Lessons to learn

These are difficult times. More importantly, these are times to learn some most basic lessons which humanity forgot in its ambitious march to conquer everything. As the threat of Covid-19 spreads, mankind realises how vulnerable it is in the face of a crisis that emanates from the nature. The difficulties have their own lessons to offer. They are testing human resilience in times of adversity. That mankind will emerge from this is also certain. History has proved this time and again. Of course, a price was paid each time, but what mattered was the indomitable will to survive from the crises. However, the essential point was that with time the same mistakes that led to those crises were forgotten and the same pursuits went on. Human beings have hardly learnt from their past mistakes and their memories are woefully short. But the micro-organisms keep on learning from their past and continuously adapt to regain their strike power. The multidrug resistant micro-organisms that give rise to the same old diseases that struck humanity ages ago keep on bouncing back. The coronavirus that has struck this time with a vengeance is a grim reminder of this basic fact. The adaptability of the virus is something that must give humanity a lesson or two. There are other lessons, too, that the present crises offers. First and foremost, that despite those geographical boundaries, racial and cultural differences, the uniformity in reaction to this corona threat proves emphatically that humanity has a common thread. And the collective unconscious hypothesis of Carl Jung holds goods. Rightly did Napoleon opine that two things unite humanity — fear and self-interest. Look the way people are reacting globally. Same ‘me first’ mind set where it comes to survival interest, and same ‘me-not’ mind set when it comes to threat. Though it is rather a tall order, yet can we not think of others, for a change? Rather than thinking of buying provisions to last till eternity can we not think of leaving something for the others to buy? An extreme example is that of the people of the United States of America who as per newspaper reports are going for panic buying of guns and cartridges. And the reason is quite strange. It is based on a chain of assumptions. First that the virus threat will last long. Second, if it lasts long there will be scarcity of basic necessities. Third, the deprived will be forced to think of snatching and looting those who have it. So the conclusion is that the guns will have to be used for defense. The point is how much can be stored and how many can be kept at bay by fire power. Sanity is giving way to vanity. To quote former President of the US, John F Kennedy — “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich”. We need to learn to share our resources in these trying times. In times of crises that threaten collectively, we need to stand collectively. Not just for me and myself but for us. These adversities are times that test not just our wit and grit, but also our character. There is little justification of people running from isolation wards and risking others. Behaving responsibly is what these times call for. Time to be human and act human.

 

When virus went viral

Covid-19 is the new obsession in many parts of the world today, as the fear of getting infected by the coronavirus threatens humanity for one more time. This is how humanity responds to crises in times of globalisation. The spread of the news is much faster than the spread of the virus that spreads the disease. Taking the case of China and India together, that account for 40 percent of the humanity, the enormity of the pandemic or the number that may have died due to the virus may not be ascertained. At worst, it may be a few thousand out of 7.5 billion, if the estimation is valid. Chances are, they are not. And for India, it is still around 35 as per the reports. Further, we cannot be sure whether these deaths are due to the virus or other respiratory diseases for other reasons. But look at the way the world is shouting ‘Corona, Corona’. Newspaper headlines say much is not known about the virus. Yet, they also say that India is just not prepared for the pandemic. And we are closing schools, offices and other establishments. Official seminars and business meetings are being postponed, airlines are suspending flights, social get-togethers are being cancelled, and the whole country seems to be running helter-skelter. The irony is that the problems that actually bother are getting glossed over as the country seems to be obsessed with a threat that actually may not be there. But amidst all this, commerce seems to thrive. Masks that would normally cost `5 are being sold for `500. This tribe that makes hay all the time, whether the sun shines or not, almost always scores and finds corona or something like it to thrive. Maybe, corona like viruses can be engineered to suit certain situations. Spread of corona is not as big a problem as spread of the news of the corona virus spreading. The treasure of knowledge, the range of advisories, the pseudo-medical expert tips and the videos of do’s and don’ts on the social media seem to be a bigger threat as they may create more cases of paranoia than respiratory infections. There actually are people turning paranoid, washing their hands obsessively, and wearing the masks religiously. Interestingly, it is still not clear whether those masks can stop the spread of virus, or that safe distance of three feet can keep the micro-organism at bay. Something like showing the red rag to the bull although science says bulls are color blind. But that is how it is. People know the truth, yet are not willing to believe it. Our gullibility is more dangerous than corona virus that seems to be a threat in the present times. The gullibility may keep threatening us for all times in the name of something or the other. It was bird flu few years ago. Great country with great people who press the panic button at the slightest pretext. There was a time when the whole country made a beeline to offer milk to Lord Ganesh and watch him actually consume it. We need more investments in developing scientific temper than science per se because science cannot flourish where there is no scientific temper. The corona scare is temporary, but the mass hysteria threat is permanent. More so, in a country where people are wont to jump to conclusions without verifying the hypothesis. The hysterical temper is the first outcome of paranoid societies.

Blindfold of Lady Justice

Defining justice has never been easy as there is always an element of subjectivity in the concept. Understanding the idea of justice may be only a little less daunting than verifying the number of stars in our galaxy. If the latter ranges from 100 to 400 billion, the number of definitions of justice are only slightly less astronomical as they, too, range from 7 to 8 billion. Every individual has at least one definition of justice, depending on his or her experience and interpretation of that experience. Sometime, the same person can have a different idea in different situation. The one thing that can be said about the idea of justice is that it is continuously evolving. Naturally, the law must also change to keep pace with the changing connotations of justice. Law is the tool that the society has developed to dispense justice. However, the pace of change of law is not in tandem with the changing idea of justice. One case in point is the proposed change in the law to try minors as adults. It is only after the serious public outcry that a change in Juvenile Justice Law is being felt. It was always evident that heinous and serious crimes committed by technically Juvenile offenders needed to be treated as adult crimes. The rising number of cases involving juveniles in premeditated heinous crimes were alarming, hence the punishment needed to be the same as that given to an adult. However, there are many other issues involving the question of law, justice and fairness which need serious consideration. The one, and most rampant, issue is the act of instituting false criminal cases on innocent people to harass, intimidate or sometimes even force compliance for achieving wrong ends. The key issue in these cases is the over reliance on eye witnesses. Any person with criminal intent can find out two or three witnesses and file a case against any unsuspecting person in order to gain unlawful advantage. There is an ancient Indian village proverb saying that to settle scores don’t go for a civil suit or “Diwani”. Rather, go far a criminal case, which is termed “Faujdari”. The unfortunate part is that even in this technology driven 21st century the trick works. The courts are aware of this hard reality, but precious little has been achieved. It is time to make amends. For some five centuries the Lady Justice has been standing as a blind-folded statuette with a balance in one hand and sword in the other. It is time the blindfold is removed. The allegorical personification of the moral force in the judicial system needs a rethink as justice is being derailed by the unscrupulous who have the wherewithal. Justice can certainly be more impartial if Lady Justice can see the faces of evil with her own eyes. From King Solomon to Suddhodana to Vikramaditya to Ranjit Singh history has many examples. They relied more on wisdom, conscience and judgment rather than evidences of witnesses of doubtful virtue and were able to dispense justice. Atop the old Bailey Courthouse of London the Lady Justice stands without blindfold, perhaps to suggest this. The crowding at top courts is more due to motivated concoctions rather than any genuine grouse. Public opinion as John Galsworthy said is always in advance of law. Public is now feeling the pinch.