The young boys trapped in the flooded Tham Luang cave in Thailand were rescued and the indomitable spirit of the rescuers, the volunteers and the children should be applauded. But ever wondered if these caves were located in India, how the rescue operation would have been?
The WhatsApp university would have gotten people to believe that the caves were haunted and a spirit was responsible for whatever was happening. The most debatable topic about the incident would have been if the caves were primarily Hindu caves or Muslim caves and depending upon that the course of rescue would be suggested by ‘pandits’ or ‘maulvis’.
Moreover, why the boys entered the caves would have been discussed more than how to rescue them. Some messages would’ve blamed the coach or would have even suggested that he intentionally took the innocent children to the cave. Some people would have declared that he was ‘mentally challenged’. The public would have lynched someone to death blaming that it was their black magic which led the water to enter the cave.
And, then the politicians would come to the scene. They would start the blame game. They would talk about why this incident took place and how the government in power has to be blamed for the entire episode, and the government in power would go back in time just to remind the public that it is not only in their reign that these incidents are happening. If only some girls were trapped inside the cave instead of boys, they would have been blamed for misusing their freedom.
Some of the news anchors would have dressed up as rescue operation volunteers and used a cave-like background on the green screen, and that would’ve gained more attention than the actual details of the rescue. Some petitions would’ve been circulated demanding the public to sign them in order to get the rescue operation started.
There have been many successful rescue operations in India, and by Indians abroad. We, Indians, are capable of doing everything but this lack of awareness and consciousness hinders our growth and progress many a times. We have to try hard to remove these superstitions, the intolerance that’s leading to lynching of innocent people and the blind belief in any ideology or forwarded messages.
Until every individual becomes more aware and starts believing in actions more than words, science more than belief, we won’t develop holistically. We talk about our glorious past but we need to take steps to bring back that glory again. It’s high time now, we have to learn to think consciously before we act.
“Think before you do! Don’t ever be in haste to make a mistake, for that can be a big mistake! Think before you do!” ― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
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