It’s bad, and worse

First, Bangalore witnessed a bus strike with thousands of private vehicles on roads but not one willing to help a pedestrian walking side-by. This was followed by a series of horrible decisions by the government, when they hiked diesel price and brought in FDI, and now the Bharat Bandh. We are living through bad times – indeed.

A few days back when Bangalore witnessed bus strike, when about 43 lakh commuters were stranded as 6,200 BMTC buses said no to the roads. With tempo travellers packed to their brims, and auto rickshaw fares as high as Rs 50 per KM, and with no other mode of public transport available in the city – it was the responsibility of people with private vehicles to help their fellow citizens. Well, I in the middle of the road witnessed thousands of cars around me, with not one person willing to carpool. I am sure same was the case with other places in Karnataka as well. This also questioned my anarchist beliefs and my trust in the essential good nature of humans.

This leaves us with a serious question. While FDI and diesel price hike in specific, and a dysfunctional government in general – question the very basic need to have a government in the first place, the drama on streets which I witnessed during Bangalore bus strike has proved that anarchy (where people are believed to be good and governments are not needed) won’t work in this setup either. While government is bombarding us with inflation, poor decision-making and rampant corruption, citizens are becoming more and more self-centred and selfish. With governments like them and citizens like us, one can only hope.