Ever since the first man shrugged himself off his knuckles and stood up on his own two feet, humans have been walking to get to their goals. The evolutionary ability to bipedally reach from point A to point B is so ingrained in our physical structure, that we don’t really see any special importance in it; we take it for granted as our God-given right. Yet man is more than just his ability to stand up. He (also she) is a rational, thinking being, who over the years has evolved complex societies and cultural norms to make his (and her) life easier and more rewarding. And he has learned to protest, against the indiscriminate vagrancies that fate chooses to impose on him and his world. Time and again, he has wrestled with indifference and against great odds, to produce a better, more just world. And in this protest, walking has played a surprising part.
People have walked in protest for millennia. And many a tyrant has trembled in fear at seeing the crowds walk in unison to where he would forbid them to go. By walking together, humans have the ability to magnify their efforts. In the solidarity they display, in the dangers they face together, standing on their evolutionary miraculous legs and feet, people walking in protest, or for change, display how far we have taken our simple ability to walk, how far we ‘walked’ from the ape.
And the power of people walking together, though underestimated, is truly astounding. Witness Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi march, which took an indifferent population and turned them into a protesting mass, and won our freedom. Not even the world’s largest empire was able to resist, with its vast armies and navies, the power of men and women walking together.
On 8th August, 2015 we capitalised on this form of protest. 1500 strong, we at the Indian Head Injury Foundations took to the roads with a collective of Indian NGOs, driven volunteers and spirited individuals. India sees an unprecedented number of road accidents every year, with almost 70% of head injuries being an outcome of these accidents. To demand safer roads, a robust Road Safety Bill and to mark a day of remembrance for all those who have lost their lives due to road accidents, we set out for a peaceful march at Janpath, New Delhi.
The much-awaited introduction of the Road Safety Bill is finding momentum amongst Members of Parliament as well. Our Walk for Safe Roads not only added to the civic pressure on Government officials to make positive changes, but also brought the community together for a cause that would benefit all. So, in this new year, all we can say is, “Keep on walking!”
