The value of human life in India is collapsing before our eyes. Corruption, negligence, and government failure have conspired to make our roads some of the most dangerous in the world. Rules exist, but they are treated as optional. Those who ignore them endanger others, while those who follow them often pay the ultimate price for the state’s apathy.
Consider two recent tragedies. In Rohini, Delhi, a 25‑year‑old motorcyclist was killed after plunging into an open pit he couldn’t see at night. Days earlier, a 27‑year‑old IT professional drowned when his car sank into a water‑filled excavation. For two hours, he pleaded for help—calling his parents, reaching out to authorities. No one came. His father could only watch his son die, powerless.
These are not isolated incidents. They are symptoms of a deeper sickness: a society where the death of ordinary citizens barely registers. Unless the media amplifies the story, it vanishes in days, forgotten without reform or accountability. This indifference is why thousands of people die on Indian roads every year, and why no one seems to care.
Occasionally, the courts step in when the government fails to act, but road safety remains a neglected battlefield. Traffic rules are written, but rarely enforced. Without strict implementation, they are little more than ink on paper. And until we treat every life as precious, the carnage will continue.
India cannot afford to normalize this level of negligence. Every open pit, every broken road, every ignored cry for help is a reminder that the system is failing—and that silence makes us complicit.
