Speak up

It is a common experience these days that hardly anyone on the roads or public places speaks up in the face of injustice. The other day I was traveling in a city bus after 9 pm when a bike rider overtook the bus from the left side and, in doing so, he was about to meet with an accident. Even though it was the bike rider who was flouting elementary traffic rules, he had the audacity to storm into the bus and berate the conductor and the driver. His point was that he would have been killed and it was all the fault of the driver.

I was the only one to raise my voice that he didn’t have the right to shout or stop a public transport vehicle in which so many people were anxious to reach home early. The man could browbeat the driver because no one in the bus spoke up. What are they scared of? It is really difficult to say, looking at the way things are taking shape in this otherwise wonderful city where showing respect to each other was not just a norm once but a part of its culture.

This deterioration is really saddening. Whatever the situation is, if the new generation doesn’t speak up, who will? Moreover, men in particular seem to have a lackadaisical attitude when they are moving in public transport. The same men become arrogant and prone to road rage when they are driving their own vehicles. It is my earnest request to both men and women to speak up and take a bold stand whenever they see any injustice happening anywhere. It is high time we take up cudgels in our hands and stop blaming the authorities, the government and what not.

Mohua Chakraborty,

Guwahati.