Recruitment Mayhem

So it has happened again and will continue to happen across India. Two people including a tourist got killed in mayhem created in CISF recruitment drive at Jaipur. It seems authorities never learn and organize such recruitment drives totally unmindful of these horrors. I still remember horrific events witnessed during an earlier Army recruitment drive few years ago. They come from all over, from distance towns and villages and spilled over around army area. All the rattling buses to city had to bear large burden of hopefuls with out tickets occupying the roof top and no one could dare to object.

The fate of trains was no different with large youthful crowd singing and sitting on the curved dangerous roofs. The moment these trains entered the city limits the youth took out stones from the pockets and bags and bombarded the houses near railway tracks. The glass panes got shattered, earthen pots vanished with bangs and few child, aged and women got hurt. The crowds in our Mera Bharat Mahan have mind of their own and reaction pattern feared by all, larger the crowd heinous crimes go unpunished forever. It has become too safe for many to let out the boiling prejudices, thrash and even kill any one and do collectively whatever one could not have guts and opportunities to indulge in alone.

The large crowds confer the coveted unanimity which propels some to indulge in unimagined violence and gore. Its is very disturbing that how simple, otherwise docile people get attracted to such violence, some of it reserved for young girls and women. The new recruitment for men was scheduled the next day. The army area near by was surrounded by the eager, starry eyed young men looking for a career in Indian army, one of the coveted occupations for many of the sturdy youths. But there has been stampede and deaths resulting for the huge unmanageable crowd. But the lesson has been not been learned and the area of city was slowly filled by large number of youth. They come with one Rexene bag, a leaking plastic water bottle, and papers.

For more compelling were lots of dreams and hope to make it and change their uneventful life for ever. Being a solder in India army remains one of the best career options for so many. The allurements are heady and dreamy aura about being a part of a glorious occupation, defending the nation, being able to wear a dashing uniform, postings in faraway exotic places and other material benefits pull the strings. The residents of the area were rudely shaken by crowd of boys occupying the space of both sides of the roads. The space to walk, park vehicles was gone with boys sleeping there and singing mournful ballads. Early morning jogger many of them women hurried back home to escape the loud leering, whistles and cat calls. Come hot afternoons and the boys opened gates and perched under shed of drive ways and cool lawns. The lame objections of the residents were ignored with contempt such city bred indifference deserved.

They banged doors and asked for cool refrigerated water again and again till such supplies were no more possible. The girls and women of the house were imprisoned in back rooms, far away from being able to hear the bawdy rustic jokes and lusty songs they sung with clear purpose to make their intensions as naked as possible. The air got fouled as the crowd eased themselves sitting on high walls of many empty plots. There were no solutions in the offing as the crowd grew large and every open space was filled by these harassed boys. The police was not foolish to try to restore any order in the huge unruly mob. The vendors smelled business and converged to sell refreshments and sundry merchandize sought by the hungry youth. Few greedy vendors were given a befitting thrashing because of over the rampant pricing and rudeness shown to would be defenders of the borders.

The large administration teeming with highly educated snooty officers was blissfully unaware of the havoc being played in the capital. News papers reported that the long awaited recruitments were due next day but forgot to tell the whole story. They some how had no idea of the inconveniences experienced by the residents of the area. Most of the people were forced to stay indoors as the dangers were so large and it becomes impossible to walk or take vehicles out on roads. Every inch of space got filled with swarm of young hopefuls spilling in every hour. They ransack the small and big railway stations, looted whatever comes their way. The vehicles got turned; people got beaten by the surging and rampaging mob with patriotic objectives. The interview time neared, the fences were pulled down, and barricades were run over.

The recruitment drive to Indian Army was now in the full patriotic glory. Out of blue two young girls riding a scooter materialized from a side lane and stood still, undecided. They were shown the way to enter the crowd and assured of a safe get away. They were too naives. The hungry crowd pounced on them, their cries lost in the shouts of young men eager to feel, grope and maul female bodies. People watching from nearby house tops were too stunned to react. An army officer noticed and took out his gun on the hoodlums and shouted them to leave the girls. The cowards trying their luck to defend borders just ran away. They loathed leaving those two young girls crouching on tar road, every piece of cloths they wore were gone, stripped naked by the large demented crowd. They had blood oozing from nose and scratched flesh all over. Only a few yards away a young woman driving a car was also incited to enter the crowd and she met the same gruesome fate.

Her sari was pulled away making her turn in the car surprised with mortal fear. They pounced on her with naked depravity and she too turned it to mass of blood and bruises. A rifle aimed from a retired army man from rooftop made the ruffians ran away. These were too gory sights to forget but were never reported in news papers, reasons still unknown. Fate of a school bus filled with deaf and dumb children was no different only the occupants were helpless kids barely able to comprehend what was happening. The school management and parents perhaps misjudged the depravity of the crowd and made a big mistake their wards will not forget easily ever. The bus was made to halt and hungry young men boarded the bus with clear objectives in mind. They snatched away the tiny Tiffin boxes of wide eyed challenged kids with ferocity reserved for enemies of Mera Bhara Mahan. They looted as the teachers and crew sweated in fears, the lady attendant was groped with intense severity. All these people will never forget the scars of these beastly behaviors ever. Do the army top brass is aware of severity of these repeated incidents across country and have the lessons have been learned? Why can't they plan the small recruitments aimed at cluster of villages and towns? I do not know but do read such incidents repeatedly and go over those horrific moments witnessed.