And the trend continues…

If the past fortnight was any indication we can predict rather confidently that this year may well be as turbulent as the previous one. Looking back, in 2019, we saw economies in turmoil, polities in turmoil, and countries in turmoil. BBC commented that 2019 was the year in which popular protests hit almost all continents except Antarctica. From Hong Kong to Paris, Beirut to Delhi, there was fury on the streets for some reason or the other. In France it was over Pension Reforms, in Iraq over their country’s future, in India over the Citizenship Act. Bolivia, Sudan, France, US, everywhere people were on the boil. What about 2020? The trend continues. Is human patience wearing out or is it that the powers-that-be are taking people for granted. Whatever, but peace is gradually eluding humanity. In management jargon, there is a term to explain this phenomenon. It is said that the Zone of Acceptance of people is shrinking. Zone of Acceptance describes the area of human mind where commands or dictates are tolerated. If a command or dictate falls there it is accepted. This zone is gradually shrinking and thus the likelihood of acceptance of commands or dictates is decreasing. Whether it is actually happening or not or whether such a zone exists at all may not be ascertained very scientifically but inferences can certainly be drawn by taking cues from the events that are unfolding. Dissent and distrust is certainly on the rise and people are not willing to take things lying down. Interestingly, another contradictory tendency is also discernible. More and more people in positions of power are wont to assert their views authoritatively. It is this phenomenon that is intriguing. Whether aversion to authority is on the rise because of authoritarianism or the other way round, but there is undoubtedly a growing discontent among the masses across the globe. There is some kind of a distrust that is engulfing the human mind. A President is elected in Algeria and protestors take to streets. A Prime Minister is not accepted in Lebanon because people believe he is a member of the ruling elite. The French President propose new retirement benefit formula and people take to streets. The Iraqis are wary of some kind of an Iranian interference in what they think is an attempt to decide their country. A law is passed in the Indian Parliament and there is wide spread protest against that. Hong Kong seems to be on the boil continuously. What is going on? And what is going wrong? Long back Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler founded the school of individual psychology and stressed the importance of diffusion of power. He was of the view that power is a great motivator and people have the craving of power. With time, this need for power is getting accentuated and there is growing tendency to power equalise. Though power always was a higher order need of humans, the information age has acted as a strong catalyst. With access to information the individual now starts questioning the authority more aggressively. And he wants to equalise. What makes the other guy more superior to him, he wonders. And the resultant response is his disdain for the other guy. There was a time when few talked and most listened. But the times have changed. Everyone is talking and no one is listening. The New Year, then, seems no different.

A time to act, a time to kill

Even as the memories of the Hyderabad encounter of the four accused in the Disha case by the police fade from the public memory a question still arises. Was the action right? More so, in view of the fact that similar crime against women continue to happen at a nagging rate. Why such incidents take place in a country where woman symbolises “Shakti”, the power to slay evil forces. From Delhi to Unnao to Hyderabad and more, unwittingly remind us of the Mississippi courtroom drama of US that transformed a young attorney John Grisham into a world class writer of legal crime fiction. Grisham was witness to the harrowing testimony of a twelve year old rape victim that traumatised him so much that he thought if the only punishment which the rapist deserved was to be killed. And he wrote “A Time to Kill”. The action of Hyderabad police has raised certain issues that led to nationwide debate ranging from justification to castigation. But the all important issue is whether the police was right. That is, if the encounter was stage managed. What if it was not? And there is no clinching evidence to prove this. In fact, the issue of questioning police action would arise only if the encounter was fake. The question of justice is rather too complex to be settled in black and white. Many times, law and justice are in conflict. It is common saying that justice should not only be delivered, it should also appear to be delivered. When people don’t see justice being delivered there is clamor for instant justice and mass approval of the same. For some, this may be a road to anarchy but they need to be reminded that anarchy follows failure of the system of justice. The avowed motto of our criminal justice system is that even if thousand criminals escape, not a single innocent be punished. But what we find is that criminals are largely escaping taking the advantage of the cumbersome legal paraphernalia while the innocent are increasingly victimised. Hindu law giver Manu’s idea of justice needs to be revisited. In Manusmriti, it is clearly stated that in a crime committed willingly and in full knowledge of implications of wrong doing, the punishment should be much more severe than that corresponding to the crime. Rape is one such crime that is always committed willingly and in full knowledge of the implications of wrong doing. Incidentally, the Hindu law book also says that the punishment should be directly proportional to the social status of those committing it. Fair enough indications as to what fate the Unnao accused must meet, given the social hierarchy they belong to. As the demonic tendencies are on the rise, we must realise that the Hindu scriptures clearly showed that even Gods resorted to killing of the demons by unfair means for the cause of justice. Access to knowledge and information has given many people the ability to dodge the laws and the temerity to think they can get away with everything. In the case of the criminals of the infamous Nirbhaya case, the juvenile law came to the rescue of a hardened criminal. For certain types of crime and categories of criminals, then, the famous last words of Jesus Christ need to read thus: “Hang them O Lord for they know fully well what they do.” And hang them high. That is the message that needs to be given.