Loss of Moral Compass

 

 

Loss of Moral Compass

What we see around in all walks of life is moral decline. The moral values of honesty,integrity,truthfulness,fairness and the like are sinking at an alarming pace, creating tremors in society. The distinction between right and wrong or truth and falsehood is blunted. And the struggle to secure victory of dharma over adharma continues from age to age, is as old as human civilisation.

People are losing faith and trust in our public administration and governance. Blatant abuse of power for partisan gains has become a norm in our public life. The investigating agencies like the Police, the CBI, the ED,  the IT, the NIA and the NCB are misused to defame and discredit the people. The All India Services personnel like the IAS and the IPS Officers have lost credibility. The bureaucracy,which is the permanent executive and expected to be politically neutral in administering the country, is willfully flouting the established rules and procedures,following the diktats of superior authorities.The bureaucrats are mortgaging integrity for pecuniary benefits.

The Delhi Police charge-sheet against Umar Khalid, ex-JNU student, and others for peacefully protesting against the CAA in February 2020 is an act of vendetta. The sedition law which was used by the British against the nationalist leaders during the freedom movement is abused to intimidate the political dissenters.  It is invoked against activists, student leaders, writers and journalists, charging the peaceful protesters as the rioters. They are accused of causing “disaffection against India” and hatching conspiracy to “overawe the government machinery”, while setting the leaders of the ruling party go scot free.  The NDTV programme Reality Check revealed that the BJP leaders-Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur and Parvesh Verma- had made provocative communal speeches to incite violence, but they are neither charge-sheeted nor questioned. Julio Ribeiro- Bishma Pitamaha of the Indian Police Service- in his letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner S.N. Shrivastava questioned the Police action: “it is difficult to justify the licence given to the three BJP stalwarts-licence to rant, rave and threaten those peacefully protesting,” and if they “were Muslims or Leftists, the Police would have surely taken them in for sedition.” Even Delhi High Court passed strictures against the Police for carrying the biased one-sided investigation. 

Political corruption has reached its nadir. Buying legislators to topple governments, resorting to lies and manipulation and misleading the gullible people have become a part of the political culture.  Any one questioning the government action is called anti-national. Since April, the Chinese troops have intruded into the Indian territory in Ladkah, trying to unilaterally alter the LAC. But the Defense Minister Rajnath Singh chose to remain silent on the Chinese incursions when he made a statement in Lok Sabha, and instead expecting the whole country to stand by the Army and not ask questions. The opposition is not allowed to raise questions and discuss the Chinese aggression.  In an open democratic society, do the people not have the right to know what is happening on the Boarder? In contrast, in 1962,when the China war was raging, the young opposition leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee had asked for a Parliament session  to discuss the Chinese agression and Pandit Nehru convened a special session of Parliament and the government was hauled over the coals while the war actually going on. It was an extraordinary phenomenon..This is how the present ruling-party always practiced double standards, getting and extracting everything that it wanted from the government, when it was in opposition and now when it is ruling denying what the opposition wants by falsely invoking patriotism.

The conspiracy of silence of the majority is a contributing factor to the loss of moral compass. The people do not wish to question the unethical and immoral practices. On the other hand, the electronic media is more interested in sensationalizing the non-issues rather than take up the burning issues of the nation- mismanaging the Covid-19, the loss of jobs, the collapse of the economy, the spiraling unemployment, the condition of the migrant workers etc. The manner in which the news channels have been carrying the relentless media trial against a Bollywood actor Rhea Chakravarty is shameful and highly deplorable.It is yellow journalism.The electronic media stooped so low, compelling the Supreme Court to come heavily against it.

The Family and the Society are equally responsible for the loss of moral compass.They failed to produce responsible conscious citizens having right values. The children are expected to grow as conformists, and not as adults having independent mind to question the system. The truth is questioning the status quo, refusing to accept the established order, has been the quintessence of all progress-scientific, social, political, philosophical, artistic.  It is challenging the existing order that led to path breaking discoveries and progress. We forget, had Gandhi not revolted against the policy of apartheid in South Africa, he would not have become a Mahatma and the greatest rebel of the British Empire to lead India to freedom. It is the fear of truth that makes the rulers to crush the dissent.

The people who troll anonymously on social media are essentially timid having low self esteem. They refuse to identify because they knew they are not right and derive sadistic pleasure in targeting the people who do not share their views. They feel more comfortable in carrying a false narrative on somebody’s behalf as part of an orchestrated propaganda. They are intellectually dishonest and practice self-deception.  What is so big about targeting someone deceitfully!

The culture of intolerance is doing irreparable damage to the Indian nation, leading to social and political degradation. India is known for high spiritual and moral quotient from ancient times.  This is what Romaine Rolland said about India, “If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence it is India.” How could such a noble land of sages and saints end up with moral turpitude, gripped by hatred, fear and violence?

And if this loss of moral compass is not regained, it will destroy freedom and democracy and everything that we cherish. As Gandhiji said,"Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.” According to Bertrand Russell,“Collective fear stimulates herd instinct and produces ferocity toward those not regarded as members of the herd.” This is what the trollers and rabble rousers are doing to discredit India and damage her image, attacking those considered ‘others’, not subscribing to their self-righteous position.

Modernity is skin deep. The young people are exposed to modern education.  They go to elite schools and colleges, speak good English, and adapt very fashionable sophisticated life style.  And yet their mindset is archaic, unable to overcome the caste, religious,linguistic and gender prejudices. Most of them do not subscribe to the values of equality and justice. Their quotient on ethics and morals is very poor. They do not practice moral code of conduct when it comes to seeking admissions in institutions of higher learning and getting jobs. Managing ‘success’ somehow is their biggest obsession. Their idea of happiness is getting professional education of their choice and securing well paid jobs in Multinational companies, and, if possible, migrating abroad in search of greener pastures. It doesn’t strike them that happiness is an inner state of mind and it comes from doing what is morally right. Education made them introvert rather than making them broad minded well adjusted human beings. As Barack Obama says, “Education is the name of our attitude, actions, language and behavior with others in real life.”

People are materialistic and greedy. To arrest the decline in moral values, it is important to ensure: (a) the right upbringing of children;(b)parents adapt non-corrupt pattern of  behavior;(c) a holistic education ; (d) ending the double standards in politics and public life; (e) neutrality of civil services, the police and the investigating agencies; (f)  judicial and police and administrative reforms to secure quick justice with minimum cost ; and (g) that all of us subscribe to the dictum “do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”