The fall of Sonu

Sonu, who fell down the borewell, is dead.

Unfortunately this is not an isolated case. It happens with sickening regularity. There was Prince who had fallen down a borewell in Haryana. It made a big headline with all the news channels stationing their reporters at the site for minute by minute updating. But did any of us ever ask the question why was the left open for children to fall down? What were those responsible for the borewell thinking? What was the panchayat thinking? What were the parents thinking?

Heck, why borewell? What about open drains? What about open pits? What about dug up sidewalks? Does any body put a warning sign? I remember there was a case of a woman being washed down a drain because the roads were flooded and she could not see where she was stepping.

The bottom line is that we do not care. It did not happen to us, right? So what the heck? Why should we worry?

The Delhi Government in the aftermath of the Nithari case woke up. Enough to put up lovely poster boards every where loudly proclaiming: Delhi Loves its Children.

Yet there are children who beg right under that poster. They do not exist of course. Or do they?

The much touted anti-child labour law is another such thing. In one stroke we have eliminated child labour. Yet there are many within my own campus who hire children to work in their houses. Other than social boycotting I do not know what to do with them.

As a society we simply do not care. That is why Sonu happens with such regularity.