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
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