Remembering Humanity

This is not a story. The below examples are actually experiences which happened in my own personal life. I shall give you two examples to put forward my one point: ‘ WE ARE BECOMING INHUMAN DAY BY DAY’. We have stopped caring and respecting our fellow human beings. I believe we should fight for the right against the wrong. But, as Indians, we have a bad habit of reacting before knowing the actual truth. We react first and think later. The question I want to raise is, even if a person has committed a crime or done something wrong, do we have a right to hit him or her till he or she almost dies? Just give it a thought.

 Example 1: A few years back, I had gone to watch a movie with my family. We still had almost half an hour to wait before the movie started. As we waited outside the cinema hall, my father observed a young man in his early 20’s trying to enter one of the theatres. It wouldn’t have been an unusual sight to watch, had the man not been drunk. Obviously, he was trying to enter without a ticket because he didn’t seem to be in his senses. The guard didn’t allow him in but the young man was persistent. After repeated attempts of trying to stop him from entering, the guard lost his cool. He started slapping him continuously until the young lad fell down on the floor. After watching the guard in action, all the men around the cinema hall started punching and kicking the guy till he started bleeding. Among all the men, there was only one sensible man who tried to stop the others. My father. Seeing his opposite approach towards the situation, the others tried to make some sense into him by saying, “ You have no idea what he has done.” 

He replied back saying, “ He has no idea what he is doing. You don’t have to hit him. Just take him to the nearest police station and they will try to contact his family. Please try to imagine. If somebody hits your son or brother tomorrow, how would you feel?” When the men didn’t stop their actions, my father further continued; “ If this man dies due to your kicks and punches, all of you will run away. No one will go to the police station and accept your mistake or your crime.” On hearing his words, the men stopped right in their tracks and tried to process what he had just said. Finally, they let the young lad go with the guard so that he could be sent to the closest police station. 

A similar incident happened at my uncle’s wedding. 

Example 2: We’ve all heard of gatecrashers. It is the most common feat happening in Indian weddings. We have gatecrashers as well as thieves who usually come dressed up in traditional attire to confuse the family members of both the bride and the groom. Well, this particular man wasn’t all dressed up. We all thought that he was just an employee working at the wedding venue. He went up to the stage where my cousin was busy collecting envelopes given by the guests in a large bag. The thief tried to remove an envelope or two. My cousin was just 10 years old at that time, and too immersed in his own sweet world to realize what was happening. But some of my relatives weren’t. As soon as they realized what the man was upto, all the men of my family caught hold of the guy and started punching him, taking turns, one at a time.

Only one man tried to stop them from the crime they were committing. Once again, it was my father. I do not wish to brag about it, but I am proud of the fact that even in today’s world, he believes in respecting other human beings the way they are. Even if he or she is a criminal. He believes that you do not have to stoop downwards to correct a person who has done something wrong to you. You do not have to hit someone or abuse someone to make them realize their mistake. If you repeat their actions, there is practically no difference between both of you. You are equally responsible for your own actions. My father believes that if you do good to others, your good deeds will return back to you. Just the way your bad deeds bounce back at you. 

I sometimes imagine, what would have happened if my father hadn’t intervened in both these scenarios? Maybe the two men would have died. Or maybe they would have been seriously injured. I am happy that my father atleast tried to make an attempt to stop someone from getting killed. I agree that both these men were on the wrong side of the law. But who are we to take decisions for others? Do we want to go against God’s will and take someone’s life by our immediate actions? At times, the situation may not be what it seems. An innocent person may get killed. Many people might disagree with me. But I just wanted to share my views. It’s high time that we stopped being the devil and just tried to be a human. Do not do wrong to others, even if they are wrong. Don’t let your emotions have control over you to such an extent that you become the convict instead of a mere spectator. I sometimes imagine, what would have happened if my father hadn’t intervened in both these scenarios? Maybe the two men would have died. Or maybe they would have been seriously injured. I am happy that my father atleast tried to make an attempt to stop someone from getting killed. I agree that both these men were on the wrong side of the law. But who are we to take decisions for others? Do we want to go against God’s will and take someone’s life by our immediate actions? At times, the situation may not be what it seems. An innocent person may get killed. Many people might disagree with me. But I just wanted to share my views. It’s high time that we stopped being the devil and just tried to be a human. Do not do wrong to others, even if they are wrong. Don’t let your emotions have control over you to such an extent that you become the convict instead of a mere spectator. 

Remember, we are all humans, at the end of the day. Respect others as you respect yourself. Just think about it.