Sometimes people die in freak accidents while pursuing their life passions. Most recent examples include the 40 year old whale trainer Dawn Brancheau killed by a whale during a show at a amusement park, former newsman McWethy aged 61 died in a skiing accident, a 34-year-old journalist Michelle Lang died in Afghanistan while doing her job, a 19 year old rising music star was mauled to death by two coyotes and of course the unforgettable 44 year old Steve Irwin, a wildlife conservationist who died while filming a TV series.
Their family members and friends’ reaction towards their sudden death was quite unusual, in fact very different from typical Indian psyche. In developed countries like US, Canada, Australia and countries from Western Europe, the family members behave in a very responsible manner in public when they talk about the death of their loved ones. The way they talk is different, they publicly mention that their loved ones have died doing what they loved and they don’t allow their emotions to overtake their words. The grieving that they do is in private. Not in front of cameras or for a view of strangers.
Where as in our country, death is always represented as gloom and sorrow. Very rarely people take death positively. Recently, a major in Indian Army died in bomb attack in Kabul. His father was a very brave person. He said that although he has lost his son, he is proud that he lost his life serving our country. These are very inspiring words that encourages others to take up the challenge and join the armed forces. But if you cry and show sorrow, it de-motivates other people to pursue a passion. Even terrorists want the same thing.
Terrorists would like mass media in print or electronic media to widely show images of family members of victims of terrorism grieving and in pain. This helps their goal of terrorizing people and allows them to achieve their goals easily. The intention is to break the will of people. People are just afraid to stand up against them in the future. After the Taj terrorism incident, one foreign tourist said in an interview that he is proceeding as per plan to Jaipur. If he cancels his trip and goes back right away, he is allowing the terrorists to win.
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