A R REHMAN , SABARIMALA ETC

OSCAR AWARDS NITE AND SABARIMALA TRAGEDY

Last week I was discussing some aspects of cognitive psychology with a friend, when she referred to the Jalianwallabagh tragedy. She is a spiritually inclined person and this became all the more evident when she remarked that when that historic tragedy took place the people at the ground were so infused with patriotism and devotion to Bharat mata that emotions were bound to run high culminating in a tragedy.

OSCAR AWARDS NITE AND SABARIMALA TRAGEDY

I did not tell her what I felt about her attitude but I find this commonplace especially among the devout. I refer to the tendency to raise a spiritual angle to something and in that process attempt to put that topic beyond the pale of science and psychology.

Let me cite two instances in other contexts which highlight another approach to a similar issue.

When A.R.Rehman was to receive his Oscars at the Kodak theatre in Los Angeles I was not only glued to the TV—I was in the US then—but was also reading every bit of information I could lay my hands on, with reference to the logistics of that ceremony .

I read that the organisation skills of a very high order were on display.Thus the movement of cars to and from the venue –what with Hollywood celebs in their limos—was planned for well in advance.The goal was to facilitate the smooth movement of the hundreds of cars heading to the ceremony without inconveniencing the general public .The planning ,scheduling , software and execution and monitoring was headed by an Indian !He sat at the control room and monitored every moment and movement at the ceremony and received applause for his brilliant work.

The second episode –more relevant to us in the context of what happened at Sabarimala –is the Haj Pilgrimage. After the main pilgrimage is over the devout also walk to a place where they are allowed to throw rocks at what is considered the Devil’s place.[I may be pardoned for overlooking some finer points]. It is here that on many occasions stampedes have taken place and many people have died. Did the Saudi Authorities deem it as the ‘ surge of devotion’ and leave it at that as my friend commenting on the Jalianwallah bagh tragedy did? No . They invited American experts in traffic management crowd psychology etc to study the situation. Believe me there are experts in crowd management and psychology in the world ! These experts did not stall their thought processes with the mind numbing esoteric concepts of ‘ spirituality’ but undertook a systematic study of how crowds behave in a variety of situations. They also studied the films from cameras that had been installed in past years at the venue, studied crowd behaviour, identified the pressure points, analysed at what stage the crowd becomes unmanageable, what are the places where the flow is impeded and how and why panic sets in leading to a stampede. The entire route was modified and thereafter there has been no stampede .The details of their analysis are available in some books on crisis management and make fascinating reading even to a general reader .

The point I seek to make is that almost anything is amenable to detailed scientific analysis and there is no use in calling something as ‘beyond science’ and throwing up our hands. We in India need to acknowledge the dire need for cool headed analysis by experts and not leave things to generalists . Which is what happened at Sabarimala where last week about a 100 people died while witnessing what they felt was a ‘miracle’ even as the temple authorities themselves say that the ‘ divine light’ is far from divine and is the handiwork of a few tribals. I do not wish to delve into the strength of belief, but merely to state that leaving such issues as crowd management to assorted babus, police officers , politicians and constables is the surest way to ensure many more tragedies. It is equally futile to say that considering the ‘surge of devotion’ a stampede is pre- ordained. The Haj example quite negates any such viewpoint.

It is time that we develop expertise in areas like crowd management, stampede avoidance etc. As things stand it is a danger to be present at any situation in India where more than a handful of people are gathered. Anything can happen.

The manner in which crimes are investigated, sites of a bomb blast allowed to be trampled upon by ‘dignitaries’ show that we are illiterate in forensic science.

The extent to which specialisation has been taken elsewhere is seen in that University in Argentina which offers a Masters course in MANAGEMENT OF PERVERSE ENVIRONMENTS. For the initiated this is a course that teaches potential businessmen how to thrive in a corrupt environment. Surely we could have done that better than most other nations. My Private Eye, Alphonso , tells me that several Indians are visiting faculty at that university !That’s expertise for you.

K.R.RAVI

WWW.KRRAVI.COM