| Some things never change. Two issues ago we ran on our cover
a rather harsh story titled The Ugly Indian. The response to it has been overwhelming, in
the form of hundreds of letters. Clearly, the story touched a chord. Most readers endorsed
our story. Callousness and indifference, they agreed, have become an Indian trademark. And
it was on display again after the recent landslide at Malpa that killed 200 people. The landslide was an act of nature. But the haphazard rescue attempts
by the authorities resulted in a man-made disaster. The weather in Malpa impeded rescuers
for four days, giving them ample time to gather their wits and equipment. It made no
difference. Perhaps eager to have their names in the news, officials delivered unconfirmed
information to grieving relatives, declaring people dead even before their bodies had been
found. Later the bodies lay unattended at the helipad, the polythene bags to wrap corpses
were big enough only for infants, and in all the time available, only six stretchers had
been procured. India is a land of disasters. Despite the tragedies at Latur, the Uphaar
cinema and now Malpa, to name only a few, we are never ready.
Our detailed story this issue is an exclusive account of the
rescue operation. Principal Correspondent Sayantan Chakravarty and Deputy Chief
Photographer Pramod Pushkarna were the first journalists to touch down at Malpa. Though
alarmed by what he encountered, Chakravarty found that not all was disheartening. The
young Indian Air Force pilots, for instance, flew innumerable sorties in their
helicopters, sometimes even in the dark, braving uncertain weather and looming 11,000-ft
cliffs around them. Says Chakravarty: "Their courage, amid the death and chaos, was
something I will always remember." The Ugly Indian lives. Thankfully, so does the
Indian Hero.
(Aroon Purie) |
