Picture this. You are a
vendor. You toil day in and out under the sun to earn money for your family.
Now one day, a boy, who probably can't afford to pay for a fruit, quietly
pockets one. What would you do? Scream at him, make a scene? Or give a lecture on
morals and righteousness? Would you take pity and let him go? Well, whatever
your reaction be, here in India, we kill him.
It is a rather sad irony that
people who commit much heinous crimes, escape easily while those who have
committed such petty thefts are the ones that end up losing their life.
Four years. It took the
Indian Judiciary four long years to execute Ajmal Kasab. The Supreme Court is
not to blame for such a delayed decision. Yes, there may have been a number of incidents to look into. This
may perhaps be one of the quickest judgments on a case of such a large scale. A
rather great achievement for the Indian Judiciary.
However, today, it gives me
great discomfort to unfold the newspaper, and to see the very first headline
read out, “15 year Old Boy Beaten to Death for Stealing a Mango”. Moreover,
this was a murder committed by a vegetable seller who had absolutely no
knowledge of law. What gives such people the rights to take law into their own
hands? And that too till death? And for a crime as small as stealing a fruit?
“All crime is a kind of disease and
should be treated as such”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Yes, crime is crime. Be it
stealing a fruit or killing over hundred people. Crime is crime and must be
treated alike. Yes, it would have been different if the boy had been sentenced
to death by a court of justice. But the fact that steams me is that today,
ordinary people like a fruit vendor have decided to kill whosoever they want.
Now, who is to blame? The
police? Or the Judiciary? Or the Prime Minister of the country for not
providing enough food/money for all? How
is it possible for a man who's lost his cool to just kill anyone he wishes to?
But wait, ever more astonishing was the
fact that there was no passerby who could muster the guts and stop the
injustice from taking place. And then it is these very people who will be
criticizing the governing powers the next day. People must be taught that the
"Ache din" that were promised to us cannot be only the government's
initiative, it has to be a people's initiative too.
The story of the boy has no
relation to the Indian judiciary. But it is a fact that the culprit escapes
without any punishment; merely a few years of imprisonment. While an
international terrorist was given 4 years to defend himself, the poor child was
left to die at the hands of a rather ruthless vendor. This incident clearly
shows that today, people do not care about the law. Or rather they do not fear
the law. The consequences are minimal and they take advantage of this very
fact.
India today, is not the great
country we call it to be. And it will never become the great country we want it
to be, unless such unmindful people are taught a lesson. Law is a powerful
weapon that should be wielded only by those who have the capacity to do so, and
not merely every alternate vendor from whom an innocent, perhaps starving boy
has a stolen fruit.
