Editorial Biranchi Das, a nondescript sports enthusiast of Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, was gunned down in his martial art centre where he used to train 60 destitute children picked up from the slums of Orissa. The unknown assailants fled in a motorbike under cover of darkness. They might be caught, and knowing Orissa police, the chances are; they would never be caught. People might have forgotten the name of Biranchi Das or for that matter that of Budhia, the child prodigy who used to run marathon race with nonchalance at the tender age of 4-5 years under the guidance of Biranchi Das.
All hell had broken loose some two years ago when the sportspersons and the child right activists came to know that Biranchi Das was committing the blasphemy of picking up a destitute child from the slum, feeding him and training him to be a marathon runner at the tender age. The sports department, the Orissa government and the child right activists raised so much of dirt that the entire Orissa administration had come down on Biranch Das like a ton of bricks. He was arrested, put behind the bar and had to face all kin of charges for spoiling the childhood of Budhia at the tender age of 5 years. The system had succeeded in obtaining a complaint from Budhia's mother to convicts Biranchi. But at the final stage she had broken down and had admitted that she was not able to feed Budhia. She also admitted that Biranchi was taking good care of Budhia and providing him good nourishment for the tough task that Budhia was doing. That final statement had saved Biranch but Bidhia was snatched from him and put in some obscure state sports centre that had failed to produce a single sportsperson of repute in the last 50 years. However, the trauma did not stop Biranchi from pursuing his path. He had picked up 60 odd kids from slums around Bhubaneshwar and had started training them in marshal arts. Biranchi's murder had created a flutter in the electronic media and there was no dearth of experts to defend the style of training Biranchi practised. Child prodigies do appear off and on who show extraordinary capabilities. They quoted examples of such children who had successfully completed graduation at the age of 11 and post graduation at the age of 13. If that could be a reality, why not Budhia, they had questioned. But such endorsements were not forthcoming when he was battling with the law and a hostile press a couple of years ago. Scepticism in our society has reached a level where we can't trust anyone doing something out of the box for the welfare of the society as a whole or a part. Everyone who thinks himself to be someone sets to find an ulterior motive behind every honest move. The civil societies have abrogated themselves the right to do well for the common mass. They can't allow an individual to do something good for the people in his own small way. Every such move becomes suspect and the gullible public join the cacophony without any application of mind. Biranchi Das was looking after and teaching marshal arts to 60 tiny tots on his own. He used to feed and train them on one to one basis. After his death those destitute would, most probably, return to the slum and grow up to become rag pickers and menial workers. No civil society had volunteered to adopt those children and provide them the affection, personal care and attention that Biranchi Das used to provide. Why was Biranchi killed? Did he hurt some vested interests with his simple project?
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