In a scathing critique of modern societal priorities, policy researcher Srinath Sridharan has introduced a stark acronym to describe a disturbing national trend: POHA, or Performance Over Human Accountability. He argues that India has cultivated a culture where deaths resulting from systemic civic failures are passively tolerated, so long as they do not disrupt individual comfort or social status.
The Anatomy of a POHA Society
Sridharan's analysis, published on 05 January 2026, paints a picture of a society in moral retreat. The central thesis is that citizens have become numb to chronic, large-scale dangers. We collectively breathe toxic air, consume water of dubious safety, and navigate broken public systems, yet often view these not as collective emergencies but as misfortunes that befall 'others'. The line is drawn at personal inconvenience; when a crisis intrudes upon one's own life, it becomes a problem. Until then, it is merely background noise in someone else's tragedy.
This mindset, according to the commentator, allows for a dangerous prioritization. Performance metrics—economic growth, infrastructure projects, political wins—are consistently elevated above fundamental human accountability. The system is judged on output and spectacle, not on its ability to safeguard the basic well-being of its most vulnerable citizens. The result is a normalization of preventable suffering.
Accepting the Unacceptable: Air, Water, and Systems
Sridharan points to clear, everyday examples where the POHA policy is in full effect. The annual siege of hazardous air quality in major cities is met with resignation more than sustained outrage. Contaminated water supplies spark temporary headlines but rarely lead to enduring systemic overhauls. Public health systems, transportation networks, and urban planning often fail under stress, with the human cost being rationalized as collateral damage in the nation's complex development journey.
The insidious nature of this tolerance is that it is selective and hierarchical. The discomfort of the elite often drives faster action, while the perpetual hardship of the marginalized is institutionalized. The question posed is profound: have we decided that certain levels of civic failure, and the deaths they cause, are simply the price of progress?
Moving Beyond POHA: A Call for Recalibration
The conclusion is not one of despair but a urgent call for recalibration. Sridharan's argument implicitly demands a shift in how society measures success and failure. True performance, he suggests, must be intrinsically linked to human accountability. A growing economy that leaves its citizens choking is not a success. A smart city that cannot provide safe water is not intelligent.
Breaking free from the POHA framework requires a collective awakening—a refusal to compartmentalize the suffering of fellow citizens as 'their' problem. It demands that public comfort and private comfort be seen as interconnected, and that holding systems accountable for preventable death becomes a non-negotiable civic duty. The piece serves as a mirror, asking readers to examine their own thresholds of tolerance and to redefine what truly constitutes a society's progress.
