MAY IT DISPEL THE DARKNESS






Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption agitation was at its thick. The no-nonsense Gandhian was on a fast-unto-death… The entire nation had rallied behind him… The Ram Leela grounds had never before witnessed a frenzy like this one… The young and old alike wore the topi that read – ‘I am Anna’. It had spread like a viral… and had brought the Government down to its knees. All over the country, people – simple and sophisticated, illiterate and highly literate, all - were on a campaign-spree… Suddenly, to speak of anti-corruption in this country had become very fashionable… a fad. It gave a huge ego-kick to most of us…


It was in the midst of this infectious anti-corruption agitation, about five-hundred students of a Medical College in Mumbai wanted to join one of the anti-corruption rallies in our Azad Maidan. The Dean of this college asked all of them to assemble in the college campus.


“Are you really serious about rooting out corruption from our land?” the Dean asked.


“Yes, we are,” the young Medicos echoed.


“Are you sure?” the Dean again asked his students.


“Doubly sure!” they cried.


“Well then,” said the Dean, “bring your hands to your hearts and repeat what I say.”


“We take this solemn oath…


Never to take any short-cuts in our exams…


Never to give or accept any bribe…


Never to over-charge our patients… Never to mislead them…


Never to accept commission from any labs, hospitals and other doctors for referring patients…


Never to hide our income… Never to evade taxes…


Never to…


Never to…


Never to…”



The dialogues are mine… but not the incident, not the story or its moral:


“If you want to root out corruption from our land, 
                                                          start from your own heart!”     
Everybody else in this country is corrupt… except me!


If Ministers, Bureaucrats, Government officials and Police become clean, we all become automatically clean!


The Lokpal Bill will make this country corruption-free!


What a logic? What a presumption?


So, did young Medicos give the oath their Dean wanted them to?


If they didn’t, then, there is no hope!


The horrific gang-rape incident in Delhi has made all of us react the way we have never reacted before. And, justifiably so… It has angered the simplest man on the streets to the most sophisticated… From the Prime Minister of our country to the local postman, everybody is angry, hurt and disgusted…


Everybody is reacting: “Kill them… Hang them publicly… Castrate them and parade them naked on the Delhi streets… Show it on television… Let PM resign… Let CM resign… Let Police Commissioner resign… Let there be Fast-track courts… Let there be no bail… no hearing… Cut their hands… Pluck their eyes… Pluck their…”


And, with that, we think, such monsters will not be born again on our land! We assume that criminals like these would think a thousand times before they resort to such barbarian acts…


But, crimes don’t end that way… Neither through the fear of Police nor through the fear of God…


If at all crimes end, they end with man’s ‘knowledge’, his ‘understanding’…

And, for that, man needs the touch of God’s grace!


The young girl is battling for life, maimed and brutally scarred. What she needs is our silent prayer… May the grace of God touch her… touch her family!


The ones who have committed such brutality will get what they deserve… I am sure, they will!


Yes, our anger, disgust and even reactions… are definitely justified…


However, let’s not blame the Police and the Ministers for the insanity of man… Such men can come from anywhere... even from fine homes… having wonderful mothers and sisters at home!


Mind you, they can come from our own homes!


Mind you, like the seed of corruption, the seed of brutality is very much present in our soul!


The barbaric act is already done; it is over…


Three things can be done by us, now:


We can pray for the unfortunate victim…


We can pray for the monsters…


And, we can pray for ourselves!



Man becomes a monster 

only in the hour of darkness…



May light prevail… 

May it dispel the darkness!




GERALD D’CUNHA



Pics.: 1. Sandeep Nair

         2. Gloria Pinto


Comments

Girish Punjabi said…
Too meaningful, and too touching, too. Girish
Binoy Jose said…
Different perspective!!! Binoy

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