By now everyone would be familiar
with the recent Delhi rape incident. Very swiftly the perpetrators were caught
and their trial is on-going. Two days ago the alleged mastermind was found
hanged in the prison cell. His lawyer has alleged foul play and further asserts
that his client was beaten and raped whilst in detention. Foul play or not
there would be many who would have rejoiced upon hearing of his death and many
more would have smiled sheepishly for the alleged treatment descended upon the “victim”.
Victim? Many may ask and many more would silently wish that the same fate
befalls the remaining accused. The tables have turned. The predator now has become the prey.
Gandhi’s famous quote, “India
will attain full freedom on the day women can walk safely at night.” If this
were to be applied I believe no country in the world has actually attained
freedom.
Justice must be seen to be done.
But the circumstances must fall within the ambit of sensibility. When justice
is executed emotionally it gives rise to a moral dilemma. To the rest of the
world such an incident would be a mere tragedy that would soon be forgotten
after the initial outpour of sympathy. But for the affected it is life torn
apart. They would have to live with the nightmare forever etched.
Abraham Lincoln had once said, “I
have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice,” a
paradox statement that bears contrary to the rule of law. This puts us in a
further abysmal state. So how do we decide? Should mob mentality be the answer,
for its simplicity and convenience, in which case no one takes neither the responsibility
nor is held accountable for such actions. It is easier to be a participant in a
group action than to act alone. In the latter situation greater thought is
given to consequences which is conspicuously absent in the former.
Thus arises the question “Is man
a rationale being?”. If he/she was, than
the rape tragedy should never have happened in the first place and the alleged
prison brutality leading to a suicide would not be even imagined. So where does
this leave us? We claim to be a civil society. But are we? Being sympathetic
alone cannot bring change, for compassion needs action. Poetic justice, maybe
but I leave it to your own conscience.
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