Burning desire

Pending an inquiry into Monday8217;s fire at a trade fair in Meerut, just one thing can be said with absolute certainty. Basic caution could have saved most, if not all, of the 50 lives eventually lost. By first reports it is evident that the organisers had taken great care to provide comfort to visitors. All sorts of consumer goods, in their branded variety, that are to be found in Pragati Maidan annuals and suburban malls were on display 8212; in airconditioned comfort. And, in a shocking measure of crowd control, there was just one opening for entry and exit. In the event, as the fire fed furiously on synthetic awnings, visitors in the interior had little chance of fleeing. For this flagrant violation of fire safety norms, the organisers must be prosecuted.

The incident captures once again the lag between India and Bharat. In the first decade of liberalisation, small towns like Meerut were separated from the economic aspirations of big-town India. The second decade is bridging the gap, and evidence can be found in the demand being mustered in these old-economy enclaves, in the housing enclaves blooming on once desolate peripheries and in the increasing take from these towns in the country8217;s premier educational institutions. The Brand India fair was perhaps meant to be clinching proof of Meerut8217;s arrival.

This week8217;s callous disregard for safety regulations, in contrast, shows how administration is now holding Middle India from meeting its aspirations. Drive down the road to Dehradun and Meerut arrives as just another stop on a continuous urban sprawl billowing out of the national capital. The sprawl even extends into the Meerut bypass. It is proof of Middle India8217;s affiliation to the dreams of the big towns. Those dreams, however, do not embrace just consumerist and careerist aspirations. They include expectations that human life must matter, that rules and regulations must bind administrators to accountability. Attendees to the Brand India fair paid good money for an evening8217;s entertainment. On the admission price, they were denied an essential return: safety. That denial confirms an old suspicion 8212; that mindless governance continues to hold India back. That governance is the essential gap between India and Bharat. That8217;s the anger that powered the stones hurled at Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav and mediapersons in Meerut on Tuesday.