System down and anarchy up!

I completed my work in a hurry and looked at my watch as I was getting late. After lifting the heavy bag on my shoulder, I walked quickly towards the bus stand lest I miss the express bus. I had to reach my destination before night. On reaching the bus station I noticed that the bus was yet to arrive. I sighed a relief and looked around. The bus stand was crowded with passengers who were waiting for their buses. Luckily, my bus arrived after few minutes and it was parked at the platform. No sooner, I walked towards the door of the bus a queue of five to six persons was formed as commuters were waiting for passengers to alight from the vehicle. I also stood next to them.

Meanwhile, a group of young men arrived and threw their bags on the seats through windows and reserved seats for themselves. Few of them tampered in between the passengers who were alighting from the bus and reserved some more seats for their friends. Passengers standing in the queue shouted at them to form queues and follow the system. They never paid attention and went ahead! By the time we entered inside the bus no seats remained vacant! All of us complained to the conductor about this matter. He turned a deaf ear towards our demand!

I swiftly inquired with the co-passengers and learnt that no bus service was immediately available if I failed to board the bus which was scheduled to depart. Thus the only option left for me was to commute in the same bus. A fury ran through my nerves. I felt as if I was let down by the system. Nobody respected those passengers who were following the rules by standing in queue. On the contrary they mocked at us for our inability to grab the seats! I had to control my anger in silence!

It was not the difficulty to stand for three hours in bus which worried me but I was more bothered about the collapse of the system. Why are we not capable of getting things done as per rules? Why do we allow people to break the rules and enjoy unfair advantages? Why in democracy, might is allowed to be honoured? No answer except the ‘public mindset’ which accepts misrule as the procedure of the day. It has become a very casual aspect for us. In the present situation the personal agenda is to break the rule but be intelligent and get the things done! Because everyone is aware that nothing goes according to the rule!

I was sure that passengers will have to struggle to get a seat in the next bus too. A group of hooligans is always present while boarding the bus for creating trouble for commuters. If things continue to remain like this then how will the problems of common man be resolved? An old person who was standing beside me was suffering in silence while travelling in the bus. He meekly smiled at me and said, “I am a regular commuter of this bus. I usually travel as a standing passenger which is very common aspect. I am only able to occupy a seat on rare occasions. We need to adjust with the system! You can’t change the world, you need to change yourself!” I was surprised to notice that inspite of undergoing hardships daily this elderly person couldn’t learn the lesson to become unruly for grabbing a seat. He calmly replied, “I am a man of principles. I am sure, one day people will learn to follow the rules and become disciplined”. I smiled and said “hmmm”! However, I remained unconvinced by his statement and began thinking whether people will look towards such men and learn from them.

I thought I should raise this issue to change at least one person. So I tried to convince a youngster sitting beside us and said him that what he did was wrong. The youth should have followed the rules which would have made the lives of fellow commuters easier. He surprised me by saying that if everyone follows the rule then he too will follow. Refusing to vacate the seat for the elderly he told me, “Take it easy. Anyway we have boarded the bus and let’s avoid arguments.”

Unfortunately my mind would not stop thinking about the steps to be taken to reform the system? What would happen if I sit on the road observing a dharna in front of the bus and call it off until justice was attained? Then people would call me mad. Commuters might address me as an “educated idiot”! Many bystanders might comment that I didn’t have any other work to do! Even the media will label me as an ‘anarchist’! The incident would go down in history as someone had tried to challenge the deteriorated system in vain.

There are many people who criticise about the collapse of the system but they do not join hands to correct it. The reason why this is happening is that the society is fractured and the pieces do not forge into a unity to oppose the unruly elements. Each one has his own point of view for evaluating the injustice. For instance, take the example of transport system where categories of buses ranging from most luxurious to most ordinary exist. You are entitled to receive amenities as per your purchasing power. People select buses according to their purchasing power. Then who will fight for the common man’s rights? Only the anarchist!?