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.
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 uncertainty about the situation.
The second group is concerned and empathetic but fails to act due to hidden psychological barriers. Modern psychology explains that people are more likely to help when they are alone rather than in big groups – this is called the Bystander Effect. Groups create diffusion of responsibility, where each person in a group feels less personally responsible, thinking “someone else will help.” Another barrier, Pluralistic Ignorance, says people look at others’ calm faces and think nothing is wrong, even if everyone inside feels worried. The good news is that this inaction can be overcome. For many, simply being aware of these psychological barriers can increase their willingness to intervene. A 2023 meta-analysis showed that with brief training, 70 per cent of people feel confident enough to intervene, and 54 per cent act in real scenarios. Bystander Intervention Training (BIT) teaches a five-step process: notice something wrong, define it as requiring intervention, decide how to help, choose a method, and act ~ always prioritizing personal safety. The intervention itself can be of different forms, known as the four Ds. One can Distract by diverting attention from the situation, perhaps by asking for the time or dropping something.
One can Disrupt by interrupting directly if it is safe, for example by asking “Are you fine?”. One can Delegate by involving others, like alerting other bystanders or authorities by calling helplines or using Emergency Response Support System App like ‘112 India’. Lastly, one can Document by recording events confidentially if required. Even small words can break harm. Consider an e-rickshaw driver in Delhi, Brahm Dutt, who noticed something was wrong with a man and two nervous girls. He asked a simple question: “Who are you to each other?” The answers didn’t match, and that one question prevented a kidnapping.
There was no fighting, no chasing ~ just a calm voice and timely presence. A small talk between two scientists saved millions of lives; they met by chance at a photocopy machine in their University. Katalin Karikó, a biochemist, was frustrated. Her research on mRNA was not getting the attention it deserved. She was facing rejection after rejection. Then came the small, casual chat with immunologist Drew Weissman. That conversation led to a partnership. That partnership gave the world the mRNA vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2023, both scientists won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. These are life skills that save lives. Let us tell our children that courage can look like asking “Is everything okay?”, saying “Can I help you?”, or interrupting an inconvenient moment with a smile and a question.
By teaching children to notice feelings, ask questions, and show kindness, we are teaching them how to make their world safer. Active Bystander Intervention Training has many applications and the potential to address a wide range of societal challenges ~ crimes against women and children, ragging and bullying in educational institutions, human trafficking, drug abuse, terrorism, and other public safety threats. Its motto, “We can save others,” creates greater confidence than the narrow self-preservation mindset of “Save yourself.” We need to celebrate heroes like Inspector Rajendra Bhosle, who rescued 165 missing children; Sonu Sood, who helped migrant workers return home during the pandemic and Prameela Devendra, a Juhu worker whose quick use of a smartphone helped trace a missing child.
During the Gujarat riots of 2002, Hindu cattle-rearers in Naroda Gam sheltered 110 Muslims, even as violence raged nearby. Recognition normalizes bravery. History reminds us of Oskar Schindler, who saved more than a thousand Jews in Nazi Germany. When he fled after the war, his workers gave him a gold ring inscribed with the Talmudic truth: “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.” Section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and the 2020 Rules grant Good Samaritans in India the right to help accident victims without fear of harassment. But unlike Germany, where Section 323c of the Criminal Code makes it a legal duty for bystanders to assist in emergencies ~ with penalties for inaction ~ India has no such mandate.
For a country where countless lives are lost because victims are left unaided, India too needs a law that obliges citizens to help. India’s independence itself was won because men and women refused to be silent spectators. Subhas Chandra Bose rallied the INA with the call, “Give me blood, and I will give you freedom.” Bhagat Singh and his comrades risked everything to awaken a nation through fearless action. Countless ordinary men and women defied fear, filled prisons, and faced ruthless colonialists so that India could be free. Without such active social bystandership, freedom would have been denied. Action is contagious. When one person acts, others follow. As the Bhagavad Gita says: “Action is better than inaction.”
(The writers are, respectively, a Transparency and Equality Advocate, and a Life Skills educators)