to heavy stress in their struggle for survival, while adults are unable to cope with simple stresses like inflation, at a time when all these 19 children could have been safe in the shelter of their homes, in the protective care of their elders. Seven children, who should have been the future of the nation, have been relegated to the past.

The Minister for Fisheries, Shri Krishna Palemar, rushed to the spot to supervise rescue operations and announced Rs one lakh compensation to the relatives of those who died, and subsequently, the Prime Minister, Shri Manmohan Singh announced another Rs one lakh compensation. Is each child worth only Rs two lakhs? Can a price be fixed for the void caused in the life of their loved ones?

The media, polititions and the authorities have started the blame game and mud-slinging. The politicians will see this as a golden opportunity to cash-in for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, and all the common man can do is to pray for the departed souls and their family, and hope that such mistakes will not happen again, to anyone in general and to oneself or one's own family members in particular, as we get to see or hear about such incidents happening around us almost everyday.

The sacrifice of these eleven people should not be allowed to go in vain. This should be an eye-opener to bureaucrats and all others alike, to act fast, at least in taking life-saving decisions.