It has been six long months. SIX months since the terror attack on Mumbai. It started on the 26th of November and lasted for a never ending 60 hours. It is also the death anniversary of the first Prime Minister of our nation. Some nearly 62 years ago, our motherland had been handed back to us and Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru had taken charge of the affairs as the Prime Minister. The day is apt for questioning whether our functioning as an independent nation has been successful or not.

The terror attack on one of the landmarks of India was supposed to be a wake up call for the nation, to sit up and fight back. The NSG did fight back, but what about the nation as a whole. It had taken those attacks to remove non performers such as Deskmukh and Shivraj Patil from their posts as Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Union Home Minister. And guess what, Vilasrao Deshmukh is now back as a Union Cabinet Minister. Why have WE voted to bring them back.

Even though everyone was screaming about reforms and change, we didn’t go out to cast our votes on the D Day. The voting percentage was no better than any of the yester years. Mumbai, which should have come out strongly, managed a meager 40% voting. Does this mean that we have given up on the government, and who the power is given to.

What about the issue of the terrorist who was caught? We are spending millions on his protection. But have we even been able to convince the international community that the attacks have been sponsored by Pakistan, let alone Pakistan accepting the fact. Why are we even giving him a trial. If he’s indicted and locked away, another siege might be underway in a few months trying to get him freed.

At that time,six months back, we had been promised a better equipped police force. Do we even remember the name of the officer other than the ATS Chief who lost his life that evil night. What about the NSG commando who finally captured Kasab? He should be the hero of the night, Rather, we have made Kasab into one.

To top it all, i would draw your attention to the Lahore attack today at a location where the 26/11 mastermind had been placed under house arrest. The same attack could have taken place on the some Indian consulate forcing us to release Kasab as well. What then??

To begin with if you notice the bus drivers who are driving buses on long routes as well as the ones that drive on city roads have a feeling that driving a heavy vehicle also means that they own the road. They would overtake from the left and force their ways into the lanes of other smaller vehicles. Even buses such as the Volvo service being operated by the Haryana Road Transport Corporation are driven in a very lunatic manner.

Then come the drivers on two wheelers. They are the most adversely affected in case of accidents, and still they are the ones that care least when it comes to road safety. You’d be surprised to see so many two wheeler drivers jumping the read light and riding on the wrong side of the lane. All is being done to save a few minutes here and kilometer or so there. Wearing of helmets is seen as a compulsion that has been imposed by the traffic police. People go to the extent of wearing hard hats, used at the construction sites, as helmets. This is other than those who prefer to wear broken and helmets without any standard accredition.

Add to this the odd sort of traffic that is found in India. There are horse pulled carts, tractors, rickshaws, cycles and what not sharing not only the roads but also the highways. The risk that they undertake, they are not even aware of. The police does not even bother these people and neither do they bother to take a while to give safety a thought.

Now we may come to the cars. Speed limit is a sign that is there for others. This is the attitude that most drivers have when they’re on the highway. They drive without the consideration that some animal might just walk into the road without giving them time to think. Then there are all the other drivers who may commit a mistake, or even a villager who might decide to walk onto the road at a time when he thinks apt.

The problem is not just in the people. The problem lies with the fact that we as a whole country view road safety. Everyone is more concerned about things like time and ease of travel. But what we fail to acknowledge is the requirement for road safety. There is no requirement for schools to introduce a class on road safety and issues relating to it. Places such as United Kingdom too have road accidents. However, the traffic system there is altogether different. People do make mistakes, but all children in schools are talked to about road safety and how to act in times of emergencies.

God forbid, if any major city in India is ever hit by a large natural calamity or such a thing, people are never prepared for them. Proper drills should be conducted in schools, offices and all major institutions in order to keep people prepared for handling such scenarios. An earthquake such as the one that hit Gujrat a couple of years back causes a lot more casualty than it should because of the fact that most people never know what is the right way to act in such scenarios.

Similarly, in case of road accidents, people are not aware of the procedure to be followed. Very few people are aware of first aid methodologies. These all facts add up to the increased death toll and other casualty in our road accident cases. If the people were more aware and more concerned about the risks associated on the roads as well as take adequate precautions, then the number of such casualties can easily be brought down to a more minimal figure.