Over the last three weeks, a series
of incidents have happened which may seem unconnected to each other but they
still have a common and central question or rather questions to all of us
Indians. As a progressive nation and as an age-old civilisation, a rhetorical
idea that we proudly proclaim, it is high time we ask questions and that we
introspect whether we are living up to the expectations of this Great Nation or
for that matter whether we are living up to the expectations as Human Beings.
As social beings,
it is necessary for us, that we ponder about the happenings around us, that we
question and fight to correct if something indeed has gone wrong with our
society. It's time we ask ourselves if we have become ‘Insensitive’ to our
fellow beings, our neighbours, to their pain and distress. Has our Education
system and the Society, with its Core value system, failed our children and
youth alike? Has Materialistic tendencies and Consumerism eaten away the much
needed values and morality for the healthy progress of our society? Are we
moving One step ahead and two steps backwards?
It is with
these questions that I point out four incidents that shook my conscience in
varied ways and impelled me to speak out.
The first
incident is that of the Death, wait ? No .., A Public Suicide of a distressed farmer
in broad daylight while the Chief Minister of the State watched the fiasco from
a decorated stage. Nobody would have expected what Gajendra Singh, the farmer,
was up to, when he climbed the tree during a political rally to publicly hang
himself, as such scenes are common across India where people climb roof tops
and trees to get a glimpse of their beloved leaders. However, it is the sheer
audacity of a man to take his life in broad daylight while vast sections of
People, Politicians, Media and Police watched the episode unfold as mute
spectators , which forces one to question whether we have lost our Moral
Conscience which is pained when a fellow human being is in pain. The
continuation of the political rally in spite of the Public Suicide of a farmer
and the political mudslinging that followed is indeed shocking and depressing.
One is not singling out the political fraternity alone rather the question goes
to the people of this country. Has our Conscience become numb?
The Second
Incident that followed came from a neighbouring country that is reeling under a
devastating earthquake and its after effects. The dramatics and the rush for
the tag “ First On Your Channel “ that made the Indian broadcast media cross
every line of ethical journalism, culminating in an outrage by the Nepalese
citizens to ask the Indian Media to Go Back, who, otherwise were grateful to the
tireless efforts of Indian Government’s agencies in helping out Nepal in the
hour of distress and chaos.
The
broadcast media’s jingoistic attitude complemented by the most unwarranted and
unethical questions to the victims and in the process pushing them to break
down who were already broken from inside makes one feel ashamed of an otherwise
respectable Social Institution called Media. Have we forgotten our professional
ethics and Institutional values, or in broader terms our social morality, which
teaches us to help selflessly and not expect anything in return. One asks if a
journalist should cover a disaster in the interests of an organization for
which he/she works or in the interests of the profession to which he/she
belongs whose aims are much broader than the narrow interests of a commercial
organisation, or in the interests of Humanity, in general, which subsumes all other
interests. Should we not behave as Human Beings first when the situation
demands?
The Third
incident that created a furore is the conviction of actor Salman Khan and the
reactions that followed on the various media platforms from a vast section of society.
The remarks of a renowned singer about the people sleeping on pavements and his
implied assertion that such people do not have the right to justice when harmed
by a celebrity driving under the influence of alcohol as they were sleeping at
the wrong place, makes one feel, if the aspects of Pain and Happiness are a
Universal phenomenon or if they are privileged rights of a few. Thus implying,
while Pain and Suffering are the privilege of The Have Nots, Happiness is a
privilege of a selected few Haves.
The remarks of the singer
categorically suggest that the value and dignity of life varies from person to
person and that it is determined by the achievements of the person and not for
being a Human Being in the First place. Although the remarks generated an
outcry in social media, one is saddened to acknowledge that we are living in
times where “ the value for a Human being for being Human “ is degrading and
that the achievements and social status matter more than “ Being Human”.
The Fourth Incident and the one,
which disturbed and provoked me to write this piece comes from my Home state
and from the city of Hyderabad. A friendly fistfight, which sounds utterly
oxymoronic, took place between two college students involving placing
of bets had led to the death, correction Instant Death of one Nabeel Ahmed who
was just 17 years old. The appallingly shocking video, which was taken during
the fight, which lasted just over a minute, showed how the youngster collapsed
in a matter of seconds. The video broke me and I kept on thinking, how could two
grown-ups indulge in such a brutal and seemingly stupid and mindless act that
led to the loss of a precious life. One is deeply hurt and disappointed with the
values that our children and youth are being brought up with. The values that
they learn from family, school, college, friends, society, Television,
Bollywood, Internet and so on and so forth.
Although this may be a one off
incident, I am particular about it and I for once, want to ask why even a single
death should occur in the manner it occurred. I am not for generalising this
trend but the four incidents had one question in common. With a direct or an indirect reference, all the four incidents question our "Growing Insensitivity" towards fellow human beings.This gross insensitivity will multiply when a New Generation takes a cue from us and applies in its own life and in its own era.
We have to stop this Evil within us
before it corrupts our body and soul. Before we claim of being a SuperPower ,
and an economic and military Giant, we have to reclaim our status as a “Peace Loving Nation” both internal and
external. I have used the term Peace in its broadest sense to mean the well
being of myself and my fellow beings. What good can be such an education and
economic prosperity to a person, who fails to respect life of his and of others and who values Lives Unequally.
Before we move ahead on such a path
of progress we must stop, think and introspect if we really want to move ahead
and create a society which does not Value Equally, its Organic Entities i.e., Human
Beings.
Our Education system may only be a
formal victim of the charges for not providing moral and value-based education, but it is to be remembered that we and our children are not products of our
schools and colleges rather the products of our society , of our families and
hence the Course Correction has to begin with me and my family. The inculcation
of values has to start from our Homes for a better society and for a better
tomorrow.
We may not adhere to the biblical
principle “ Love thy neighbour as thyself “ in word and spirit, but we could at
least show concern and courtesy to our fellow beings for their “being human”.
