In Karur, a tragedy happened during a rally held by an actor turned politician. The event which was intended to display political strength turned into a nightmare when a stampede broke out. Reports say close to forty people lost their lives. Families were shattered in a matter of minutes. Fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, people who simply came to witness a political spectacle, never returned home.
Soon after the incident politicians rushed to the spot, offered condolences and shed tears in front of the media. The party that conducted the rally announced monetary compensation. Opposition leaders used the moment to question the government. Supporters of the actor stood by his side and defended him when critics held him responsible. And now that the actor has released a statement, the same voices have turned the blame back on the ruling party. The issue has stopped being about the people who died. It has turned into a tug of war where political groups and celebrity fans pull the narrative in whichever direction serves them best.
Do you notice the pattern here. Nearly forty lives were lost, yet the debate has shifted entirely to image building and blame games. A tragedy that should have united people in grief has instead become a platform to glorify or vilify powerful figures. When a politician or a star is involved they are projected as larger than life. Their explanations or their silence becomes the centre of discussion, while the actual loss is pushed aside.
This is not new. Every time a crisis occurs, the same script gets executed. An opposition party blames the ruling side, citizens celebrate the courage of the opposition, eventually that party comes to power, and in time they repeat the same mistakes. All along citizens are the ones who suffer. We are distracted by the drama of political heroes and celebrity idols, and we forget that it is our lives and our futures that are at stake.
What makes it worse is that this is not just respect anymore, it has become worship. Politicians and actors are elevated to the level of saviours. We treat them as superhumans whose actions must always be justified. Take for example, outside our country leaders and stars eventually return to being ordinary citizens when their time in power or fame ends. Here even those who have never governed or had no good films hold assets and influence worth crores simply because we give it to them. We make them bigger than they are, and in doing so we make ourselves smaller.
Coming back to the Karur tragedy, the stampede has now been converted into a stage for politics. Politicians gained visibility, Actor gained sympathy, and the cycle continues. But the forty who died will not come back. Their families are left with grief, while the rest of us are left fighting over which hero should be celebrated. What intially looked like a human loss now has turned into a political game.
So the question is when will this cycle end?
When will citizens stop seeing politicians and celebrities as heroes and start seeing them as individuals who are accountable to us. When lives are lost or when an incident happens, it should never be about defending an actor, a politician, or a party. It should be about the people, the middle men or the so called citizens. But our obsession with idealizing those in power does the opposite. The families grieve in silence while the rest of us argue over whose hero should escape blame. Until that change happens the same pattern will repeat and the same tragedies will continue to be politicised.
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment