A BRUISED CITY!

It was a typical day for me. I completed my work and was preparing to go home. On my way back I planned to visit a colleague who was seriously ill in a near-by hospital. We reached there only to see him lying on the floor; the hospital authorities saying they dont have enough beds. So, being journalists, obviously we had a lot to say to the authorities and somehow we got him a bed and got the doctors to start treatment. Just then we noticed a couple who had come all the way from somewhere in the Thane rural belt, who were being shoved away by the hospital guards.This couple had a ten month old baby boy who was having difficulty in breathing. The kid looked pretty serious and the parents begged the authorities to admit him, as they thought if he didn't get treatment, he wont make it. So as any inquisitive, curious reporter would do, I went outside the gate to talk to them. It was already raining. The father said that about 15 nursing homes and hospitals had rejected to admit his kid citing bed shortage. I looked at the kid, he was motionless and could barely take a breath. The mothers face was emotionless and still, as if she was waiting for a miracle to happen. I somehow wanted to help them but how. The hospital definitely had beds, but didn't want to give it to a kid who has less chances of making it alive. Certainly not to a kid, whose parents could barely afford a rickshaw fare. And I was told that doctors are Gods! Yeah! Sure! So I ringed my night shift reporter and asked him to come down. A new joinee, the rookie reporter wanted to change the world! I just love that initial period in journalism when you are a young reporter. You want to change, make a difference and fight corruption. Little do you realize that all this just for a two-min story! After which begins the hunt for another two-min story! Anyway, so he turned up with his camera-person (Video Journalists as they liked to be called now-a-days) and I got him introduced to the family's plight. As expected, he stormed in the hospital with a boom-mike in his hand, and the camera rolling, asking questions to the RMO! At 02.30 in the middle of the night, the hospital authorities knew they have a situation on their hands. They maintained that they do not have enough beds. So my young reporter insisted on taking a round around the hospital just to make sure. I had given-up reporting by then, fed-up of the two-face hypocritical nature of the TV news media. But seeing this kid in action got my adrenaline pumping. I joined him and requested the on-duty RMO to give it to the family in writing, that there are no beds in the hospital. Thats when he was caught in a fix. He ringed someone avoiding the rolling cameras! Amidst all this hustle-bustle the young mother sat on the floor, holding on to her kid, still emotionless with a blank face, staring at the kid, who by now was taking small and short breaths rapidly. All of us knew something was wrong.

Then some big guys showed up! Claiming to be the management people of the hospital. After about 20 mins of arguing, they didn't budge and said that the family should take the kid elsewhere. I knew it would be too late. I did something that I never thought I would do. I ringed up a couple of my buddies who were associated with an emerging political outfit. Of-course, so late in the night they were all drunk! I told them what was happening and pleaded them that may be, pressure from them would help save the kid. But hearing them speak on the phone, I gave up.

I must admit though, that the baby boy was pretty tough willed! He was struggling to breathe but he hadn't given up, almost as if he would leave the hospital before he had gotten his treatment.

That night I also realised that politicians and policemen cannot be trusted and they are the most selfish and inhuman species of humans alive.(Believe me its not just a cliche!)  We rang up the local corporator...no answer! The local police station incharge...number switched off! The local MLA...number switched off! The local MP...was at a party, asked me to call later! The local DCP...did not answer! Wow! And these people run our country, protect us and we count on them!

Just then to my surprise, my drunken political worker friends arrived in their cars. Another realization I had, when they arrived was that its not the politicians who make a difference. Its the political workers who strive for that politician's image! They do all the hard work, while their political masters relax their behinds at lavish parties!

In their drunken state, they threatened the hospital with dire consequences if the baby was not admitted. And just like that, out of the blue, hearing the political party that my friends belonged to, the hospital magically pulled out a bed for the baby!! Finally, the emotionless mother burst into tears; I assumed they were out of happiness, now that her baby had a chance of making it! Although I didn't show it, I  couldn't help control wipe a tear out of my eye.

Finally my friends left and I thanked them. Although, in their state they did not understand my Thank you.

All this was caught on our camera and I thought that this would make a great news story and the baby will get a new life too! May be we could persuade the authorities to make some changes to the medical infrastructure of this "globalised" city so that poor parents could get quick, cheaper medical attention in emergencies.

And as we saw off our friend and bid good-bye to the parents, there was yet another twist to the tale!
The medical team working on the baby said that there is a problem with the baby's wind pipe and that it needs to be urgently operated and that they do not have the expertise to perform such operations. They arranged a state-of-the-art ambulance so that the baby could be shifted elsewhere. The ambulance reached another hospital in Central Mumbai which at first had confirmed a bed for the baby, but on reaching there, they started with the same arguments that the earlier hospital had. It was 5.00 am by then. We decided to go  big guns on this story. An OB van was organised to be parked at the site where the kid would get his treatment. Political reporters were woken up from their slumber and asked to locate the State's health minister. Suddenly at 5 in the morning, the usually dull office of ours was buzzing with activity. We wanted to see this kid make it all the way.

At the second hospital the young reporter, shedding his aggressiveness almost pleaded with the hospital to start treatment on the kid who by now was bleeding from its mouth! The reporter got the on duty RMO of the hospital down to at-least take one look at the kid. On seeing the kid's condition, the doctor was so moved, that he immediately  shifted a baby who was in the ICU, but stable, to a normal bed, and got this kid up to the ICU to begin treatment.

This was a second ray of hope for the kid! Although thrilled, all of us were praying and keeping our fingers crossed. In the morning at about 5.30 I ringed my immediate superior , who was both excited and proud of the story we had managed to pull out as a team together. On his level, he too started making calls and making arrangements to get this story blazing on-air! I suddenly wanted to become a reporter once again!

At 06.00 am we hit the bulletin and opened with the story. Glimmering graphics, the News Anchor shouting at the top of his voice and verbally smashing the hell out of the 'prashasan'! The young rookie reporter went LIVE from the location, looking like he had fought a war, drenched in rain; I thought to myself, TV news after all can make a difference. It was such a good feeling!

Then at about 06.20 am, the unthinkable happened and the baby boy breathed his last! Joy and excitement soon turned to anger and I thought to myself, 15 hospitals rejected this kid, the 16th one made it wait for two hours! Why shouldn't we blame them? Why shouldn't these people be hanged to death!

Just then, my editor (the channel head) walked in. He briefly saw what was going on-air. Then he called us and said something that filled me with so much anger that I wanted to do something extreme! "Yeh koi story hai....? Yeh to do hospitals ki apas ki ladaee hai....ek hospital ne kaha ki dusre ne usse admit nahi kiya...ismein kya khabar hai...?", he argued! Holding my anger back I tried to convince him that its not the hospitals, its a ten month old baby who died because he was rejected primary medical treatment at 15 hospitals! He said, "Story drop karo...Pakistan mein Hindi film festival chal raha hai, waha ke organiser ka phono chalo aur headline banao....koi hospital aur bacha nahi chalega...come for the meeting...." and he started walking away. I lost my cool and I picked up a bunch of news papers lying near by and banged it down on the floor so loudly that the whole office took notice. The 'Editor' stopped and noticed, only to see me angrily walking away! Undoubtedly, that was the last time I walked out of that building and I never since then have walked in!

About two years after the incident,  I saw a documentary made by Michael Moore, in which, a part of his story focuses on the differences between the medical facilities in Canada & USA. Canada is apparently a world leader in medical faciltites for its citizens. A lot of money is kept reserved per citizen so that even a beggar on the street gets almost free treatment! I was stunned! And we call our country an emerging super-
power! There was a case study in the documentary which show-cased a jobless man, who met with an accident in Calgary. He was admitted to the hospital, treated and would get all his future medical assistance for free. All he has to do is show up in hospital on the given date and time. That is how much they value the life of a human being! And I don't even want to start about what that value is in India!

Hospitals in India, especially the ones in Mumbai are known for rejecting patients citing bed shortage. But thats far away from the truth. Fact is that hospitals want to do business. The poor in the country do not have a right to good quality medical treatment! Yeah sure, the Government will tell you otherwise! But I am sure most of us have had our experiences with both private and government hospitals! Some while back, a medical team member of a top hospital in the city confided to me in a conversation that hospital staff, especially the private ones, are trained to look at the people that come there and observe whether they can afford a bed there and stay long. This to mint maximum money out of the patient. There is nothing wrong in business, but at the cost of a life?

Such is an insensitive city that we live in. And we say its a city that moves on. A brave city whose people overcome every calamity! I say its a city of rich sloths where the poor struggle to survive because they have to survive and the media, operated and governed by the rich, put a label of bravery over the plight & injustice to the poor.

GENERAL-GATE & INDIA'S MISFORTUNE!

The Water-gate scandal in the early 70s in the US seems to have set a precedent for India. We have so many of these 'gates'! dont we? And I like to call the latest one, caused by Gen. V K Singh's sensational claims in a leaked letter to the PM, the 'General-gate!' 


So  the whole General-gate has brought out the uglier face of the Indian political scenario. We all knew it was ugly. But whats disappointing is that the institution that we thought was the most 'imandar' in the country turned out to be falling down to newer levels of pathetic lows. Of-course with the guns already trained on the Congress led UPA government, the BJP found yet another issue in the what could be described as one of the most scam-filled governments ever. The Sukna land scam, the MMRCA controversy, Gen. V K Singh;s ugly age row and now the General's letter to the PM, which seems to be pretty timely! But what could be the reason for the General's 'timely expose'? The Chinese premier is on an India visit...something to do with that? Was is because the General wanted to divert attention from is age row to more serious issues? Was he just getting back at the Government? I mean after all he did face embarrassment in the Supreme Court! 


Whats interesting is that after the letter was 'leaked' to the media, and I purposely use the word 'leaked'; the Defense Minister said in Rajya Sabha that he is in knowledge about the letter and and that the Government will respond on a timely note. Really?! Something both the General & the government agree was happening, took a leaking letter to come forth the nation? If they knew it, why dint they take action? What was keeping them back? I would like to share with you though that this isn't the first 'truth' to be hidden by the Army and the Governments of yesteryears. In a conversation with a very senior ex-army officer who now has retired in Mumbai, I was made aware that during every hostility the nation faced, both the army and the government in command at that time betrayed the nation by holding back what I would describe as shameful and embarrassing  goof-ups that lead the country to compromise its territorial integrity. Following is an excerpt of an e-mail that was provided to me by this senior ex-army officer. Its about what the Indian people do not know about the 1971 war. We all thought we won fare and square. We won, of-course, but this is what we lost! Have a look: 

"When the whole world and the Indian Govenment, buckling under the international pressure, returned the 90000+ PAKI prisoners, it firstly never bothered to ask the Paki Govt and never put a 'SHART' that unless they return all the POW's and other Indian prisoners and secondly part of Chamb which we (and Indian army) had lost to Pak Army we will not return those 90000+ . Lt Swittens was one of those held in Civilian Jails of Pakistan along with criminals to avoid detection and returned only after the international organization interfered. BUT HERE THE STORY DOES NOT FINISH.

Though we had a clear edge, the government did not even ask Pakistan to return the area of CHAMB which they had captured then AND THUS DREW A FRRSH CEASE FIRE LINE which should have not been acceptable to the Indian Government and the Nation thus lost quite a few square kilometers to Pakistan. WAS THIS NOT A BETRAYAL BY THE ARMY BY NOT LETTING THE PUBLLIC KNOW THAT WE ARE LOSING THIS MUCH OF TERRITORY TO THE PAKI'S? WAS IT NOT THEIR DUTY TO INFORM THE PARLIAMENT OF INDIA THEN ABOUT THIS LOSS???

As if this was not enough, during and after KARGIL both the Army and the Government have not told or have not been telling the Nation that we accepted the ceasefire under the American pressure even when WE COULD NOT CAPTURE BACK TWO ARMY POSTS AND THUS LOST ANOTHER FEW KILOMETERS THIS TIME ALSO and a new cease fire line was drawn up again. THE ARMY NEVER GAVE THE DETAILS OF THE TWO POSTS and THE GOVERNMENT, THOUGH KNEW ABOUT THESE POSTS BEING NOT CAPTURED ACCEPTED THE CEASE FIRE.

Both the times India had an edge but the spineless governments thought it good to betray the nation."
Wow!!! My jaws dropped. Before forwarding me this mail, when he narrated the incident to me, this officer had tears in his eyes. 

During both the wars in 1971 & 1999, India compromised its territorial integrity. The Army would have certainly rammed a decisive blow to the enemy, but poor political will and lack of diplomacy has brought as far as to ugly incidents like 'General-gate'. While the Government put its tail behind, the army lied about it. This is the great country that we live in. 

Even as I speak, more than 1.2 lakh troops are massed up on India's borders. Without proper equipment and led by a politically weak and diplomatically stupid government. Malfunctioning rifles, 100+ defective Bofors guns, no weapons-locating radars, 97% obsolete air defenses, as the General puts it i his letter,   and scams even in their ration supply. This is how we are defended!

More soon!