The high premium on the appeal of holding a government job, especially a Civil Service position, is a well-known social truth in India. Thousands of students every year move to different cities to chase their dreams, and New Delhi, the national capital, is often the numero uno choice when it comes to preparing for the coveted UPSC exams.
So when the nation woke up on Sunday to the devastating news of three UPSC aspirants getting killed by flooding at a private coaching centre in Delhi, in an illegally operating basement library turned study room, it shocked most people. The death of three young people in the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle over something that could have been avoided, and therefore sparked an angry nation-wide debate over the safety of an average citizen and the civic inaction that repeatedly leads to such scenarios. Soon after the news broke, authorities began to talk about taking action, as if governmental slumber needs human sacrifice as a cost to instigate a mental alarm clock to ring.
Cases were quickly filed, and political statements made, reports sought, but quite clearly, as always, it was officials and police working to save their jobs, and under pressure, and a temporary sense of action, even as the real question remain unanswered — why did they wait and not act before, when it was necessary, and could have saved lives.
The crackdown against institutes flouting building regulations and other violations should not be taken up as a counteraction, but government entities concerned must carry out regular checks to avoid such incidents.
Private coaching institutes that play on ambition, dreams, and aspirations enjoy free reign due to their large gains and often forgo safety regulations.
The hand-in-glove situation between illegally running business that flout norms, the law enforcers, and their nexus, which claimed three lives, will perhaps end as yet another saga in which no one will take responsibility. The coaching centre which chose an ‘illegal’ basement to shape young minds for a better tomorrow, the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi), which did not take action and avoided the fact that such institutes run without safety measures or the Delhi government, will all largely get away.
The politicians who woke up after the incident, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, must have forgotten that every constituency is represented by a member elected by the people to raise such issues and bring solutions, not words.
The grieving parents, family and friends of the victims are left with just questions and guilt. Students protesting outside the coaching hub in Delhi were arrested and transported away in the name of public safety. Looking at how the education system is shaping up in India, it is not wrong to assume that students have just become a ploy in the big force of indifference of the officials.
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