Rising social evils

Dear Editor,
The social evils are prevalent in our society. Some of them are attached to it since time immemorial. But some have recently crept into our society. The evils prevalent in our society are dowry, drug addiction, domestic violence, female feticide and infanticide, illegal abortions, corruption, gender inequality, racism, human trafficking, casteism, poverty, food adulteration and hoarding, to name a few. All these evils adversely affect our lives. But some are grave than others. Likewise, the female infanticide and feticide are against humanity and the natural plan. No one has the liberty to kill a living being especially a human being. It directly attacks the very survival of generations. But this sort of behaviour is not the culmination of some days, but it has a long history that slowly and steadily prepared the ground for such behaviour that we see in our society. I would like to throw some light over some causes that will make us understand the real nature of these evils. The first cause responsible for these evils is materialism. This materialism is such a path that is to be treaded upon carefully. It has the potential of creating as well as destroying. But the experience shows that a majority of people are destroyed by the harmful side of materialism. They worship materialism. Humanity is humiliated in the pursuit of this. The destruction of Central Asia, Myanmar, Syria, Kashmir, Africa, etc, to name a few have made it clear to us that when the crown of humanity acts against his or her capacity, the fate of the whole world is destined to be destructive. This destruction gives rise to a number of other crimes. Drug addiction, sex scandals, human trafficking, and other evils happen in these areas because. In the backdrop of the failure of the government, might become right. Anti-social elements take place of morality and the result is that the society falls into an abyss of immortality, wherefrom it is very difficult to come out. The second cause responsible for these evils is religiosity. Religions teach peace and comfort. There are some rare occasions when the violence of very less magnitude is permitted. In today’s world, religiosity has taken the place of religion. A girl is forced by her in-laws to bring modern gadgets from her parents’ home. But the reality is that when a father according to his wish gives some things to his daughter as a heart’s contentment, it is legal. But when it becomes matter of life and death, it becomes religiosity and becomes a life-taking evil. The third cause responsible for this is that we lack scientific temper. Every religious and non-religious text stresses upon this fact that a person should ponder over the creation of the Universe. The perfect design of the Universe will make a person realize that there is someone who is the most intelligent and the perfect designer. The diversity among living beings will allow him or her to appreciate his or her Creator. The diversity among the non-living things will also leave him or her amazed. The natural phenomena will force him or her to think that they happen due to natural causes. There is no human contribution to it. This kind of mindset is an asset for the whole of humanity. In contrast, the superstitious mind never thinks like this. He or she fears natural phenomena. The rainbow is something to be worshipped. The big trees on account of their size are to be called sacred. Animals are for the service of man but in a humanitarian manner, are worshipped without any solid base. God becomes happy when we help each other regardless of colour, age and religion. But what when we sacrifice human beings to appease gods, means that we are nastier than animals. God hates violence but we kill each other on the pretext that certain people bring ill-omen and they should be killed instantly. This approach is quite dangerous and its fruits are quite bitter to taste. I would like to throw some light over some causes that will make us understand the real nature of these evils. The first cause responsible for these evils is materialism. This materialism is such a path that is to be treaded upon carefully. It has the potential of creating as well as destroying. But the experience shows that a majority of people are destroyed by the harmful side of materialism. They worship materialism. Humanity is humiliated in the pursuit of this. The fourth cause responsible for these evils is the lenient government. They actually are hand in glove. If they are serious, no crime will happen on large scale. The culprits should be dealt harshly. There should be no complacency in punishing the culprits. The culprits, due to many reasons, get freedom without much pain. In politics, a ruler should be an embodiment of both mercy and dread. A ruler will rule according to the situations. The other side of him or her that is dread is more important in the contemporary world. The language of love is not understood by the majority of people. So, it becomes necessary to get them on the right track by the use of a stick. I feel it is nice to punish the guilty so that others get a lesson. It will somehow bring down the graph of evils. The last cause in my opinion is that there is gender discrimination. A girl and a boy are discriminated on the basis of useless things. A boy is generally taken as a source of pride while a girl as a source of shame. This mindset will not allow girls to live. The ways will be sought to kill them so that the shame they bring with them is ended forever. A ruler will rule according to the situations. The other side of him or her that is dread is more important in the contemporary world. The language of love is not understood by the majority of people. So, it becomes necessary to get them on the right track by the use of a stick. I feel it is nice to punish the guilty so that others get a lesson. It will somehow bring down the graph of evils. Our social structure makes it possible to distinguish between a boy and a girl. A girl is always looked with suspicion. Most of the times, boys get scot-free while girls got subjected to different harassments for the same activity that is done by a boy. This inequality is found everywhere. From homes to the markets, the story is the same. This atmosphere brings no comfort but only gloom and frustration. And we are eyewitnesses to this. No day passes without some girl raped, teased and molested due to prejudices. It is a long story of misery with no end in future. We call ourselves modern but we still live in an orthodox manner. We have not understood the reality of a man’s creation. If we had known, we would have mended our ways. If someone knows it, he or she still follows others and the society becomes devoid of the ethically good persons that create so many problems for the society. Let humanity prevail.
Mool Raj.

letters to editor