My previous blog post was dated 5th
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.
