Flash floods hit the Kashmiri village of Chosoti on August 14, where pilgrims were on their way to the shrine of Machail Mata. Arif Rashid, an ambulance driver, plunged into mud and chaos to rescue the stranded. Over three relentless days, this ordinary man saved more than 60 pilgrims. Terrorists stormed India’s Parliament on 13 December 2001; Constable Kamlesh Kumari spotted a suspicious car heading for an open Gate No. 11.

Unarmed, she ran to raise the alarm, taking bullets in her chest; that saved Parliament and democracy itself. Such courage is timeless but rare. When Ravana abducted Sita, it was not Rama’s army that came first. It was Jatayu, an old vulture. He knew he could not win, but he still fought to protect her. His courage is remembered even today, not as a defeat, but as a victory of dharma ~ doing what is right ~ over fear. In the Mahabharata, when Draupadi was insulted in full court, many great warriors and elders chose silence.

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That silence is remembered as a great moral failure. It shows that when people see wrong and stay quiet, they are not neutral – they are standing with adharma. Silence is never innocent. When bystanders witness injustice, there is no neutral ground: either they support the survivor by intervening, or by keeping silent they support the perpetrator. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, crimes against women rose by 15.5 per cent in 2021 and another 4 per cent in 2022, crossing 4.45 lakh cases ~ over 1,200 every day. Crimes against children rose by 16.2 per cent in 2021 and 8.7 per cent in 2022, touching 1,62,449 cases ~ 445 daily. Many of these crimes happen on streets where bystanders remain mute spectators. It is often alleged that citizens have lost empathy, but this is only partly true. Bystanders can be divided into two groups. The first group is unconcerned or fearful, held back by fears for personal safety, legal trouble, or........

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