Being Human

Wish you all a very Happy New Year!! Hope you had good holidays and a bright beginning for New Year!!

As I reflect upon the onset of New Year, I am concerned about the state of our society & country and these concerns further magnified during the recent heinous episode of Nirbhaya/Damini/Amanat. This episode is just an example of further declining values in our society. Ill-treatment of women, high corruption, apathy of people towards others, brutal murders are just few examples of declining values in our society. I’d like to explore the reasons for decline in values and what we could do to transform our society.

Let us examine the Nirbhaya/Damini/Amanat’s episode a little bit more closely. I’ll not delve on the actual act itself as no sane person could condone/justify such an act. We should be ashamed of the fact that such incidents are happening in our society. I am further appalled by the fact that when the lady and her friend were lying on the road seeking help, no help was extended to them by many of the people who were present at the scene. How could people be so insensitive?

Further ridiculing the whole situation are comments/debates that followed the act. There has been an impromptu reaction across the country about the heinousness of the act which is very heartening to note. However, I am concerned about the debate that followed the episode, primarily from two reasons:

·         This has become an “intellectual” discussion at dining tables/coffee shops with the proverbial shrug and saying nothing could be done to the society. Wait until the next sensational news before this gets passed over.

·         An increased demand of death sentence for perpetrators and blaming the government for law & order problems.

In both the scenarios, there seem to be urgency amongst people to seek a “closure” for the act by placing the responsibility on another entity (government, justice system, etc). However, there seem to be little discussion on what is the root cause of the problems and what WE can do about it.

Now, I am NOT stating that the perpetrators of the act should be let off easily. Let justice take its own course (or I’d rather say fast course) to punish them for the deed. That in itself will not resolve the larger problem of why such (and many other) incidents are happening in our society. These problems will not go away just because law & order is strengthened (Yes, things will be better off if Law & Order is enforced thoroughly but that will not solve the root cause of the problems). We should all take a step back and see what the root causes of the problems are.

In my mind, I see following as the primary reasons for declining values in society:

·         Lack of higher purpose: There is genuine lack of higher purpose amongst people. There is an increased selfishness – ‘what’s in it for me?’ all the time. Jungle law where survival of the fittest occurs is much better – the predator hunts the prey but limits itself to the amount of food it requires to survive the day. We have gone much worse than Jungle law. Today, people seek to amass wealth much beyond their requirements (and for that fact, much beyond the requirement of multi-generations). No wonder we are seeing such high corruption in the country (and world). There is no higher purpose beyond the individual/family. We lack in our thought process about what we would like to contribute to the community/society/country that we live in. Simply, NO higher purpose.

·         Instant gratification: We are living in a fast world where we all seek instant gratifications. We would like to see immediate results and generally lack patience. Gone are the days, where we used to believe in ‘put in your best efforts and do not worry about the result’. Today, we are operating in a world where people ask ‘show me what the result will be and I’ll put my efforts in line with the gratification of the result’. This is a significant change in the mindset of the people. This mindset is leading to many people taking short cuts.

·         Intolerance: Due to lack of patience, people have become less tolerant about alternate/others views. There is limited appetite to sit and understand another person’s views. It is my way or highway all the time.

Given the above, we have become impatient, intolerant and selfish society. Hence, even if the perpetrators are hanged and law & order is strengthened, such incidents will not come down unless we can drive a dramatic change in the society. Our society requires transformation. Our society requires a reboot. Our society requires a wake-up call that we are a community of Human beings and not animals. We all need a wake-up call to understand who a human being is?

This change should start with us. It should start with me. This problem is no more that of a government or justice system. This problem is no more an intellectual discussion that we could have at dinner tables. This is a REAL problem that requires each one of us address it.

We should take responsibility to instill values/sense of higher purpose amongst our own family/colleagues/friends. We should drive into our family & friends that we need to contribute to the development of society/community. We need to look beyond ourselves. We need to care for other people and be open to others views (that is the only way we can learn about and understand others better). Such an education will make us more tolerant of other people and be willing to explore alternate ways of seeking resolutions. We need to go back to basics. We need to understand what being human is all about. We should behave as Human Beings and that should start with us. Only such a transformational change in ourselves and our society could ensure that we will leave a better future for our children.

It is good that we are lighting candles but it is more important that we enlighten ourselves in the process. That’s the only way we will be re-recognized as being human. That’s the only tribute we can pay to the lady who has woken us up in her death.