By AK Harbola
It is essential to provide some background information before sharing my views on the subject. I have served in a uniformed service for more than thirty-six and a half years, and I have no formal education in the subject of Sociology. I do not claim to be an expert on social matters. I, however, was aware that the quote by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, ‘Man is a social animal’, means humans naturally live in groups, can’t thrive in isolation, and develop essential qualities like morality through social interaction, making society fundamental for survival and security.
I travelled to Delhi for one day to attend a ‘book launch’ and returned the very next day. While entering the security checks area at the airport, I was standing in the queue, waiting for my number to be called to keep my jacket and mobile on the tray. I was watching another gentleman (He really looked a white-collar gentleman, certainly not belonging to the ‘class’ traveling in aircraft that was once referred to by a famous politician), who was at the frontmost position in the queue and removing his jacket, watch, belt, shoes and all those items which were not supposed to be worn in ‘utmost calm, leisure and not in a hurry manner’. The conveyer belt was ready to accommodate trays of passengers. We all in the queue were, however, waiting for this gentleman to keep his items on the tray and make way for others. Observing other passengers getting impatient with that ‘inflicted’ delay, I went ahead and requested that the ‘white collar gentleman’ realise that so many passengers were waiting for him, and also explained that had he removed his accessories prior to moving to the front position, that would certainly have saved time. The response was certainly not as expected from a gentlemen, plus a severely frowning eye.
Now, sitting inside the aircraft, the announcement came, ‘Doors have been closed. Please switch off mobiles.’ The gentleman in the adjacent seat continued to make calls even after the aircraft started taxiing. Amazed, I asked the gentleman shouldn’t he switch off his mobile as using it may jeopardise the safety of other passengers. He may be a daring man not to care about his own safety, but he does not have any right to put others’ safety at risk. I received a dirty look, of course, apparently highly unwillingly, he obliged by switching his mobile off.
After having two ‘not so pleasant’ social encounters during the cruise in the air, I was driven back to my recent emotional low when I saw a news item surfacing from Delhi’s Vikas Nagar area showing a man collapsing on the street and writhing in pain. While he was lying on the ground, two men arrived on a two-wheeler and, instead of helping him, stole his mobile phone and fled, leaving the man to die.
The announcement regarding aircraft landing at the destination broke my thoughts and the journey ended with a welcome windy chill of 13 degrees.
The day was pleasant, a well-organised book release function with leading contributors to the newspaper’s editorials in attendance. Also present were savvy writers of foreign and defence policy articles. Enjoyed highly intellectual discussions on issues like ‘what should be our stand on geopolitical turbulence’, ‘what would be the effect on our society’, and ‘how far are we from becoming ‘Vishwaguru’?
In the evening, while I wound up the day and prepared for the next day’s journey back, I regrettably came to know about Commandant Dinesh Kumar of the Indian Coast Guard getting robbed of his mobile a day before, while taking a walk in the morning near the Coast Guard Selection Board at Sector 62, Noida. Hats off to the officer who, taking a taxi, chased the snatchers, bravely encountered and managed to catch one of them, while the accomplice managed to flee. In the scuffle, the commandant was attacked by a blade, and the coast guardian had the final upper hand. According to Dinesh Kumar, for about 15 minutes, while he was fighting with the snatcher, there stood about 15-20 onlookers, not one of them helped him. The officer kept hold of the apprehended snatcher, and asked the onlookers to support him or at least call the police, but the ‘humans’ around did not react. Someone realising that the snatcher was in the firm hands of the officer, informed the police. Dinesh handed over the apprehended snatcher to the police on their arrival though he still waits for the police to find his mobile.
I take a return journey in a hired ‘Bharat Taxi,’ watching some stray animals on the roadside helping each other in their individual efforts. Feel very happy for them, thinking which society do they belong to?
I am back in the society of my vibrant city, the greeting by my hired car driver echoes in my ears, ‘Jai Bharat’.
(Addl DG AK Harbola, Indian Coast Guard (Retd) is a former Coast Guard Commander (Western Seaboard). He is currently associated with Rashtriya Raksha University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.)
