I think Indian Railways should immediately introduce one more announcement on Mumbai’s suburban trains. “Dear passengers, please avoid asking anybody to close the train door. You may lose your life.”

Absurd?

Not anymore.

There was a time when boarding a Mumbai local meant risking a squashed foot, a torn shirt, or discovering that somebody else’s elbow had permanently taken up residence in your ribs. You came home exhausted, but alive.

Now, according to reports, one fellow passenger asking to shut the door because rain was blowing into the compartment was allegedly stabbed to death.

Again.

And again.

And again.

When did we become like this?

I don’t think this is about trains. Nor is it about first class compartments. Nor is it about overcrowding.

This is about rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. The kind that sits inside people like a pressure cooker with the whistle ready to blow off.

It needs only the smallest spark.

“Move a little.”

“Horn mat bajao.”

“Stand in the queue.”

“Close the door.”

Boom.

The explosion begins.

It wasn’t always like this.

There was a time when fellow passengers shared newspapers, exchanged jokes and even held babies while tired mothers caught a little sleep. If someone boarded with heavy luggage, ten hands reached out to help. Somebody would even shout, “Arre bhai, make a little space.”

Today, we seem ready to make space only for anger.

Ironically, this has happened at a time when our cities have never looked better.

The Metro glides gracefully overhead. The Coastal Road hugs the sea. Expressways slice through mountains. Bridges leap across creeks.

Every week there seems to be another ribbon cutting ceremony.

Wonderful. I genuinely applaud all of it.

But somewhere while we were laying concrete, we lay the foundation for hate.

While building roads, we built division.

While constructing stations, we demolished love.

A nation is not held together by cement. It is held together by compassion.

That is where I believe this government has failed.

Not because it has failed to build. Oh yes, it has built magnificently.

It has failed because, year after year, we have been encouraged to live in an atmosphere where outrage is celebrated, opponents demonised, abuse applauded and division is rewarded.

Every fiery speech, every poisonous slogan, every attempt to make one Indian hate another plants a seed of hate.

You cannot spend years sowing suspicion, anger and hatred among people, then stand back in horror when one day those seeds bear fruit in the blood stained compartment of a Mumbai local.

Yes, give this government full credit for its roads, bridges, Metros and trains.

But when it comes to the rage that is poisoning the hearts travelling in them, I believe this government must bear the blame.

Because when you spend years sowing hate, you should never be surprised when blood soaks a Mumbai local…!

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