A fire in a Delhi building has killed 21 people. Among them are foreign nationals. The UK has offered consular assistance.
More tellingly, it has announced a 'safety review' for British citizens abroad. This is the predictable reflex of a civilisation that believes it can insulate itself from the chaos of the global south by issuing travel advisories. The tragedy in Delhi is not merely a local disaster.
It is a parable of our times. The fire was in a commercial building, likely packed with people, with exits blocked, and safety measures absent. This is not a new story.
Rome burned. London burned. But in each case, the response was to rebuild, to enforce codes, to create public safety.
Today's response is different. We do not ask why Delhi's regulations failed. We ask how the British can avoid Delhi altogether.
The offer of consular assistance is a bureaucratic placebo. It does not address the underlying decay. The safety review is a form of intellectual decadence.
It assumes the problem is one of information, not of systems. But the real issue is that in a globalised world, we are all connected. The fire in Delhi is a class divide made visible.
The rich can escape to gated compounds. The poor die in the flames. And the British government, in its wisdom, will produce a document telling its citizens to stay in certain hotels.
This is the Victorian era in reverse. Then, the British sought to impose order on the colonies. Now, they seek to retreat into a fantasy of safety.
The fire kills. The response kills hope. The only lesson is that when civilisation decays, the smoke finds everyone.
