Lessons unlearnt

Stampedes regularly take place in India; how are we sidestepping rules and where are we going wrong?

- SHUTAPA PAUL

What causes stampedes? Panic, fear, and most importantly, unpreparedness. When you live in a country as populous as India, you are forced to relinquish personal space. In almost all our daily movements, we bump into our fellow travellers or neighbours. Our cities are crowded, transport bursts at the seams, every momentous event is a confluence of people who show up in numbers many times the capacity of a venue. If you're living in Indian cities, you're almost always "jostling" with the crowd. Space comes at a premium for the affluent or the blessed, while the majority is born into cramped spaces. And given that our population will, in all likelihood, stay ahead in numbers; a good bandobast should be the foundation of all our public activities.