A devastating earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday registering 7.9 on the Richter scale, leaving more than 3200 dead so far. India has stepped up and offered all the aid possible to Nepal. Sadly, what should be seen as India’s duty has now developed into the self-serving #ThankYouPM hashtag on Twitter.
Why should we be thanking the PM? Yes, help was dispatched within hours of the disaster but shouldn’t that be our humanitarian duty to do so?
Yes, the government of India has so far done a stellar job in evacuating our citizens and providing Nepal with relief and aid, but the government is supposed to do a good job. Yes, they deserve a pat on the back but wouldn’t a better hashtag be #ThankYouIndianAidWorkers or #ThankYouIndianAirForce or even #ThankYouWorld.
The PM, however, was extremely modest on Twitter and noted that it is our culture that teaches us “Seva Parmo Dharma” or “It is our highest duty to serve others.” He also added that we should instead thank youngsters who are mobilising aid to Nepal, volunteers, doctors, NDRF teams and aid workers who are on the ground working hard to return normalcy to Nepal.