Thinking back to the time when I was in the
North-East for a short while, I remember how the Bodos & the Ulfa were
feared & resented, but little had I imagined that Haryana would be as shady
a place or worse! Who needs infamous tribals when your average joe here can more than
fill their shoes..?! Just two years in and such a multitude of close encounters
already…
I suppose it was just a few months after our group
of IOCL batchmates moved to Panipat, that two of my colleagues were looted at knife-point
by an autorickshaw driver and his accomplices. And as if this wasn't appalling enough... Not long after six senior officers of our
department were on a night out when they had an encounter supposedly with
gangster L***ence B***noi and two of his armed goons, or at least some drunk impersonators
from the heinous gang, who nonetheless pointed loaded pistols may be to
attempt a carjacking or simply to have some sick fun in their own sadistic way… We shall never know…
The only reason why everyone survived unscathed was probably because the vehicle
belonged to a fellow Punjabi. Furthermore, rather recently I was flabbergasted to see people rioting to protest against the arrest of a convicted R** R**im where on the other hand the unfortunate death of more than 120 children at a hospital in Gorakhpur within a span of few days, hardly evoked any response from the masses at all.
Other than these specific events, there is also
the so-called ‘Jat Andolan’ which has become an annual festivity for the local populous
when the harvest season is over. With nothing to do for about a month the lower
strata of Jat embark upon a journey of pillage & plunder, looting and
laying waste to everything in their way under the pretext of protesting against
the non-reservation of Jats for special benefits. Burning buses & toll
plazas, ransacked jewellery stores, rampant arsony in all forms are a common
sight. Life comes to a standstill until the military is forced to take up arms.
Even the Haryanvi language is extremely crude, lacking all the courteous syllables in Hindi, and their body language
disrespectful adding further flavor to the dialect.
All said and done, one must realize that one’s
safety is his or her own responsibility. Constant circumstantial vigilance is
probably the best way of avoiding any kind of unnecessary conflict altogether.
But when push comes to shove, and one gets cornered with no apparent way of
talking his or her way out of it, with the path of retreat cut
off, and if compliance is not an option even by a long shot, basic self defence techniques can and do come in handy. Although this might sound
silly when faced with guns and knives, at the end of the day the sane individual does what he or she
can to survive, given the situation and the choices available. Working out regularly and
having at least some basic fighting skills definitely help. Losses can be
of many types; financial, academic and what not… But the loss of life is
simply irreversible and every life lost is lost forever… So…
TAKE
CARE & STAY SAFE!!!
