Indian Railways has been hit by two ugly derailments in quick succession. Dozens of people have died and the minister of state for railways is facing the heat. The media, as usual, has sensationalized the news to enhance their TRPs – flashing headlines with meaningless, uncomfortable questions which can have no answer but are sure to keep the audience glued to the TV screens. The opposition has demanded a resignation and also chastised the Prime Minister for… well, just for the heck of it. A little bit of mud-slinging at every possible opportunity would only enhance their chances in the next general election.
Blaming the minister is the easiest thing to do. Sack him, issue statements criticizing him on national television, appoint a new guy and hope for the best. This is the usual course of action in such cases. Some ministers themselves take the responsibility and resign on account of morals and ethics. Lal Bahadur Shastri, for instance, had resigned as the aviation minister after the much talked about plane crash. But will it solve the problem? Has anybody bothered to look at the root cause of the calamity? How can we stop these accidents from happening?
Train derailments happen, as far as I can see, for 4 reasons –
1) Naxals decide that want to kill a few people. So they go and loosen some screws in the railway line.
2) Extremists and terrorists, for reasons best known to them, blow up stuff.
3) Incompetence or carelessness of railways employees – head on collision due to mishandling of the signal, derailment due to drunk drivers etc.
4) Old, worn out railway tracks which are in dire need of replacement.
About the naxals, there’s nothing much that can be done. It’s not possible to man the railway tracks with guards to watch out for unscrupulous people. Terrorism is a global menace which we must all fight together. There is no simple, short term solution. To improve the quality and professionalism of the railway officials, there needs to be a change in the recruitment policy, the compensation package, the training programs and we need better supervision. The worn out sections of the railroad need to be identified and adequate provisions made in the budget to replace them as required.
All these are long term measures. Implementing these will take time. And while the process is on, the media won’t be discussing it coz the news isn’t sensational enough; the ruling party wouldn’t gain any political mileage out of it coz the work isn’t glamorous enough. As a result, these necessary steps might never be taken. In a political set up, where one is judged on a daily basis, the minister is bound to focus on developments which would grab eyeballs. Hence, most railway ministers only talk about introducing new trains, cutting fares etc. – things which would have an immediate impact.
I pass no judgment on the ability or dedication of the MoS railways in the present case. But perhaps, for once, if we stop blaming the minister for everything that goes wrong and give him a free hand to bring about long term improvements, our country might finally see some real progress.
