This gruesome incident, although common
occurred when I had boarded bus No 429 from vicinity of Old Delhi
railway incident and finding all seats preoccupied, adjusted me in
gallery, supported by elevated platform. Near me stood Kyamuddin, a
frail man with squeezed face, and a girl dressed in yellow tops but to
be honest I didn’t’ noticed color of her jeans.
While I was relishing (with my eyes
closed) Gazals sung by Gulam Ali, a boy about 18 appeared from nowhere
and inserted himself forcibly between me and Kyamuddin. I opened my eyes
to ascertain his intentions. His personality wandered miles away from
that a decent boy. Ruffled hairs, wandering eyes, embarrassed face, and
mutilated clothes gave me an impression of him being a pickpocket.
Instantly I signaled to him that I was ‘consciously’ awake. Apprehending
my judgment he displaced far from me .He then unsuccessfully attempted
to steal contents of another young man’s pocket standing beside him.
Realizing what was going on, this young man clubbed both his hands and
slapped and abused him incessantly. Two three other boys waged past
through me and hurled upon him a volley of punches, kicks and slaps. He
turned black and blue and blood started to ooze out of his mouth.
Sensing trouble he was evicted from bus.
After restoration of calm I asked
Kyamuddin whether this punishment will teach him a lesson not to repeat
his dastardly act again. Kyamudddin out rightly rejected my assertion
and further added that tortured at the hand of humiliation, guilt of
failure will prompt him to prove himself good at this profession again.
Two questions instantly raided faculties of my mind. One, if this
treatment will not deter him, what was the use of it and what should be
prescribed then? Another, why so many people jumped into foray to test
their strength on this pitiful creature?
Reasons
It has been proved time and again that
all crimes are committed under the state of “psychological imbalance”
caused by different factors. Dostoyevsky astutely conveyed the point
through “Crime and Punishment”. In the light of this knowledge search
for reasons becomes imperative. Why and in what situation crime was
committed, what were justifications suggested, if any by the
perpetrator? Pondering over these questions prepares a background to
understand the cause of tragedies. Lack of education, moral and ethical
degradation, economic hardships and easy way to earn money lie at the
root of small crimes such as loot, pick-pocketing and chain snatching
etc. Disparity in wealth distribution, attraction to lavish and
exuberant life style prompts teenagers to adopt unethical ways to earn
easy money.
The second aspect of problem is an
insidious frustration coupled with anger that is brewing up in common
masses, reason being the flaws in justice delivery system. People now
believe that no purpose will be solved by approaching the ‘over archaic’
police administration or ‘tortoise paced’ justice system. Rather than
wasting time and money in due processes they find it better to disburse
the “justice” at their own even if it leads to deplorable human right
violations.
If steps are not taken to reinvigorate
justice delivery system, ramifications can be unimaginably harsh. Nation
might be plunged in a dismal state of spontaneous violence that might
put our democracy in peril.
What shall we do?
All of us witness similar incidents in
our daily lives but we tend to ignore suspecting moral bankruptcy of
people involved. What we need is introspection, a soul searching for the
reasons that lead to the culmination of such problems. We ought to take
a rather sympathetic view and tread reformative path as Gandhiji said
“Hate the crime not the criminal” as there is always a possibility of
reform of the person involved. Even Shaheed Bhagat Singh espoused
Reformative theory of jurisprudence “Reformative theory is now widely
accepted and necessary for human progress. It aims at reforming the
culprit and converting into a peace loving citizen”.
So it is a humble request to all fellow
rational people to adhere to reformative practices rather than venting
their ‘justified’ anger on less fortunate creatures. Many a crime can be
averted and it will be a huge step forward for civilization, away from
barbarism professed now in name of retributive and deterrent principles.
February 6, 2012
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