The Young Man looked at the Official in front of him. The Official's face was motionless, except for the rhythmic, rotational movement of his jowls as he chomped on a plate of biscuits. The room was cold- too cold, even though it was summer; thanks to the monster air conditioner that pumped cold air- almost viciously- the Young Man thought, like a great, exposed heart into the room. His tea which had been steaming hot in it's aluminium glass at the beginning of the hour, was now cold and lifeless, and lay at the tip of his elbow- An act of courtesy, a gimmick, a atmosphere setter, a distraction.
Our Young Man was a college graduate. In college, he had spent most of his time debating and talking about philosophy, ethics, politics- the Meaning of Life- with his friends. He believed he had the energy, and the intelligence to change the world - wasn't college preparation to do just that?
Everything needed to be torn down. The world needed to be built afresh. He was convinced of it. Well graduation was over, and it was time to start! But where? He thought through the causes he was passionate about- animal rights, climate change, water scarcity.. And then a family friend at dinner, happened to mention the number of road accidents in India every year. The Young Man was horrified at the figure. After dinner he looked the number up. They were all true. THIS he decided was his Cause. He talked to his parents about it. His proud father connected him with the Official, who he knew through a friend. And that was how he was here. In this room. Sitting opposite the Official.
He had spent the last hour presenting statistic after statistic of the number of road accidents in India to the Official. The Official had remained the same during the entire presentation- still, silent, except for the biscuit chomping. He had remained silent for almost a minute after the end of the presentation. A minute- measured in 4 injuries and 1 nameless, voicless death due to car accidents in India; the chomping of one Parle G biscuit. The Young Man waited.
The Official finally broke the silence.
"Mr YM, you say our Government does not do enough to protect the safety of our people. Let me tell you this. We have a current mandate that all cars have to have front and back seat belts. it is mandatory for front seat belts to be on at all times. How many people do you think obey this law, eh? Do you think we are a rich country like the US to put policemen at every corner to ensure people are wearing seat belts? We do everything we can to hold our officers accountable. But the people need to learn sense!"
He paused.
"Right at this minute we have a new road safety bill being introduced into Cabinet. We will use all that 'smart metering' and whatnot to ensure safe driving. We are also upping our fines and penalties for driving offences. Does that satisfy you? And yes-yes we are starting our new Indian national new car assessment program. Our roads are not like the ones in Switzerland or US, so we don't need to test cars at the same crash speeds."
The Young Man who was listening intently, burst out earnestly. "Shree O. Your government is certainly on the right track to change the law. However, your crash test is not going to come online till 2017. I know that developing such facilities takes time, but what till then? Most of cars manufactured for India- they've failed the basic safety tests. And even, after 2017, what about the cars currently on the road, sir?"
The Young Man paused and surveyed the Official. "And, sir, without offense, amendments to the 1988 Motor Vehicles Act have always been a long time in coming into force. I urge you sir, to raise awareness about safety NOW. Encourage stricter enforcement of the law."
The Official stood up and ushered the Young man to to door. His eyes widened and he said earnestly, "We will do all we can beta. It is truly heartening to see youth like you who care." The door clicked shut on the Young Man's thanks, his petition, and his satisfaction of having 'done something'. It took the Young Man ten minutes- 40 nameless injuries, 10 voiceless deaths to walk home. He was thinking about his next Cause.
In the mean time, the Official's eyes had narrowed again. His earnestness collapsed. He picked up his file and walked out of the door in his new Mercedes.
Our Young Man was a college graduate. In college, he had spent most of his time debating and talking about philosophy, ethics, politics- the Meaning of Life- with his friends. He believed he had the energy, and the intelligence to change the world - wasn't college preparation to do just that?
Everything needed to be torn down. The world needed to be built afresh. He was convinced of it. Well graduation was over, and it was time to start! But where? He thought through the causes he was passionate about- animal rights, climate change, water scarcity.. And then a family friend at dinner, happened to mention the number of road accidents in India every year. The Young Man was horrified at the figure. After dinner he looked the number up. They were all true. THIS he decided was his Cause. He talked to his parents about it. His proud father connected him with the Official, who he knew through a friend. And that was how he was here. In this room. Sitting opposite the Official.
He had spent the last hour presenting statistic after statistic of the number of road accidents in India to the Official. The Official had remained the same during the entire presentation- still, silent, except for the biscuit chomping. He had remained silent for almost a minute after the end of the presentation. A minute- measured in 4 injuries and 1 nameless, voicless death due to car accidents in India; the chomping of one Parle G biscuit. The Young Man waited.
The Official finally broke the silence.
"Mr YM, you say our Government does not do enough to protect the safety of our people. Let me tell you this. We have a current mandate that all cars have to have front and back seat belts. it is mandatory for front seat belts to be on at all times. How many people do you think obey this law, eh? Do you think we are a rich country like the US to put policemen at every corner to ensure people are wearing seat belts? We do everything we can to hold our officers accountable. But the people need to learn sense!"
He paused.
"Right at this minute we have a new road safety bill being introduced into Cabinet. We will use all that 'smart metering' and whatnot to ensure safe driving. We are also upping our fines and penalties for driving offences. Does that satisfy you? And yes-yes we are starting our new Indian national new car assessment program. Our roads are not like the ones in Switzerland or US, so we don't need to test cars at the same crash speeds."
The Young Man who was listening intently, burst out earnestly. "Shree O. Your government is certainly on the right track to change the law. However, your crash test is not going to come online till 2017. I know that developing such facilities takes time, but what till then? Most of cars manufactured for India- they've failed the basic safety tests. And even, after 2017, what about the cars currently on the road, sir?"
The Young Man paused and surveyed the Official. "And, sir, without offense, amendments to the 1988 Motor Vehicles Act have always been a long time in coming into force. I urge you sir, to raise awareness about safety NOW. Encourage stricter enforcement of the law."
The Official stood up and ushered the Young man to to door. His eyes widened and he said earnestly, "We will do all we can beta. It is truly heartening to see youth like you who care." The door clicked shut on the Young Man's thanks, his petition, and his satisfaction of having 'done something'. It took the Young Man ten minutes- 40 nameless injuries, 10 voiceless deaths to walk home. He was thinking about his next Cause.
In the mean time, the Official's eyes had narrowed again. His earnestness collapsed. He picked up his file and walked out of the door in his new Mercedes.
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