It is pathetic that the Government did not announce national mourning for Morbi bridge victims who died of administrative lapses
In South Korea's Itaewon area of Seoul on October 29, 2022, tens of thousands of people had gathered to celebrate Halloween festivities, when a severe mishap of crowd surge took place, killing 150 people including 26 foreigners. South Korean police are investigating the cause behind the mishap. This was the country's worst disaster in years.An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon for the country's biggest outdoor Halloween festivities since the pandemic began. The South Korean government had eased Covid-19 restrictions in recent months. South Korean President Hoon Suk Yeol declared a one-week national mourning period on October 30, 2022, and ordered flags at government buildings and public offices to fly half-mast after the horrific incident.
Just the next day after the South Korea disaster, a tragedy of similar nature occurred in Morbi city of India's Gujarat State, where on October 30, 2022, a century-old suspension bridge on the Machchhuriver collapsed around 6.30 pm; in which almost 130 people have been reported as killed. Victims were mostly women and children on the hanging bridge when it snapped, plunging them into the water below. The bridge was reopened for the public after being repaired for over six months by a private operator Oreva group on the eve of Gujarati New Year's Day is celebrated on October 26. The group entrusted with the repair work specializes in manufacturing electrical appliances, wall clocks, calculators and ceramic products, etc. Construction work however had not been it's forte.
Prime Minister NarendraModi was camping in Gujarat during that time on a three-day visit to perform a variety of activities including the celebration of Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, launching the release of the Ahmedabad-Udaipur train, and addressing election rallies. Modi was a few kilometers away from the spot of the tragedy. Unlike, South Korea's declaring a week-long national mourning, the Central or State governments did not announce even one day's national mourning to mark the condolence for the victims. Instead of observing national shock, Modi celebrated Sardar Patel's birth anniversary just the next day after the great tragedies, wearing ceremonial attire.
In all cultures, mourning is observed to express the human capacity of retaining their emotional touch with the departed souls. For this purpose, concerned societies observe national days or days of mourning. Leaving aside the observance of mourning of the day/s of tragic occurrence, nations commemorated anniversaries of deaths and tragedies in memory of the victims. Flying a national flag of that country at half mast is a common symbol.During the Pulwama attack, 40 CRPF personnel had been killed in the terror attack but no national mourning was observed. In India, there has not been a history of observing mourning on the deaths of a large number of common people. However, there are numerous instances of observing the mourning of a single man labeled as a so-called VIP, even from other countries.
Recently, the government declared one day of mourning on May 14, 2022, as a mark of respect for the departed soul of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE. Again the government declared one-day mourning on September 11, 2022, as a mark of respect to Queen Elizabeth II, of the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland, who passed away on September 8, 2022.
This truly means that national mourning is a period of time to mourn the demise of superhuman beings like sovereigns or other members of a Royal family or a prominent power holder like the PM or President of any country. As such, any number of tragic deaths of common people write no mention on the canvas of time. Does our Constitution authorize us to make a visible distinction between Very Important Person (VIP) and Least Important Person (LIP)?After the collapse of the bridge, several videos have gone viral on social media criticizing Modi's insensitive behavior, especially with regard to his fetish of being photographed even in post-tragedy events, unmindful to what happened a few hours ago with large number of weeping and crying fellow citizens, besides those who lost their lives.
Modi is also being criticised for his hilarious video during the 2016 West Bengal election when mocking the incident of a Calcutta bridge collapse he taunted Mamta Banerjee, "The fall of this bridge is an indication of chastisement from God to make you realize that like the fall of this bridge, one day she will destroy the entire Bengal."
Natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires or man-made disasters like transportation accidents, the collapse of buildings, bridges or stampedes, etc; are generally unexpected, sudden, and overwhelming. For many people affected by such disasters, there may not be outwardly visible signs of physical injury, but there can be nonetheless an emotional toll. Subdued by emotional disturbance, one might also become withdrawn from normal life activities, feel isolated, and disengaged from usual social activities. As such, the State's response of paying attention to the aggrieved survivors of the victims of great tragedy will act as a balm on their bruised emotions.
(The writer is a legal journalist and author. The views expressed are personal.)
