Yet another stampede has made headlines, this time at a political rally in Tamil Nadu, which has claimed at least 36 lives and left scores injured. The stampede that occurred at popular actor Vijay’s rally as he sought to launch his political party is yet another reminder of how, despite tragedy after tragedy, nothing seems to change in terms of learning any lessons.
The year so far has seen six stampedes -- a major one at the Kumbh mela, while another at the New Delhi Railway Station among pilgrims who were heading to the Kumbh Mela, one at the RCB victory parade in Bengaluru, and one in our very own Shirgao, during the zatra of Lairai devi, which claimed six lives. Two others -- in Tirumala and in Hyderabad during a screening of the film Pushpa 2 were also reported.
One is almost left with the feeling that stampedes are almost unavoidable in a country such as India, where everyone from sports personalities, politicians, actors, and even deities have a huge fan following to a point that the people themselves lose sense of civility and simply rush through without thinking. But the truth is these episodes are entirely avoidable -- with proper planning and infrastructure, even very large crowds can be managed.
Europe used to witness stampedes and crowd crushes in the late 20th century, especially around football matches, concerts, and other such events. However, they have learnt their lessons and today instances of a stampede are very rare. This was done with a mix of turnstiles at stadiums, barricades for queuing, CCTV monitoring, and punishment for those who violate the rules. No doubt that crowds in India are vastly bigger than crowds in Europe, America, and events are generally approved only after the organisers have submitted a thorough crowd management plan.
In the recent case, it was well known that a popular actor would draw huge crowds. After what happened in Bengaluru, it was practically expected that such a gathering in Tamil Nadu would hold similar risks. But they were either not heeded or they were given the go-ahead without having a foolproof plan in place.
Now the usual post-mortem will begin, someone from the organising team will be arrested, district and police officials will be suspended, but will never face charges, and the families of those left to grieve will be blamed for the crowd crush.
India needs to break free from this cycle. It’s time we begin holding those responsible for these tragedies accountable for homicide. This must include the organisers who insist on going ahead with rallies and parades without the necessary clearances and preparation, and the district authorities and police authorities responsible for failing to adequately prepare for the event.
Unless there is accountability and people in positions of power are held responsible for their acts of commission and omission. Accountability needs to come from the top; when those in power believe that they are invincible and beyond reproach, it breeds a culture that is insensitive, callous, and irresponsible. As usual, it is the poor and innocent who have to bear the brunt of the failures of the rich and mighty.
