Random thoughts

No one would have expected the recent Mumbai blasts but two things could have been predicted with surety

1. The emergency services will not be available when required
2. Lot of loud noises will be raised against terrorism but no one in the government or otherwise will be held responsible

The first has been validated and I am inclined to believe that the second will materialize in the next few months or years depending on the celerity of the many commissions that will now be instituted to probe the incident. Lets analyze each one of these in further detail

Emergency services
Most of the public ire in Mumbai immediately after the blast was directed towards the police and medical services. The public was disappointed by the slow response. Who would argue against the need for faster response in times of emergency but does this very public understand the reasons for poor emergency response. I guess they do but dont do anything about it. Every country has limited resources and has to constantly make trade offs on its use. If funds are diverted towards building more roads then spending has to be cut somewhere else. Do we as citizens think twice when we dirty or destroy public property, jump traffic signals and not pay taxes. Chances are we dont. However if we could be better citizens then the money spent in maintaining public property could be used to buy more ambulances even invest in railway safety. We need to understand that everytime we save from the subsidized railway ticket we pay it in other forms such as lack of railway security and some of us pay with their lives. The very public that screamed at the lack of facilities yesterday would never hesitate to get onto a train without purchasing a ticket if they could. At such times rationality is thrown out of the window. While the public demanded excellent service from the police yesterday most, I am guessing most of these people were returning home from their own offices where they offered service which if called ordinary will be a compliment. The point is that all of us have to contribute and not just in moments of crisis but always.

Responsibility
The other thing that I want to talk about is responsibility. Someone surely has to be responsible for this event. Does that mean someone will get fired. Surely the railways minister, the home minister, the commissioner of police are responsible for such an event. Does the public think that some of these will be sacked or will be made to pay for their acts of omission or commission. Chances are they will go scot free. No one will demand the resignation of any of these people thereby setting the stage for the event to occur again. As it is said that democracy is a process through which people get the government they deserve. Surely we have got what we deserve.