WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

It’s all happening out there
To somebody you don’t know
They’re being killed or raped
Or maimed with a violent blow.
 

They are faceless strangers
You read of in the papers as news
You shake your head and turn the page
To dwell on such thing’s no use.
 

You’d rather dwell on stock prices
And Kenny G playing the blues
Or look at the advertisements
And wonder which AC to choose.

 Till the day your daughter comes home
Hiding her face in shame
Or your son collapses in your arms
By a hockey stick turned lame.
 

Your sister had her necklace snatched
And you wife has lost all her gold
Your indifference has lead to this
And criminals have turned ever bold.
 

You turned away from your civic duty
Insulated in your lofty flat
There was no one out there to stop the rot
Or oppose the crime lord’s diktat.

You thought you’ve done enough
By earning for your own needs
Stayed at home and watched TV
And played with your prayer beads.
 

You believe in your democratic rights
Read the manifestos they wrote
Yet when the voting day arrived
You refused to cast your vote.
 

You rue criminals joining politics
It’s such a crying shame
Now look honestly within you
Did you vote against that name?
 

You always hid your true income
And refused to pay your dues
Yet complain of deterioration
For your neglect, there’s always excuse.

 You go to all sorts of lengths
Your children abroad to send
Then sit back and pontificate
That this land will never mend.
 

I beg of you please do tell
Who’ll set things right in this decay?
The best of talent deserted this land
And all those who could, just ran away.

~Siddharth Sanyal~

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