Beyond Blame: The Forgotten Threat of Stampedes in India
It is so painful to hear about the deaths in the stampede at the political meeting in Karur. So many different sides are being blamed — the police, the ruling party, Vijay and his cadres. Nevertheless, let’s not forget: we are the most populated country in the world. Our cities are some of the most densely packed places on earth, and we are still a developing nation. This means we simply don’t yet have the infrastructure to handle the huge numbers we live with. In such circumstances, stampedes are almost an everyday occurrence somewhere in our country. As we grew up, we’ve seen it everywhere — railway stations, temples, shops, theaters, bus stands. And as a generation, we’ve also developed a mindset of “beating the crowd” to save time and get ahead. Today, we face stampedes in one form or another very often — in temples, at railway stations, festival grounds, political rallies and many other places. The numbers keep growing. Yet, despite how common it is, we are never prepared f...