S. Swathi has left us and the agony of Swathi’s family cannot be forgotten in a hurry — the words “why did no one come to help our child... She was just allowed to bleed and let die” should haunt us. The unpardonable form of peoples’ behaviour at Nungambakkam station that day is called the “Bystander” effect, which is social behaviour by a person in a crowd expecting somebody else to do it with the result that nothing happens in the end. The term came into existence after the rape and murder of young Kitty Genovese in the U.S. in 1964. When she was murdered in her apartment, there were about 38 families who testified that they heard had her voice but none went to her rescue believing that somebody would take care of her. As a result, the killer accomplished his mission. Interestingly, her killer, Moseley, who was on death row, died a couple of months ago in a U.S. prison.
In the U.S., people remember her and take oath in her name promising to be the first respondents in times of distress. India needs to get over this syndrome.
S. Nagarajan,
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
