Whose life is it anyway?

The tragic case of Satyendra Dubey, a young and promising life lost in the performance of his duty, poses once again the question that conce...

The tragic case of Satyendra Dubey, a young and promising life lost in the performance of his duty, poses once again the question that concerned citizens ask again and again: Are we safe in this country? Why did the system not take steps to protect the life of this young engineer who had expressed grave fears about his own safety? Why does the system continue to deploy the sophisticated SPG to protect politicians of all hues and shades, ex-functionaries of the state, but fails to respond swiftly to the apprehensions of a young man who was after all engaged in the prestigious and favourite project of the prime minister? Is his life of no consequence? Do the citizens of this country have the right to life as guaranteed in the Constitution? Is there a right to life in this country?

Does Satyendra Dubey, or the injured person lying in a pool of blood on the road, or the ordinary rail passenger mutilated, injured or killed in a train accident, or the lynched Muslim in Gujarat, or the discriminated girl child, or the harassed Hindi-speaking person in Assam, or the condemned dalit in Bihar… do these people have the inalienable and sovereign right to life? Do these persons have the right to demand that the state has committed a serious breach of its contract by denying them the sovereign right to live? The state has failed to ensure the safety and security of its citizens. The right to life is the natural, fundamental and inalienable right of man and it is the first, primary and fundamental duty of the state to protect these lives. The very existence of the state has no justification, in fact, except as an instrument for securing the welfare of the individual human being. However, increasingly the objective of the state is seen as not in fulfilling these needs but in self-perpetuation through the machinations of the political parties.

Have we become so insensitive, uncaring, callous and cynical that a bleeding man on the road, an accident victim is left there to die? We boast of world-class hospitals, safe heart surgeries but where is the system of paramedics rushing to the assistance of those injured in accidents? They are left to die for want of immediate medical assistance or are allowed to die a slow death, uncared for as the doctors argue that these are police cases and must be handled by the police first. The statistics of train accidents are frightening in India. There have been scores of train wrecks in India in the last twenty years alone. Hundreds of lives are lost for want of an efficient rail system and the statistics don’t get better with time or with better equipment, which once again reflects the total failure of the department of railway to provide safe transport to the people.

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Rioting, looting, arson, mass murder and rape of innocent people in Gujarat laid bare the total ineffectiveness of the state to protect the lives of its citizens. Events in Gujarat are a serious indictment of the failure of the state government to use its force and machinery meant for the purpose, to prevent violence against a certain community.

Recent events in Assam are once again a tragic reminder to all in this country that we are not safe in any part of the country. The right to earn a livelihood is an integral part of the right to life as opined by Justice Chandrachud in the landmark case of Olga Tellis v Bombay Municipal Corporation. The Court stated, ‘‘Deprive a person of his right to livelihood and you shall have deprived him of his life.’’ But in Assam the targeted persons were being denied not only of their means of livelihood but of their life as well and a new and dangerous trend is visible where people speaking a different language are being slaughtered as outsiders in their own country.

These are but few and random instances of lives lost meaninglessly. We are at the threshold of a new chapter in the history of free India. The people must sit up and demand from the governments in power at the Centre and in the states why they have failed to prevent the loss of these valuable lives.

Nizamuddin went to the US in December 2015 for a Master’s course in Computer Science, which he completed from Florida Institute of Technology in 2017. He completed his B.Tech in ECE from Jayaprakash Narayan College of Engineering, Mahbubnagar.

‘Complained of racial discrimination’: Family of Indian techie shot dead by police in US

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31-year-old Mohammed Nizamuddin was allegedly shot dead by police in Santa Clara, California on September 3. His family was informed 15 days later and are struggling to understand what happened. Nizamuddin had complained about racial discrimination and harassment before quitting his job. His father has requested assistance in bringing his son's body back home.

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