May the course be with you

He turned grief into a unique legacy. Days after his death, a tribute to the 114-year-old runner Fauja Singh, lost to a hit-and-run

- Rudraneil Sengupta

The death of Fauja Singh, killed by a speeding SUV while crossing a road near his village in Punjab, is incomprehensible in its tragedy. It is also emblematic of a deeply entrenched Indian problem.

Incomprehensible, because Fauja was 114 years old, a man who moved very slowly, with deliberation. How could the man driving the SUV not see him?

Emblematic, because Indian roads are among the most unsafe in the world. In 2023 (the last year for which government data is available), at least 172,000 people died in road accidents. This included 10,000 children over the year, and 35,000 pedestrians.