Inhuman India

My previous blog post was dated 5^th June and I know it’s been a long while since I have written. In my writings I tend to complain about those things that are not going the way that things are ideally supposed to go. At times I feel embarrassed and frustrated because all this whining isn’t really leading to anything productive and the social evils are only going up day by day. The picture that you see is a blurred collection of some screenshots of examples of mob cruelty:

-        An Infosys employee hacked to death on a railway station and nobody came forward to help.

-        A worker from Assam tortured and left in the sun to die.

-        Mother shot dead by son after she refused to give money for drugs.

-        Husband and in-laws gang-rape woman. Tattoo her forehead and arms with abuses.

-        22-year old lynched by mob in front of his mother, mistaking him as a buffalo thief.-         

-        Woman raped at gunpoint, pistol forced in her private parts.

-        Tribal couple stripped and paraded naked by villagers.

-        Students of nursing college force a junior to drink toilet cleaner.

-        16-year-old stripped nude, thrashed for an alleged crime.

-        DGP suggests taking laws into one’s hands and killing criminals on the spot.

… And the list continues. It’s frightening, disgusting, shameful and plain sad. We are losing those basic traits which made us human, which distinguished us from the animals. The social media is abuzz these days with instances of “humanity” that the animals exhibit and the acts of selfless kindness that they exchange. As for us people, there are too many examples of the inhumane cruelty we inflict on each other. Where’s the compassion? Where’s the empathy? When did we become so intolerant? When did we become such sadistic blood-thirsty inhuman demons?

Most religions I know of have always emphasized on kindness and devotion. Is it not ironic that these days so many hate-crimes have their roots in religion? It’s shameful how people use religion as an excuse to explain their acts of malice. The level of hypocrisy in people is alarming. Somehow people believe that the best way to deal with any problem is to take the matters into one’s own hands. Unlike the Indian Judiciary, these people believe that a person accused of a crime is guilty unless proven innocent. What’s worse is that the alleged criminal is not even given a chance to prove their innocence or even to explain their side of the story.

Mob violence is rising at an uncanny rate. If a person is considered to have committed a crime, however much trivial it is, the mob is probably going to thrash him or lynch him to death for it. If the person by some stroke of luck escapes, then his/her family members are going to be targeted: stripped, tortured and humiliated to pay for their crimes. Passers-by will either stop to watch or will join the mob; nobody will raise their voice against the cruelty. Punishments meted out will be so brutal that its effects will haunt the victims for life. Irrationality, hatred, bias and fear are the key emotions governing the hearts of the people of our nation.

At times like this, it’s easy to lose faith in humanity. However, it is necessary that we stick to our beliefs and morality now more than ever. Question the illogical. Raise your voice against the wrongs. Use your strength and power to prevent bullies from misusing theirs. Make informed decisions. Do not jump to conclusions. Be accepting of the uniqueness of the people around you. Be human.