A Hole in the Psyche

During last week of August, a young woman died giving birth to a baby. In Delhi. Close to the Parliament. In Connaught Place. While Delhi moved with its business as usual attitude, she died after battling to cut the umbilical cord by herself. No one saw her. No one bothered to stop by and reach out.

Kairali TV flashed the shocking news and the ghastly sight first time. Just like a bag of rags, the mother’s corpse lay covered in a red shawl, flies swarming her lifeless body. Who ever watched the news, stopped to think for a minute.

The mother died. But the battle of the new born baby was yet to begin. A single woman, who owns a garment shop close by, came forward to take care of the seemingly healthy baby. But the legalities took the lead where human beings stopped to care. The baby was handed over to an orphanage and the care taker lady became nobody. She stated in an interview ‘she will fight for custody of the child.’

On 29 August, Hindustan Times carried a catchy heading – “She gave birth, died, Delhi walked by” (http://www.hindustantimes.com/She-gave-birth-died-Delhi-walked-by/H1-Article1-593243.aspx), On 4th September, The Hindu carried a column – “The other half: Dying of indifference” (http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Kalpana_Sharma/article611470.ece).

The local newspapers in Kerala too flashed the news about callous India.

Following the news in the media, the case was discussed in Parliament and the Delhi High Court, shocked by the incident questioned the event and had asked for a report on facilities that could be availed by a poor person in a government hospital in such a circumstance. The story stands there as of now.

In the mean time, the surviving baby contracted a life-threatening disease but was rescued by the timely action by authorities and continues to be in the orphanage.

As the incident points to many poignant developmental and sociological issues of modern India – such as penury, destitution, status of pregnant mothers, changing psyche, growing callousness, etc., it also directs to a fundamental flaw in the system that tends to take corrective measures when the media intervenes or the legislation questions. Should not systems work by themselves?

Now, a different aspect. Let us think. Have we stopped to care or do we fear to care? In many cases, it is the latter. The act of helping an accident victim or any form of victim will have with it a series of attestations, witness statements, court hearings and the works. A genuine intention to help the needy, thus gets penalized. It becomes a hassle. And who wants to regularly appear in court for having helped someone who broke a leg in a hit-and-run case? Obviously no one. It is better to feel sorry and be damned in own conscience and move ahead than be a prey to a grotesque legislation and its potent unreasonableness. So what / whom do we blame? Is it time to flex laws on such singular incidents? Can we set the precedence?

On a different plane, it was to be noted that no social activist group, women’s group or any other rights group came forward to support the woman who rescued the child and wished to foster the baby. This was one case, where such groups could have, should have, shown country-wide support and helped make precedence to show that we still, as a nation, has not lost it altogether… that voice of the people do make a difference and is not totally lost in the wilderness…

Destitution is no new phenomenon for India. Streets, railway stations, and bus stations becoming the abode of the destitute is also nothing new for India. But people dying on the street just like flies, that too, in the capital city of the world’s largest democracy is not common and indeed points to a severe flaw in the system and a blow to our collective conscience. Will this incident make the rule or the exception?

Finally, this begs the question - if the media cease to maintain social vigil, will our conscience fail? Won't systems work by themselves?