India, Jan. 23 -- Death shouldn't be a mere number. But in India, it often seems to be reduced to exactly that. The government response to an accident is intrinsically linked to one question: What was the damage? The conversation isn't about whether the tragedy could have been averted, rather it quickly shifts towards the death toll and the number of those injured and the candy that we all know as compensation. It happens in such a cold-hearted manner that it makes one wonder: What is the value of a life in India?

In Greater Noida's Sector 150, a 27-year-old software engineer, Yuvraj Mehta, tragically died after his car plunged into a water-filled construction pit on the night of January 16-17. The night was cold and foggy, and the bend ...