When Cockroaches Forget They're Being Crushed
Twenty-two innocent children dead from toxic cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh. The Chief Minister casually dismisses it: “What’s happened has happened, don’t bring it up today.” The Prime Minister stays silent. The Health Minister has nothing to say. And the Indian public? Sleeping peacefully after consuming the sweet syrup of religion and nationalism.
Remember when we brought down governments over corruption? When “India Against Corruption” shook the nation? Today, India ranks 96 out of 180 on the Corruption Perception Index—worse than our 2013 ranking of 94. But who cares about data when we’re busy fighting over temples and mosques?
35 pharma companies donated ₹1000 crore through electoral bonds, mostly to the ruling party. Seven of these had notices for substandard manufacturing. Did they face punishment? No! They donated more and got permissions to operate. In 2022, our contaminated medicines killed 70 children in Gambia and 18 in Uzbekistan. Did we learn? No! We called it a conspiracy against Make in India.
Today, the same poison kills our own children. The factory that made Coldrif syrup had chemicals heated on gas stoves, rusted equipment, no safety measures, and industrial-grade solvents 500 times above permissible limits. This went on for 14 years. Nobody questioned. Nobody cared.
The Jan Vishwas Act 2023 ensures that making fake medicines attracts just ₹5000 fine or 6 months jail—done to help the pharma lobby’s “ease of doing business.” Meanwhile, 20% of pharmaceuticals in India are fake or adulterated, and WHO says 229 of 395 antibiotic combinations we consume are not recommended.
But we’ve accepted our cockroach status. CM Mohan Yadav will talk about Nehru, Aurangzeb, and Babar all day, but ask about 22 dead children? He gets angry. Because he knows we’ll forget this tragedy when the next controversy about someone’s religion drops.
Wake up, India. They know our outrage lasts only 2 days. They know religion is our opium. They know we’ve stopped questioning. Until we realise we’re not cockroaches but citizens with constitutional rights, nothing will change.