DREAM URBAN LIFE - Any takers anymore?

What fun is living in a metropolitan city if there are no movies, clubs, restaurants, parties, music festivals and lit-fests? Over time cities have become centres of business, culture, art and intellectual discourse. The rising density due to migration to urban areas was fuelled by a desire to be a part of it all. Not long ago the same cities had been killing fields of infectious diseases and the raging Corona has established it once again.

As those services in the cities, which make them cities in the first place, shut down or tone down, there will be a massive job-loss. All the restaurants, multiplexes, theatres, malls, retail, exhibition and marriage halls, catering services and consequently hotels, transport, taxis, buses and metros bring down scales and frequencies of services they will necessarily shed workers. Who will, then, pay high rentals of city apartments? So, whether those rendered jobless will find gainful employment or not is a big question, we can be sure that they can no longer afford expensive city living.

So, as people migrate away from big cities will big business follow them? We don’t know since it was always the other way round. Maybe big business will not exist after all. In any case as many establishments and people working for them have found that work from home works equally well, why live in unaffordable housing as the home can now be anywhere.

Killing of Sadhus and Attack on Arnab (What is amiss?)

Killing of Sadhus in Palghar is disturbing no doubt, but such motivated attacks have been common. Attack on Arnab is also understandable since journalist are often attacked in our country. What is not acceptable is the way the police, the first stage in law enforcement, behaved in both cases.

There is clear video evidence that four policemen stood by while the Sadhus were mercilessly beaten for over half an hour by a brutal mob until they died. Not only did these policemen did not act, the video suggests that they were walking around inside the murderous circle and probably even prevented escape of the Sadhus if not prodded the mob further. Four policemen with guns are enough to drive away a violent mob simply by using their guns. What are the guns provided after all if not to protect the innocent and to dissuade a criminal? No action has been taken against these policemen. So, that raises the level of culpability to their bosses too.

Arnab, a famous and intrepid journalist, had to spend ten hours in a police station simply to lodge a First Information Report. Imagine the plight of a common citizen, who is ever pitched against the high and mighty. Even after ten hours and pleading with the DCP, the sections of the IPC were toned down in the FIR to facilitate the goons to be set at large with easy bail and possibly even escape any meaningful and exemplary sentence. The police ignored the statement of one of their own, who was deputed as a security guard of Arnab. Even when the policeman guarding Arnab specifically identified the culprits with a political party, there was great reluctance in his own department to accept that. Well, an FIR is just what if suggests - a First Information Report - It should record all the information, which is first available. But, FIRs are often filed with an ultimate objective.

An honest and neutral police is the first step towards a deterrent yet fair criminal justice system. So, while you may be outraged over the murder of the Sadhus and the attack on Arnab, do shed a few tears for the criminal justice system, which fails us again and again with no correction in sight.