Republic Day Reflection: When the System Kills and We Call It an Accident

Republic Day Reflection

On Republic Day, India celebrates the adoption of its Constitution, a document that promised dignity, safety, and equality to every citizen. Parades march down wide avenues, speeches invoke justice and rights, and the idea of the republic is publicly honoured. Yet alongside this celebration sits an uncomfortable reality. The society for which the Constitution was written and the society we inhabit today are no longer the same. The distance between constitutional promise and lived experience has grown wide enough to swallow lives.

The death of Yuvraj Mehta in Noida forces us to confront this gap. His death was quickly described as an accident, but that word hides more than it explains. What happened to him was the result of decisions taken by institutions, authorities, and private actors over time. The system failed at multiple points, and when systems fail in predictable ways, responsibility cannot be dismissed as misfortune. The system killed Yuvraj Mehta. It is not unique. It is only visible this time.

The Constitution was framed with the assumption that public authority would act in good faith and that institutions would gradually mature. It assumed that roads would be safe, that public works would be regulated, and that the state would respond when a citizen’s life was in danger. These assumptions made sense for a society that valued restraint, accountability, and fear of consequence. Today, those assumptions are under strain. Rapid urbanisation, unchecked construction, and the quiet normalisation of corruption have reshaped public life.

India’s roads tell this story clearly. They are no longer just pathways for movement but spaces of constant uncertainty. Citizens are expected to navigate danger as a daily skill. This acceptance of disorder is not harmless. When safety becomes optional, life becomes negotiable. The absence of basic road safety is reflects a deeper tolerance for risk imposed on the public without consent.

The moot point in this tragedy is that the pit that led to Yuvraj Mehta’s death did not appear overnight. It existed because construction was allowed to proceed without safeguards and because oversight mechanisms chose silence over enforcement. Builders dig, authorities approve or ignore, and accountability dissolves into paperwork. These are not isolated failures. They form a pattern in which public spaces are slowly converted into hazards. Such man made traps exist across cities and towns, waiting quietly until someone falls into them.

This reality raises a troubling question about India’s democratic structure. The legislature creates rules, the executive enforces them, and the judiciary is meant to protect rights. When unsafe construction thrives, when violations are routine, and when no one is held accountable after loss of life, these pillars appear present but hollow. Democracy survives in form while failing in function. The Constitution promises protection, yet governance delivers exposure.

What followed the incident deepened this concern. For over two hours, Yuvraj Mehta remained alive and asked for help. Police and rescue agencies were present, yet they could not act effectively. This was not merely a failure of equipment or technique, but that of readiness, confidence, and institutional clarity. Emergency services exist for moments exactly like these. When they hesitate, life slips away.

This paralysis is familiar to many Indians. Accidents, medical emergencies, and disasters often reveal systems that arrive but do not rescue, that observe but do not intervene decisively. Fear of responsibility, lack of training, and procedural confusion take precedence over human urgency. Citizens learn that even when help is near, survival is uncertain.

Republic Day invites reflection, not just celebration. It asks whether the Constitution we honour is being honoured in practice. The document itself remains powerful, but its success depends on the society that lives by it. When corruption shapes development, when safety is treated as inconvenience, and when institutions avoid accountability, constitutional values weaken on the ground.

The question before us is not whether the Constitution has failed, but whether we have drifted too far from the society it imagined. A republic cannot function when public life is filled with hidden dangers and official indifference. It cannot thrive when lives are lost to hazards that were preventable and ignored.

Yuvraj Mehta’s death should not be remembered as a tragic exception. It should be recognised as a warning. The system that killed him operates quietly every day. Most of the time, its victims remain unseen. On this Republic Day, the least we owe to the Constitution is honesty. We must ask ourselves how many such traps surround us, and how many lives it will take before responsibility becomes unavoidable.

Preserving languages – use it or lose it

Extinction of a Language is not merely phrases and letters lost in the mists of time, but a form of cultural suicide as with a language gone, mankind loses out on great skills, learnings, wisdom, ideas, innovations, artistry, and first-hand ancestral experiences and inventions. In a remarkable development, the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution on multilingualism. The resolution promoted the UN’s Department of Global Communications to use both official and non-official languages, including Bangla, Hindi, and Urdu, in its communications.

This could become a reality given India’s efforts since 2018 to get these languages to have a stature that they deserve, putting special focus on the use of Hindi at the United Nations. “Hindi @ UN’ project was launched in 2018 with an objective to enhance the public outreach of the United Nations in the Hindi language, and to spread greater awareness about global issues among millions of Hindi-speaking populations around the world,” said India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador TS Tirumurti.

Language is the most potent and important invention of ingenious mankind. Languages are the tool to code the stories of human endeavours evolving over edges and are the best source of scientific and practical knowledge, wisdom, values and awareness of surroundings. The diversity of languages around the globe beautifully signify the versatility, uniqueness and robustness of human societies. India is blessed with a heritage which nurtures diversity and its languages.

Diversity is what defines nature and human diversity leads to more holistic growth. Even same kind of crops, if planted on the same land over and over again, makes the land unfit for agriculture and nonnutritive. Connected with the world by three oceans and more through the passes of mountains, the Indian Peninsula has welcomed foreign establishments, cultures, rules, leaders and faiths, adding more to India’s diverse heritage and cultural wealth. India is a kaleidoscope of umpteen varieties of cultures, food, traditions, artistry, religious beliefs and languages, products of the long history and unique geography of this land. Such a distinctive mix makes India’s diversity unparallelled in the world. Over the millenniums, the laws of diversity have permeated into the very core of the nature of the Indian subcontinent.

Today, more than 19,500 languages or dialects (analysis of a census released in 2018) that are spoken in India as mother tongues, help it to think and act for all, strategically, economically, socially, geo-politically and spiritually. This official addition of Hindi and Bengali at UN also makes perfect sense in a world where after Mandarin, Spanish & English, Hindi stands at the 4th-most widely spoken language globally (~4.429% of World pop.) followed by Bengali which ranks 5 in the list (~4.00% of World pop.). Also, for now, a UN News-Hindi audio bulletin (UN Radio) has also begun to be released every week.

The key to keeping languages alive is either through practice, or preservation or both. While Digital recording and incorporation of many local languages across the world are helping to preserve lingual remains, manual revisiting can also lead to revival of these languages which can be done through speaking, using it as medium of education, encouraging and promoting more and more of literature work and Media Content in these languages, etc. Hyperlocal Journalism through digital means can greatly result in quick upturn.

Unprecedented Promises of Uttar Pradesh

Gautam Adani, Asia’s richest man, announced an investment of Rs 70,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh, promising 30,000 jobs. Attended by who’s who of the business world, the third UP investors’ summit saw Prime Minister laying foundation stone of 1406 projects worth more than Rs 80,000 crores on the occasion and investments accruing from a number of top business houses. The summit reflects the growing confidence in the remarkable growth story of Uttar Pradesh and is promising to create new possibilities in the state. India retaining the fastest growing country of the G20, further bolsters the confidence of the business community, promising huge investments in a state, which has huge potential, bolstered by much improved law and order situations and conducive business policies of the state government. The sectors inviting investments include agriculture and allied services, IT and Electronics, MSME, manufacturing, renewable energy, pharma, tourism, defence & aerospace, handloom and textiles among others.

The allocation of unprecedented capital expenditure of Rs 7.50 lakh crore in this budget of UP, presented just a few days earlier, is something, that gives out strong message to the investors, paving way for strong infrastructural and manufacturing growth among others. The confidence building law and order situation in the state has created a proper atmosphere for industry. The increased capability and potential of the administration and government of the state has helped a lot create a conducive atmosphere for the industries to invest. With 1100 KM of Ganga river covering 25-30 districts, UP creates huge opportunities for chemical-free natural farming corridor on both sides of the river, which may prove to be a golden opportunity to invest in the agriculture sector. Defence corridor in the state does have the potential to act as a harbinger of new opportunities.

The growth story of India continues with it being the third largest energy consumer country in the world, which reflects the growing economic activities in the country. In 2021, despite Covid-19 pandemic, India recorded FDI of $84 billion coming from more than 100 countries of the world along with creating a new record by exporting merchandise worth more than 30 lakh crore rupees, which helps a state with conducive business atmosphere. The mantra of ‘Reform-Perform-Transform’ for last 8 years lays the very foundation of policy stability, emphasis on coordination, effective execution and ease of doing business. Revolutionary initiatives like One Nation-One Tax GST, One Nation-One Grid, One Nation-One Mobility Card, One Nation-One Ration Card reinforce investors confidence, amply supported by the solid and clear policies of the state government. Steps like modern powergrid, gas pipeline, multi model connectivity, record number of expressways, strengthening of connectivity of economic zones, modern railway infrastructure, eastern and western dedicated freight corridor – all are converging in Uttar Pradesh with a promise to give a new push to its development.

Implementing Amrit Sarovars to fight existential crisis

“Water, water everywhere, not a drop to drink!” Humanity seems to be heading towards such a situation on a planet covered mostly by oceans. The global water picture is alarming with over 400 crore people, almost two thirds of the world’s population, experiencing severe water scarcity for at least one month each year. Over 200 crore people live in countries where water supply is inadequate. It is being projected that around half of the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025. Some 70 crore people could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030. By 2040, roughly 1 in 4 children worldwide will be living in areas of extremely high water stress.

India too is fighting acute crisis scenario. Water crisis is acquiring alarming proportion in many parts of India- a country traditionally known for its rivers and multitudinous other water sources, thanks to the conventional wisdom of the people. Currently country is reeling under severe heat waves with the mercury crossing 45 degrees celsius at a number of places, adversely affecting life and livelihood of scores of people. The seriousness of the situation can be conjectured from a number of facts put forth by the Niti Aayog and other government agencies. Around 60 crore people in the country face high to extreme water stress. About three-fourth of the households in India do not have drinking water at their premise and rely on unsafe sources of water. Nearly 70% of available water is contaminated and major rivers are dying because of pollution and other factors, pushing India at 120th amongst 122 countries in the water quality index. As many as 256 of 700 districts in India have reported critical or over-exploited groundwater levels and are bereft of useful water sources. 21 cities- including Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal and Chennai- probably exhausted their groundwater resources in 2021.

In such a gloomy backdrop, concept and implementation of 75 Amrit Sarovar in every district seems to be the right cure. Each of these Amrit Sarovar will have approx. area of one acre with a water holding capacity of 10,000 cubic meter. This Mission is to be completed by 15th August 2023 with around 50,000 Amrit Sarovar may be constructed in the country within this period. So far, 12,241 sites have been finalised for construction of Amrit Sarovars by states/districts, out of which, works have started on 4,856 Amrit Sarovars. And, the country’s first “Amrit Sarovar” has been inaugurated just now at Patwai, Rampur(UP).

This mission is acquiring the shape of a public movement as the government is trying to ensure people’s participation to make it a success. For this, local freedom fighters, their family members, Martyr’s family members, Padma Awardees and citizens of the local area, wherein an Amrit Sarovar is to be constructed, will be engaged at all stages. Without doubt, this is the worst existential crisis humanity is facing. Work is needed on several fronts simultaneously like stopping overuse, checking water pollution, expanding water related infrastructure and taking effective measures to stop the changing weather patterns due to climate change.

Delivery and Language of Courtrooms

One can argue that judicial communication is an area needing urgent reforms, both in terms of timely delivery of justice as well as delivery in common person’s language. PM Modi echoes the mood when he says, “A large population finds it difficult to understand the judicial process and rulings of the court. There is a need to simplify this and make it accessible. We just encourage the use of local languages in courts. This will ensure that the common man has faith in the judiciary and can feel part of the system.” He expressed these at the inauguration of the 11th Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts, highlighting yet another need of the hour to make judiciary more inclusive and explicit.

Various regions have demanded from time to time to allow the use of local language in the proceedings before the high courts as provided under Article 348 of the Constitution. The matter has long been a matter of debate too. Certain barriers have prevented local language from being adopted for the proceedings before the high courts. Some of the prominent ones, as highlighted by CJI Ramana, include the fact that sometimes some of the judges are not familiar with the local language & that the Chief Justice are always from outside. However, the government is trying to find solutions to many of such outstanding issues through technology. “I am sure with the innovation in science and technology, the advancement such as Artificial Intelligence, some of the issues associated with the introduction of languages in the high courts may be solved in the near future,” says CJI Ramana.

While lower courts function in local languages and English, the High Courts and Supreme Court use English in their proceedings. The move of adoption of local languages in court would help the common man relate to the judiciary like never before. The Prime Minister also parallelly underlined yet another pressing issue i.e. the need of endorsing medical and technical education in mother-tongue that can help the country have more and more engineers and doctors. “I am glad the Chief Justice of India mentioned having High Courts using local languages. It will take a long time for that, but it will improve access to justice. Why can’t medical and technical education be done in the mother tongue? Some states are already doing it,” PM Modi said while also conveying to and assuring people that the government is even working towards simplifying laws passed in Parliament for the common man to understand them. “Along with the actual legislation, if a simplified version is also passed in Parliament for the common man to understand, then he will not have to go to the court for interpretation of the law. The government is studying this issue,” he said.

The government seems to have been looking towards solution that can improve the judicial system and upgrade the judicial infrastructures. Efforts are being seen to fill up vacancies in courts. Further, use of technology in the judicial system is now an essential part of the Digital India mission. AI, machine learning, natural language processing, digital sharing and record-keeping, etc. are some of the solutions that are already being explored and examined. “To explore the use of AI in judicial domain, the Supreme Court of India has constituted Artificial Intelligence Committee which has mainly identified application of AI technology in Translation of judicial documents; Legal research assistance and Process automation,” Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stated recently in Parliament conveying about implementation of phase two of the eCourts projects of the government. Another stepping stone towards this new-age judicial ecosystem was set with the launch of the AI-driven research portal SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency) last year. The portal deals with large chunks of case data through machine-learning

“How do we make our judicial system so capable that it can fulfill the aspirations of India of 2047, … these questions should be our priority today,” said PM Modi invoking a vision for the future of the judiciary and urging the Judges and Chief Ministers to set the vision for the nation in 2047, when India would celebrate 100 years of independence. As the New India begins to dawn and shape up, it is bringing a wave of change in every domain that helps run the country, including the Indian Judiciary. The judiciary system is being made more relevant, tech-ready, transparent and accessible for all. From working on deciding upon as to what all court-related proceedings and matters can be made public to implementation of e-courts project in mission mode, efforts are seen to make Indian Judiciary trusting and impactful for New India.

Growth of Niche Tourism domains

Tourism is responsible for the growth of the local economy, which in turn provides employment opportunity to the local residents and give a boost to the place in terms of infrastructure development. Astrostays are one such concept to promote travellers to visit the rural place to stargaze. Established in 2019, Astrostays first came up in Maan village in Ladakh and in almost a few months, it attracted more than 350 guests. While tourists stay with members of a particular community, they get to learn about the local cultural heritage, sustainable living and eco-tourism. Till date, Ladakh’s Astrostay has witnessed more than 600 tourists, bringing in over $25,000 in revenue to villages whose residents have opened their homes. As Astrostays is owned and run by the local communities, the money invested by tourists gets reinvested in local infrastructure. Lieutenant Governor of UT of Ladakh – R.K Mathur, in one of his addresses in 2021 discussed science-based tourism and suggested making Astro-Tourism a flagship tourism product of Ladakh based on its geography.

Earlier this year, Rajasthan became the first Indian state to announce the introduction of night sky Astro Tourism in all of its 33 districts. The pink city of the state – Jaipur, alone has four famous star gazing venues including Jantar-Mantar, Amber Fort, University of Maharaja and Jawahar Kala Kendra. Rajasthan’s Department of Science and Technology has also stated that Bikaner House in New Delhi has been chosen as a spot to promote Astro-Tourism and therefore, a telescope will be installed for skywatching.

Ministry of Tourism has taken the initiative to discuss and explore ‘Nature-based tourism’ during the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ Webinar series. Concerted efforts are being put into tapping the growing potential of Astro-Tourism in India. States that hold the immense beauty of the night sky and minimal light pollution are planning to explore this area. For example, Benital Village, located 2,600 metres above sea level in the Chamoli district in Uttrakhand, is planning to turn into an Astro village. An Astro park is in the works in Mandu, Madhya Pradesh, whereas in Jaipur, the State Department of Art and Culture introduced a Night Sky Tourism project after the first wave of COVID-19, to encourage visitors to look up through the telescopes set up at Jawahar Kala Kendra and Jantar Mantar. Ladakh administration also took initiatives to promote Astro-tourism in Hanle village, by collaborating with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

The Karnataka Tourism Policy (2020-25) mentions Science Tourism as an aspect along with other types including cultural, shopping, sports, spiritual, wellness etc. The northern state of Uttrakhand is also witnessing a change of taste in terms of tourism. Nainital’s tourism department is gearing the development and planning process for the projects in the villages of Takula and Devasthal. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) has been roped in to look after the technical aspect of the project.

These initiatives highlight that we have come a long way. In 2017, it was touted that around 7 million people travelled across the U.S. to witness the Total Solar Eclipse. The tourism industry, at that time, was not ready for such an overwhelming response on the heels of tourism based on science. Since then, many countries, and communities are using astronomy to bring tourism to their region.

Astro-Tourism is not just responsible to draw a parallel between experiential and eco-tourism but will also promote a sustainable form of travel that has immense potential to bring positive, social, economic and conservative benefits to remote communities and areas.

Building bright future upon actualised synergies of present

The scale and speed with which India has managed to implement vaccination to combat covid pandemic, showcases unprecedented implementation skills. It clearly seems that India has seized upon the opportunity to see what it wants to learn and copy, and more importantly what it wanted to leap frog and skip. India has relied on both traditional form of innovation, finding new ideas to unsolved problems, as well as innovations towards efficiency, also termed as frugal innovations or workable solutions, enablers and solutions needing much lower resources and super cheap prices. These abilities are bound to put India on a virtuous cycle towards rapid development across sectors as vision of ‘Century India’ is realised. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh says, “INDIA@2047 would have evolved beyond imagination. Not only are things moving fast, but also the pace of this movement is much faster than ever before, which makes it very difficult to visualise the exact shape of India that would emerge 25 years from now.”

In this light, a three-day symposium has commenced from March 7 in Chennai under the theme ‘Imagining India at 2047 through Innovation.’ The symposium aimed to bring the government and the citizens together by the use of digital technology. It goes without a doubt that digital technology will pave the way for future innovations, furthering the development of any nation. The use of digital technology will also lead to next-generation reforms and innovations with policy objectives of “Maximum Governance, Minimum Government”, entailing Government process Re-Engineering, Universal access to e-services, excellence in digital initiatives at the district level and excellence in adopting emerging technologies. Around 200 participants are chosen for nucleus and cell teams composed of one lAS officer, a young faculty member and a young entrepreneur and they will sit together for discussions.

Under the overarching themes of ‘Research and Development,’ and ‘Innovation and Digital Governance,’ ten key areas are being explored, namely, Energy and Net Zero, Education, Health Care and Assistive Technologies, Water, Infrastructure and Communications, Transport and Mobility, Urbanization and Housing, Rural Development and Agriculture, Fintech and Inclusion, Information Security and Defence. These are clearly the core domains which require concerted efforts of academia, industry and bureaucracy to leap India into pole position.

Developing Mass Rapid Transit Systems in India

Traffic in almost all major population centres in India seems to have been stuck in chronic congestion with an average vehicle speed of around only 10-15km/h. Indian urban centres have long lacked both a city railway network and short-distance rail lines connecting the suburbs. These cities are facing an explosive combination of rapid population growth, a sharp rise in the number of privately owned vehicles as city dwellers have been forced to depend on only buses, private-owned cars and two or three-wheelers for transportation. The low-quality fuel and inefficient engines used in cars and buses add to the toxicity of the prevailing problem of air pollution.

In this backdrop, it had become critical that a mass rapid transit system be developed in all major cities of India for accelerating the modal shift from automobile to the metro system. Cities with an operating Metro system in the country have seen successful alleviation of traffic congestion as well as the reduction in air pollution caused by exhaust fumes and emission of greenhouse gases.

Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Pune Metro and inaugurated several other developmental projects in the city.

In his address, the Prime Minister said that Smart Mobility for citizens is the need of the hour. This includes having more green transport, electric buses, electric cars, electric two-wheelers and the use of a single card for transport facilities.

“There should be Integrated Command & Control Center in every city to make the facilities smart,” PM Modi iterated emphasising that the more people travel in metros, the better it will be for cities.

Not only on cities but the Metro system also has a very positive impact on worker productivity. The system ensures that city-based employees have lesser stress of the commute with less time wasted in traffic. People are able to save money and are under less financial strain from car costs when they are seeking employment in different parts of their city. Metros have become the engines of growth as they are opening doors of opportunities for the poor who otherwise are limited by the lack of available transport or ability to pay. Clearly, the public health benefits of the Metro system are the real winner as lower pollution as well as fewer accidents are observed, as a great proportion of accidents happen during rush hours.

While the Metro system has been a boon, it needs to be seen as the first step towards the development of a sustainable long term mass rapid transit system. Currently, all urban mass transit systems are developed on the hub-and-spoke concept, where the transport system is the hub and users have to travel from various parts of the city and converge in the hub to use it. Prototypes of one next-gen MRT system, known as MINI ELEVATED cTrain (caterpillar train) developed by one of the engineers of Indian Railways had won a global competition on innovations at MIT, Boston. Rather than the current form of Metro coaches, the C-Train envisages a series of small, seating-only cars that would be “as high as an SUV” with a capacity of only 20 passengers. These would have wheels both below and on top, giving them the ability to travel on the track as well as under it, thereby giving them the appearance of a caterpillar. Further, due to lightweight coaches, C-Train would run on poles joined together to form an arch, and it would run on electricity (with battery backup). With a combination of such innovations on the horizon with solar power harnessing capability enhancement, India is looking to emerge as the true leader of next-gen public commutation.

Gati Shakti for Transforming Connectivity

“We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us.” – Winston Churchill

The new India is marching on the roads of an unprecedented transition into an entirely new dimension of modern living, where system are both solution-oriented and sustainable. By rightly identifying the hitches, the focus has shifted to ‘building afresh’ in the recent years. While prominent initiatives like Make in India, Vocal for Local, Self-Reliant India, Startup India, and others have ignited a sense of awareness and stimulation in India, especially boosting sectors like manufacturing and entrepreneurship, all of this is being rightly taken to the next level by working on the infrastructural development like never before across the country.

PM Gati Shakti, which runs on a transformative approach for economic growth and sustainable development, is driven by seven engines, namely, Roads, Railways, Airports, Ports, Mass Transport, Waterways, and Logistics Infrastructure. All seven engines can lift up the growth curve of the entire country, if supported by the complementary roles of Energy Transmission, IT Communication, Bulk Water & Sewerage, and Social Infrastructure. Such an economic breakthrough can create a plethora of job and entrepreneurial opportunities for all, catering to especially the youth.

The introduction of Gati Shakti, as the name suggests, is a powerful means to get almost all the imperative sectors of the economy up and running with ‘Connectivity’ being the main fuel, as ease in transportation relentlessly brings down the logistics cost. This retention further relaxes the budget plots across various sectors, leading to exports competitiveness, boosting labour employment, resulting in more investments and vigorous economic expansion. More and more connectivity convenience naturally leads to the development of multiple urban, industrial centres. These urban centres are enabler of balanced regional development, paving way for more and more industrial clusters to sprout up across the country. Further, a good roads infrastructure would feed well into railway lines, which in turn, would feed into ports, resulting in faster goods transportation, stirred up supply chain systems, quick manufacturing and more trade and business.

It is well documented that as a proportion of the total value of goods, logistics costs are almost double in India (around 14%) as compared to developed nations (around 7%), hence there is lot of room of improvement. This underlines the need and power of Modern logistics mechanisms, which is the aim of the endeavour of Gati Shakti. The government also has in its pipeline the National Logistics Policy to ease supply chain bottlenecks and accelerate India’s logistics sector, which frequently deals with competitiveness gap. The plan will improve India’s trade competitiveness, create more jobs, improve India’s performance in global rankings and pave the way for India to become a logistics hub.