Opinion: Where Human Lives Are Cheaper Than Instagram Reels

Heat Stroke Death: The heat wave in North India is severe, with temperatures feeling like burning embers. In Uttar Pradesh alone, over 120 lives have been claimed by the heat this year. In Delhi, five people have died in the past 72 hours. While I don't know the circumstances of all heat-related deaths in UP, one incident makes it seem like humanity itself is burning in the scorching heat.

He Was Writhing, GRP Officers Kept Filming

This incident took place at Kanpur Central, one of the five central railway stations in the country. Head Constable Brij Kishore Singh, posted at the police line, had taken a three-day leave and arrived at the station to go home to Jhansi. It was noon, and the heat was intense. As soon as Singh entered the Kanpur Central campus, he felt dizzy and collapsed.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) were informed about Singh lying unconscious. An officer arrived but instead of providing first aid, he pulled out his phone and started filming. When he didn’t get the right angle, he filmed from another.

During this time, Singh's breaths grew labored. Onlookers reprimanded the officer, who then took Singh to the hospital. By then, it was too late. Singh had succumbed to heat stroke, and perhaps humanity had too. The video circulating on social media is so insensitive that we cannot show it to you. Zee News does not confirm the authenticity of the viral video.

What Hope Do Ordinary Citizens Have?

It seems highly inhumane for one uniformed officer to treat another this way. By filming, what evidence was the GRP officer trying to gather that he couldn’t think to help the suffering policeman? Fortunately, some passengers showed some courage and reminded the officer of his ‘duty.’

The eyewitnesses must have put themselves in dying BK Singh’s place for a moment, feeling a chill even in the intense heat. When one police officer doesn’t care about another's life, what hope does an ordinary citizen have?

Humanity Is Not the Duty of One Person Alone!

People on social media are now outraged after seeing this video from Kanpur. Some say those who were filming should be charged with murder. Others believe the officers involved should be suspended. Some are lamenting the state of the world. The truth is, similar comments surface for every such incident.

People portray themselves as morally superior on social media but often are part of the crowd that watches and records the spectacle without helping. Why is that? Is humanity the responsibility of just one person? God forbid, but imagine yourself in the place of that helpless, suffering person, and humanity will manifest in the form of fear.