The deaths caused by contaminated drinking water in Indore should not surprise us, even as they horrify us. They fit too neatly into a familiar pattern in our midst, where preventable failures routinely claim or hurt lives and are then absorbed into public consciousness as misfortune rather than misconduct. Unsafe water, polluted air, collapsing bridges, overcrowded hospitals and faulty infrastructure — these are no longer treated as governance breakdowns but as hazards of living in India, to be endured with resignation. That resignation, more than corruption or incompetence alone, has become the most reliable ally of administrative failure.

Outrage without accountability

Yet, the more disturbing question is why such events still fail to provoke sustained public demand for accountability. Tragedy briefly shocks us, but it rarely mobilises us. Outrage flickers, social media fills with indignation, television studios erupt in noise, and then attention moves on. Transfers are ordered, enquiries announced and procedural closure declared. The deeper conditions that allowed the failure remain untouched.

Lowered expectations from public services

India’s relationship with public services is defined by lowered expectations. We complain constantly, yet we demand little. We curse the system, yet we rarely confront it in ways that impose cost. Unreliable infrastructure and public services are treated as inevitable features of national life, not as violations of basic rights.

The exit of those who could demand change

It is worth asking why this tolerance persists. Part of the answer lies in history. Decades of scarcity taught citizens to be grateful for access rather than insistent on quality. Over time, gratitude hardened into compliance. Another part lies in fragmentation. This........

© Free Press Journal