Dying to Make a Point

Dripping in blood and calling for an ambulance, Varun Pruthi lurches into the road. In front of numerous bystanders who do nothing to help, he dies.
He then gets to his feet because he is not dead, after all. He is an actor who stages "social experiments" to expose what he calls India's lack of humanity. There is an ingrained apathy in sections of the Indian population. Perhaps it is from centuries of watching human suffering combined with fear of getting involved in something they have no control over...generously peppered with  natural feelings of intimidation regarding authorities. Wherever it comes from, it is evident in their culture. Compassion is not something you can make people feel. It is not something you can teach in a class.

This is not to say that all people are insensitive in India...not true at all, but it is pervasive. It may be the defense mechanism of people who are living at or below the poverty line; people who are beleaguered and beset by so many miseries of their own, they don't register another's needs. Or perhaps their own burdens are so much they can not take on any more. My father spent years in India in the British army and was struck by much the same impressions.

Pruthi's drawing attention to the situation is a very positive step. It denotes a growing sense of awareness. Awareness only needs a starting point to become a dawning,  an awakening, then an epiphany.