The collapsing bridge of Indian democracy

In South Korea, at least seven vigils were organised, with thousands participating in protesting the unpreparedness of the government, which resulted in the mass deaths at a Halloween event a week ago. It is reported that "crowds gathered from youth political groups at the site of the incident and carried poignant messages to the President that said: "Stepping down is an expression of condolence"."

The people of South Korea, especially its youth, are angry and holding their government responsible for the Halloween disaster. We have not heard yet the government taking the excuse that it was the irresponsibility of the partygoers, their carelessness, that led to the mass death. That they should have been more disciplined and well-behaved. You can also see that the government is truly pained from top to bottom. The nation's mood is sombre, yet there is anger, and it is being expressed.

At the same time, people unrelated to those dead, not their relatives or friends, attended vigils in the heart of Seoul commemorating the tragedy – in which over 150 died, and another 196 people were injured - with the nation's grieving flowers, white chrysanthemums and candles. There is national grief and anger.

Also Read: The Morbi bridge collapse and India's steel frame

Close to the Korean tragedy, India also witnessed a massive tragedy. At Morbi in Gujarat. Where the hanging bridge broke, and people fell into the river below to drown to their deaths. More than 141 died, we are told. Many were injured. But in India or Gujarat, there is no sign of any collective grief. Leave aside anger. Our great culture does have grieving flowers, no white chrysanthemums. And candlelight vigils are mocked here!

We are not demanding that our governments take responsibility. No protest. No politics over tragedy: this is how we show our moral superiority. Which is actually indifference towards our fellow people who are our compatriots. Unlike the Korean people, we seem to have accepted that it was God's will that led to the collapse of the Morbi swinging bridge in Gujarat and the death of over 141 people by drowning. From the silence that prevails in Gujarat and India after this accident, it seems that we have accepted it as divine wrath before which humans are helpless. Like an earthquake or a storm, humans cannot control it. But first, we should fix the language. Every time we write or speak, we should replace the Morbi disaster with Morbi mass murder. It was a mass murder. And its perpetrators are also known.

People may ask how we can call it murder. According to some, there were more people on the bridge than its capacity. The bridge could not bear their weight. It broke down, and the people standing on it fell into the river along with the bridge. They died due to drowning. Isn't calling it murder a dramatic exaggeration?

Also Read | Bridge collapse may change poll equation in BJP stronghold Morbi: Analysts

But let's not limit ourselves to the moment when the bridge broke down. The bridge was waiting to collapse. If not that day, then on some other day. It didn't break because there were too many people on it. It broke down because, in the name of its repair, only paintwork was done. Its cables were not changed. They were just painted!

That the collapse of the bridge was ensured should have been foreknown. After all its repair work was given to a watch-making company. This company had no experience in building or maintaining a bridge. This bridge was also no ordinary bridge. Repair of this type of swinging bridge, which is more than 100 years old, can apparently be done by people with special expertise in this field. The procedure for awarding such work to suitable people is laid down in the rule books of the governments. Tenders are invited, stating the qualifications required for the work that is to be executed. Those who do not have the qualification, expertise or experience, even if they offer the lowest price for the work, are not selected. Scrutiny of tenders takes place at two levels. The financial part is decided only after the technical clearance.

It is now known from the preliminary investigation of the police that the contract for the repair of the bridge was awarded to the watch-making company Oreva without due process. All these decisions were taken by the municipality of Morbi. Clearly, the officials are accountable. The owner of the company also cannot run away from his responsibility. It was a crime he committed, knowing well that he was not doing any real repair work. It is reported that Rs 2 crore was given to the company to repair the bridge. Only 12 lakhs were spent. Shall we justify it by asking would the poor chap not be allowed to make a profit?

The maintenance of the bridge was to be done by the company itself. In a way, its ownership was handed over to the company. You could go there only after buying a ticket. Then how were tickets being sold to people exceeding the permissible number that the bridge could hold at one point in time? Are only the people sitting at the ticket windows to blame for this? Was this being done without the knowledge of the owner of the company? After all, the income from the ticket was going to him? Why has the police not even named him as an accused in its complaint till now?

That too when precedents exist. Remember the owners of Uphaar cinema who were punished after a long legal struggle for the devastating fire in their cinema hall in Delhi? They were not the people on the spot when the fire broke out. Why is the Gujarat Police hesitant to name the owner of the Oreva company?

The chief officer of Morbi municipality has just been suspended. The municipality has been occupied by the Bharatiya Janata Party for some 30 years. So far, the public representatives have not taken any responsibility. They are shunning responsibility by saying that the bridge was closed for repairs. Without their knowledge and permission, the owner of the Oreva company opened it to the public. Is this ignorance not a crime? Is the municipality or the government not responsible for the safety of people's lives? Can they show such criminal indifference to this basic task of protecting the lives of their citizens?

Morbi disaster was not a coincidence. It was planned on several levels. Political and administrative. But we have no evidence of any churning in the society of Gujarat about it: how could their elected representatives treat their lives like dirt? There is no anger among the people in Gujarat.

The people do not want to trouble their political rulers. It is now evident from the attitude of the government and officials there that they have no fear of anger from the public. Otherwise, even in the midst of this terrible human tragedy, the prime minister would not keep changing clothes and giving speeches at various events on the very day when the dead were being taken out of the river, and the nation was trying to fathom the scale of the tragedy.

We will be flogged for dragging the dear leader into this. But when the prime minister tells the voters that at the time of voting, they should remember only his face and not that of the candidate, then he cannot escape his responsibility.

But the prime minister is confident of the loyalty of the dead souls. "This is the Gujarat we have made," he announced proudly after this crime made it to the masthead of the assembly election campaign.

The mass media of modern societies play a role in making power accountable. What it did after the Morbi accident can only be called abominable. Many TV channels blamed the public for the collapse of the bridge. They claimed that the people broke the bridge by shaking and kicking at it violently!

We must ask ourselves why the owners of Oreva Group, the public representatives of the municipality, the state government and the Bharatiya Janata Party are having a peaceful sleep after this tragedy. Is it because they are sure that the people in Gujarat and India have completely lost their publicness? Is it now decided that a tragedy like this is only an event for us? After which, we simply wait for another similar event to happen. Have we turned from the public into spectators?

The Morbi bridge is a kind of metaphor. Of the morbidity that India's democracy has turned into. Who will be held responsible when democracy itself collapses?

(The author teaches at Delhi University)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.