Editorial
Death of a family under a train
Let the tragic mystery be unearthed
The death of nine members of a family in what appears to have been a suicide pact under the wheels of a rushing train is deeply distressing for all of us. Although a full picture is yet to emerge of why the family, whose members ranged from the age of sixty years to seven, needed to end their lives, there is nevertheless the very disturbing feeling that it was alienation from the society around them that may have brought about the tragedy. Stories and rumours have already begun making the rounds about the family. Reports have filtered in of its conversion to Christianity from Islam. Other reports suggest that only one member of the family went through the conversion quite some years ago and in fact has since died. Such stories have spawned other stories, to the effect that the family had been ostracised by neighbours.A full, comprehensive inquiry must now be made into the tragedy. That is because of the unusual nature of the death of these nine individuals and, more specifically, because other factors might have been involved in the making of the tragedy. In a culture where the concept of collective social responsibility has been eroding fast, enough to push life into a state of the dehumanised, it is quite conceivable that some people will be driven to doing irreparable damage to themselves. What has happened in Kashore makes it imperative for the authorities to delve deep into the question of whether or not and indeed how far the family was compelled by social circumstances into putting an end to its sufferings in such a macabre manner. People do not fall prey to desperation unless there are compelling reasons for such a condition to shape up. In the coming few days, the mystery behind the death of this family -- whether it was provoked into suicide or whether there was some other reason -- needs to be unearthed. Meanwhile, our prayers go out for the peace of the departed souls.
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