We Need a Hero

"At least a lakh," I heard a voice behind me as I stood staring in wonder at the African elephant in front of me in the zoo we were visiting. I frowned. Was he estimating the cost of acquiring this huge, majestic guest from abroad? Was he calculating the transportation charges? Was he... As is if in reply to the questions in my mind, I heard him tell his companions, "Look at the length of the tusks. At least a lakh," he repeated sounding knowledgable.

It made me shudder. It was obscene - this assessment. Is that the only thing that caught the man's eye? Look at the way the tusker communicated with her companion - yes, it was a she, as we discovered by the love-play between her and the smaller elephant in the huge pen. It held me fascinated so much that I was loathe to leave.

But that's the sad fate of our wild animals. They are assessed only for what money they will fetch. A film by Shekar Dattatri - The Truth about Tigers - was screened at the Jungle Lodges Resort we were staying in. The pictures of animals killed mercilessly were ugly. The picture for wildlife in our country was ugly. The money they fetched was the sole reason for this heartlessness. It was like raping a woman and killing her - worse, it was like raping your own mother. Not just tigers - the elephants too. And in reverse order. Kill first, loot next.

The film also said that things were looking up. That the tigers have been brought back from the brink of extinction - thanks to individuals who have struggled against indifferent government attitude. But today, hopefully more sense prevails. The JLR itself has people who seem passionate about nature and preserving it. It is a beautiful way to alert us to our assets - no, not in the value they fetch, but the beauty and the delicate cycle they help balance. Forests have been revived and space provided for the wild animals to roam freely. Of course, some tourists seem to think that the animals are for their pleasure - making noise, carrying cell phones despite warning... But that's for another time.

The image of the men who were caught and what they had to say does not go away. Maybe because for me these images - not for the first time, of course - came at a time when the nation is boiling over about the rape of a young woman in Delhi and her death. The rape of the woman and the country only seem to reflect the apathy and indifference we have developed over the years. So long as it is not in our backyard, not affecting us, then why bother - till now, this seemed to be our thinking. This has given the authorities enough reason to become slack because we have ignored several other wake up calls, or sunken back to the stupor of routine. Corruption festers because there is no citizen action, no citizen group, no powerful vigilant body that acts as one. We hear of one or two bureacrats who clean up systems and feel everything is fine with the world. We don't even realise when the system relapses to old ways, when the bureacrat retires and another one comes in his place with more - maybe not corrupt - but complacent view of life. We do not have fire in our bellies.

To rouse us up, we not only need victims who evoke anger, but leaders who show us the way. I am willing to fight, but I don't know where to begin. I am scared too, of stirring up hornet's nests for I value my life. But if I knew others believe like me and will guard my back as I guard theirs, taking that step forward will be that much easier.

What we need today is a leader who will shake up, persist and disrupt.