INDIAN CAPITAL IS NO BETTER CIVILIZED>> I received this mail from Mohan Sethi. Read it to Know it.... From: Jyoti Sharma Date: Sun, Jun 16, 2013 at 11:07 PM Subject: From Jyoti Sharma To: MOHAN SETHI mlsethi@gmail On June 4, my father in law was found dead in a lane of a slum – Sangam Vihar –in Delhi. He had died of hunger, thirst and dehydration after 5 days of walking around lost on the unfeeling streets of Delhi. Daddy had dementia. Other than that, he was perfectly fit – mentally and physically. At 77 he glowed with good health, was never ill and was always alert and active. He looked good, was well dressed and spoke well. A retired Air Force officer who was also a Sanskrit scholar, he was a rare combination of independent minded thinking and a deeply philosophical spirituality. On the afternoon of 30th of May, he was alone at home with a caretaker from a professional nursing agency. The caretaker forgot to lock the main door and then went off to sleep. Whilst he slept, Daddy decided to go out – perhaps to buy a cigarette or maybe just for a walk. He went out and then, forgot where his home was. He never got back home again.As Daddy wandered around trying to find his way back home, no-one noticed this old man walking all alone. In this city of busy 1.7 million people, no-one had time to read the confusion on his face. No-one realised that when he was staring at them, he was actually trying to prod his forgetful mind to remember if he knew this person. He did not ask for food – so no one offered him any. He did not fit the popular image of a destitute- so no good Samaritan tried to help him. He was just a harmless old man- so the patrolling Police cars did not pay attention to him. At night, when he probably slept on a roadside, this new addition to the thousands already on the streets went un-noticed.On his last day, he was seen trying to enter houses, probably asking for “Sanjeev-Ranjeev”- his sons. He kept falling down. People laughed at him thinking he was a drunkard and a madman. Even in the slum he was in, no-one recognised the symptoms of acute hunger and thirst. No one called the police – the police are seen as an evil best avoided. No-one took him home or called up a hospital – who would want an additional ‘responsibility’? A couple of people did offer him water, he drank it and that gave him the strength to walk a few steps before he collapsed again. No-one bothered to help him. They only got bothered when he fell down for the last time and did not move for 2 hours….. Not because they were worried about him…. but because they did not like the idea of a corpse lying near their house. We have spent hours torturing ourselves with thoughts of his confusion, helplessness, trauma and the physical hurt he would have endured. We blame ourselves – perhaps we did not look after him well enough. We get angry - How can a city be so callous? What was the police doing? Of what use is the huge police force and the state of the art integrated data systems if it could not spot a man whose photograph and clear description was there with all police stations of 7 states? ….And that too a man who was making no attempt to hide himself…!! Why did the welfare staffs and welfare doles not reach him? Surely no-one needed it more! Why were people so blind to his suffering? Does this mean that apathy and cruelty is common to all – the rich and the poor?We have now come to terms with his horrifying death. As rationality reasserts itself, we realise that it was the disconnect between police, welfare set-up and the people that caused this tragedy. The police and the welfare set-up are inefficient and blind. They depend upon citizens to lead them to those who need to be brought into their sights. Their staff neither has the intellect, nor the empathy or motivation to go beyond the ‘drill’ to aim for success in solving people’s problems. So unless people proactively link up with police and welfare systems, such tragedies will continue. Daddy could have been saved. But that did not happen – all because of three mistakes 1) Daddy did not go upto anyone and say “ I am lost. Help me.” Perhaps then someone could have taken him to a police station. Any missing person is checked against an inter-state centralised missing / wanted persons data of the police. Had he gone to a police station, Daddy would have been identified as the missing person whose report is listed in the Vasant Kunj Police Station. 2) No-one asked him ”Uncle, are you lost? Do you need help?” Had they asked, he would have told them. All they needed then, was to dial 100 and the police would have done the rest.3) There was no ‘pyaau – free drinking water anywhere.What happened to Daddy must not happen to anyone else. Can we tell everyone we know “Do not hesitate to say ‘Help me’ to people or the authorities if you’re in trouble. Have faith - atleast 1 out of the 50 you ask help from, will respond.” Can we follow a simple rule – that we will notice all old people on the roads and ask them “Are you OK. Do you need help?” And finally, can you write this simple letter to the chief minister of your state - “Build pyaaus in every public area. I know of an old man who died of thirst in a bustling city because he could not buy water to drink. Don’t let this happen to anyone else in your state. Water for basic sustenance is a right that must be made available to all.”Help me spread this message. Follow this practice yourself and share it with everyone you know. From: Jyoti Sharma Date: Sun, Jun 16, 2013 at 11:07 PM On June 4, my father in law was found dead in a lane of a slum – Sangam Vihar –in Delhi. He had died of hunger, thirst and dehydration after 5 days of walking around lost on the unfeeling streets of Delhi. Daddy had dementia. Other than that, he was perfectly fit – mentally and physically. At 77 he glowed with good health, was never ill and was always alert and active. He looked good, was well dressed and spoke well. A retired Air Force officer who was also a Sanskrit scholar, he was a rare combination of independent minded thinking and a deeply philosophical spirituality. On the afternoon of 30th of May, he was alone at home with a caretaker from a professional nursing agency. The caretaker forgot to lock the main door and then went off to sleep. Whilst he slept, Daddy decided to go out – perhaps to buy a cigarette or maybe just for a walk. He went out and then, forgot where his home was. He never got back home again.As Daddy wandered around trying to find his way back home, no-one noticed this old man walking all alone. In this city of busy 1.7 million people, no-one had time to read the confusion on his face. No-one realised that when he was staring at them, he was actually trying to prod his forgetful mind to remember if he knew this person. He did not ask for food – so no one offered him any. He did not fit the popular image of a destitute- so no good Samaritan tried to help him. He was just a harmless old man- so the patrolling Police cars did not pay attention to him. At night, when he probably slept on a roadside, this new addition to the thousands already on the streets went un-noticed.On his last day, he was seen trying to enter houses, probably asking for “Sanjeev-Ranjeev”- his sons. He kept falling down. People laughed at him thinking he was a drunkard and a madman. Even in the slum he was in, no-one recognised the symptoms of acute hunger and thirst. No one called the police – the police are seen as an evil best avoided. No-one took him home or called up a hospital – who would want an additional ‘responsibility’? A couple of people did offer him water, he drank it and that gave him the strength to walk a few steps before he collapsed again. No-one bothered to help him. They only got bothered when he fell down for the last time and did not move for 2 hours….. Not because they were worried about him…. but because they did not like the idea of a corpse lying near their house. We have spent hours torturing ourselves with thoughts of his confusion, helplessness, trauma and the physical hurt he would have endured. We blame ourselves – perhaps we did not look after him well enough. We get angry - How can a city be so callous? What was the police doing? Of what use is the huge police force and the state of the art integrated data systems if it could not spot a man whose photograph and clear description was there with all police stations of 7 states? ….And that too a man who was making no attempt to hide himself…!! Why did the welfare staffs and welfare doles not reach him? Surely no-one needed it more! Why were people so blind to his suffering? Does this mean that apathy and cruelty is common to all – the rich and the poor?We have now come to terms with his horrifying death. As rationality reasserts itself, we realise that it was the disconnect between police, welfare set-up and the people that caused this tragedy. The police and the welfare set-up are inefficient and blind. They depend upon citizens to lead them to those who need to be brought into their sights. Their staff neither has the intellect, nor the empathy or motivation to go beyond the ‘drill’ to aim for success in solving people’s problems. So unless people proactively link up with police and welfare systems, such tragedies will continue. Daddy could have been saved. But that did not happen – all because of three mistakes 1) Daddy did not go upto anyone and say “ I am lost. Help me.” Perhaps then someone could have taken him to a police station. Any missing person is checked against an inter-state centralised missing / wanted persons data of the police. Had he gone to a police station, Daddy would have been identified as the missing person whose report is listed in the Vasant Kunj Police Station. 2) No-one asked him ”Uncle, are you lost? Do you need help?” Had they asked, he would have told them. All they needed then, was to dial 100 and the police would have done the rest.3) There was no ‘pyaau – free drinking water anywhere.What happened to Daddy must not happen to anyone else. Can we tell everyone we know “Do not hesitate to say ‘Help me’ to people or the authorities if you’re in trouble. Have faith - atleast 1 out of the 50 you ask help from, will respond.” Can we follow a simple rule – that we will notice all old people on the roads and ask them “Are you OK. Do you need help?” And finally, can you write this simple letter to the chief minister of your state - “Build pyaaus in every public area. I know of an old man who died of thirst in a bustling city because he could not buy water to drink. Don’t let this happen to anyone else in your state. Water for basic sustenance is a right that must be made available to all.”Help me spread this message. Follow this practice yourself and share it with everyone you know.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:24:46 +0000
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