Jessica and values in India today
The Jessica Lal murder trial has received a lot of coverage in the media. Jessica, a bartender and aspiring model bartender,
was gunned down when she refused to provide drinks to a customer after the official closing time of the bar. One person
accused of involvement in her murder was the son of a minister in the Haryana government. The other was the son of DP Yadav,
one of Uttar Pradesh’s most powerful mafia dons. The two were acquitted because of shoddy work on the part of the police.
However coverage by the media and public uproar in India has resulted in the case being reopened by the cops.
was gunned down when she refused to provide drinks to a customer after the official closing time of the bar. One person
accused of involvement in her murder was the son of a minister in the Haryana government. The other was the son of DP Yadav,
one of Uttar Pradesh’s most powerful mafia dons. The two were acquitted because of shoddy work on the part of the police.
However coverage by the media and public uproar in India has resulted in the case being reopened by the cops.
Such incidences, in which sons of powerful or rich people fearlessly violate and show disrepect for the law, although not
common, are also not rare in India today. Just do a google search on Priyadarshini Mattoo or ‘Sanjeev Nanda BMW’ to find out.
Such violators of the law rarely, if ever, receive any sort of punishment commensurate with their crimes.
A respect for the law and a regard for basic human life and dignity are missing from some members of the business and political
elite of India, who feel that their power and influence can bail them out of even the most heinous of crimes. These ’silver
goons’ have no contribution to make to society. Many of them will not commit heinous crimes, but will still live their lives
with the attitude that the world exists solely to serve them, so they can do as they please with whoever or whatever they
want.
In order for India to emerge as a truly great nation, all citizens must feel that the law applies equally for all. Indian
democracy is less than 60 years old, and a lot has happened since then to strengthen the notion of equality before the law.
But a lot remains to be done. The effects of ages of invasions and feudalism on Indian society can still be seen. Large
sections of the Indian populace still have the attitude that the law is more of a hinderance rather than something that can
facilitate their needs. A lot people will indulge in minor violations of the law, like stealing electricity via poles
connected to power lines or lying about their taxes, if they feel they can get away with it. The higher you are in the
money/power ladder, the more you can get away with. This culminates in cases like Jessica Lal’s. If we had a better system in
India, the silver goons would think twice before openly showing such wanton disregard for human life and dignity. Some of
them would still commit crimes, but they would suitably be dealt with.
The average citizen indulging in these minor violations is not completely to blame, although he/she still shoulders some
portion of the blame. When the state machinery itself often shows a disregard for the law, when cops sometimes knowingly
book the wrong people for crimes, when passport officers demand bribes, the citizen’s environment encourages him or her to
violate the law if convenient. But those serving the state machinery still come from society. People will ultimately have to
realize that the law serves to remove barriers to their objectives. At the same time, laws must be made reasonable. How can
you expect people to honestly pay taxes if the tax rate for their income bracket is 98% (like it was during the late ’60s in
India). There is a strong need for the political class and public to collaborate on making laws more reasonable and at the
same time ensure that the law is respected.
I do not mean to make an excuse for ppl who indulge in murder, or mansughter as a result of excessive speeding followed by
attempting to erase evidence. Such people should be dealt with severely. A murderer of an innocent girl is a murderer, you
can’t give the social environment or upbringing as an excuse, especially when the perpetrator of the crime comes from a
privileged upbringing.
Even though incidents occur, there are some encouraging signs in India.A free press, a democratic environment has ensured that
public anger can be created and used to apply pressure on state institutions. Even though rampant goondaism has not
disappeared, the advances India has made in education and the power felt by previously suppressed sections of society just
due to their voting power has restrained goondaism. Also the Indian electorate has shown that there is a limit to state
sponsered goondaism it will tolerate, as evident by Nitish Kumar’s thrashing of Laloo’s proxy government in the recent Bihar
elections. Going back in time, to 1977, we can see the electorate will not tolerate governments that spite the spirit of the
law.
It took a long time for corruption and society-government institutionalized inequality to disappear in the US, and as a
republic India is fairly young. But that should not result in a feeling of complacency. There still is a feeling of awe for
those who use their power as a shield to violate the law. This vestigial feudal attitude must go. India has a truly great
civilizational history. The US started advocating equality of all men at its formation. Thousands of years before that,
ancient Indian philosophers advocated spiritual equality for all souls. It is time to use these inherent civilizational
traits to foster true feeling sof equality, equanimity and human dignity in all Indians.
BTW, these feelings are not rare in India today. I just feel they need to be more widespread.
democracy is less than 60 years old, and a lot has happened since then to strengthen the notion of equality before the law.
But a lot remains to be done. The effects of ages of invasions and feudalism on Indian society can still be seen. Large
sections of the Indian populace still have the attitude that the law is more of a hinderance rather than something that can
facilitate their needs. A lot people will indulge in minor violations of the law, like stealing electricity via poles
connected to power lines or lying about their taxes, if they feel they can get away with it. The higher you are in the
money/power ladder, the more you can get away with. This culminates in cases like Jessica Lal’s. If we had a better system in
India, the silver goons would think twice before openly showing such wanton disregard for human life and dignity. Some of
them would still commit crimes, but they would suitably be dealt with.
The average citizen indulging in these minor violations is not completely to blame, although he/she still shoulders some
portion of the blame. When the state machinery itself often shows a disregard for the law, when cops sometimes knowingly
book the wrong people for crimes, when passport officers demand bribes, the citizen’s environment encourages him or her to
violate the law if convenient. But those serving the state machinery still come from society. People will ultimately have to
realize that the law serves to remove barriers to their objectives. At the same time, laws must be made reasonable. How can
you expect people to honestly pay taxes if the tax rate for their income bracket is 98% (like it was during the late ’60s in
India). There is a strong need for the political class and public to collaborate on making laws more reasonable and at the
same time ensure that the law is respected.
I do not mean to make an excuse for ppl who indulge in murder, or mansughter as a result of excessive speeding followed by
attempting to erase evidence. Such people should be dealt with severely. A murderer of an innocent girl is a murderer, you
can’t give the social environment or upbringing as an excuse, especially when the perpetrator of the crime comes from a
privileged upbringing.
Even though incidents occur, there are some encouraging signs in India.A free press, a democratic environment has ensured that
public anger can be created and used to apply pressure on state institutions. Even though rampant goondaism has not
disappeared, the advances India has made in education and the power felt by previously suppressed sections of society just
due to their voting power has restrained goondaism. Also the Indian electorate has shown that there is a limit to state
sponsered goondaism it will tolerate, as evident by Nitish Kumar’s thrashing of Laloo’s proxy government in the recent Bihar
elections. Going back in time, to 1977, we can see the electorate will not tolerate governments that spite the spirit of the
law.
It took a long time for corruption and society-government institutionalized inequality to disappear in the US, and as a
republic India is fairly young. But that should not result in a feeling of complacency. There still is a feeling of awe for
those who use their power as a shield to violate the law. This vestigial feudal attitude must go. India has a truly great
civilizational history. The US started advocating equality of all men at its formation. Thousands of years before that,
ancient Indian philosophers advocated spiritual equality for all souls. It is time to use these inherent civilizational
traits to foster true feeling sof equality, equanimity and human dignity in all Indians.
BTW, these feelings are not rare in India today. I just feel they need to be more widespread.
Update: On December 20,2006, after a retrial, the main accused in Jessica’s murder, Manu Sharma aka Siddharth Vashisht, was sentenced to life in prison. Kudos to both the press and the Indian public for pressing for a retrial. However we must remember that this was a high profile case involving models and socialites, and this contributed to public awareness regarding the case. There is a need for the wheels of justice and rule of law to be strengthened further so that all citizens and residents of India can gain confidence in an efficient and just law and order system.
I think it’s important to clarify that the US recognized (at its formation) that all men are equal in the eyes of the law. Your wording of it seems to put it more like an advocacy of egalitarianism, which it definitely was not. The US was founded on the basis of Individual Rights; “Individual” being the operative word there. As such, more collectivist ideas (such as the belief that there is a such thing as “inherent civilizational traits”) stand in opposition to any rational definition of Rights, Freedom, and Justice. What would help India (nay, the entire known world) the most is a rejection of the collectivist ethics and the embracement of the concept of Individual Rights.
Comment by Scott — March 18, 2006 @ 10:07 pm