Sunday, November 30, 2008

Why is life equated with money?

Everytime an accident happens which is due to failure of the government machinery, politicians come out and dole out a few lakhs as compensation. For the poor and the needy, this compensation is necessary because they could have lost the sole bread-earner in the family. The generosity is only a facade behind which is the opportunity to swizzle a lot of money. I some times feel the politicians eagerly wait for calamities to happen, do not take steps to prevent preventable-calamities such as floods, and then make a living out of other people's misery. Bihar floods of 2008 was certainly a preventable calamity, but nothing was done to prevent it. The administration slept on it, and millions in Bihar died. How many of them received compensation - well there is no account of that, and probably there never will be.

Another thing that I hate is that every time a soldier, an honest policeman dies on duty, these politicians dole out a few lakhs as compensation. Sadly, they do not understand the value of life, the meaning of responsibility, the meaning of duty. When Hemant Karkare died on duty, he was not doing it for money. When Maj. Sandeep or Hawaldar Gajender Singh died on duty, they were not doing it for money. They went down doing their duty, and this feeling comes from a sense of accountability that you have towards your job and responsibility that you have towards your peers and the men you lead. 

No amount of money can encourage you to give up your life. Sadly, our politicians do not understand it at all and indulge in trivialising the contribution of soldiers by doling out money as compensation.

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