By Ranjona Banerji
The terrible train crash at Balasore, where three trains collided and derailed, almost 300 people died and countless others were injured, is a textbook case of how life and death in India are governed by optics.
The general reaction from the government has been to save itself. The deaths and the reason for the accident are less important than the image of the Prime Minister and to some extent, that of the Railway Minister as well. The fact that this government has been boasting nonstop about safety and what it has done about it, must be ignored and brushed over. And as usual, you have a captive media ready to play along and help both Narendra Modi and Ashwani Vaishnaw with their publicity needs.
The attack on sanity is multi-pronged. The goal is to ensure that no blame falls on the government. So the PM does not rush to Balasore, but makes a calculated visit, stares at some diagrams, makes a few phone calls, all carefully captured on camera, and then attends some “high level” meetings where some videos are shown.
The railway minister does rush to the site. Clambers over and under bogies. Presumably he is a qualified accident research expert. In case you raised any doubts here, we are immediately told by government experts on Twitter that Vaishnaw once worked for the German company Siemens and is thus an expert on all things related to trains. I use a Siemens washing machine. Good to know there’s someone reliable to turn to in case I have any issues.
Several top TV anchors also inform us that it is wrong to demand any resignations. What purpose will resignations serve? The work has to be done. Who else but a former Siemens employee can do it? And so on. Resignations can only be demanded by the BJP and not by anyone else. Responsibility will be placed at the door of some low-level railway employees. The massive “defence” system launched and touted by the Modi government as some fabulous never-seen-before miracle can neither be questioned nor held to scrutiny. The media provides Modi with a “kavach” to save “Kavach” if you will.
This is the level of evil stupidity that we have had to contend with for the past nine years and more. Am I being unfair? Give me better words, please.
A government without accountability is a dictatorship. A government which has a captive media which silences calls for accountability furthers the atmosphere of fear and silence.
None of this is new.
But it is somehow criminal that as we lurch from disaster to disaster, the massive publicity juggernaut finds so much support from the mainstream media. It was not that long ago that millions died from the Covid-19 pandemic and bodies were thrown into pits and mass graves by the riverside. Now we see bodies being thrown into trucks. All par for the course. India is like this only. Why isn’t the Chief Minister of Odisha visible, why is Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal visible and so on.
Then we have our commentators who run through all our railway ministers and decide the current one is the best. Evidence plays no role here, nor does sensitivity. The External Affairs minister tweets that the world is with us in our hour of tragedy. As if no country in the world has ever been sympathetic to any other manmade or natural disaster before Modi became PM. Optics.
The ultimate defence is reserved for Modi himself of course.
What can he do?
Does he run the railways?
The British built the tracks.
Whatever other historic excuses you may choose to invent.
But when Modi flags off every other train and takes credit for its décor, then no one asks why the Prime Minister of India is needed to inaugurate new trains.
O no.
For all his actions, here stands the mainstream media, providing that much needed shield. A shroud for the deaths, for Manipur, for the wrestlers, for the economy, for the environment, for the children, for the future. Close your eyes. Now bow down to the Emperor.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.