The identity of a human being lies in his human qualities like sympathy, empathy, sorrow, etc. and if these qualities are not present in a human being, then it will become impossible to differentiate between a human being and an animal. The kind of incidents that are embarrassing to humanity are happening every day in our society, which reflects the image of our insensitive society. In recent years, innumerable such tragic incidents have happened in which even humanity has been put to shame. It is surprising when our civilized society becomes a silent spectator and keeps making videos of the incidents and uploading them on social media. This reality puts a question mark on our being human. Whatever may be the circumstances or reasons behind such tragic incidents, what kind of bravery is it to take someone’s life so cruelly and brutally?
The intensity with which the feeling of personal selfishness is being expressed in society today is very shameful and a matter of concern. In the changing times, the increasing influence of materialism has limited man to himself. Today’s man lives only for himself and thinks for himself and this is the reason why road rage incidents are happening in society today or accidents happening on the road in which people die in agony in front of their eyes or those accidents in which onlookers despite the huge crowd, countless people die without getting help at the right time. That almost naked minor daughter kept seeking shelter for hours in Ujjain, the city of Mahakal. She had knocked on the doors of fifty houses but was rejected everywhere. Behind such tragic incidents, there is a complete lack of human compassion among the people.
Feelings seem to give voice from the depths of the heart. Feelings cannot be bound by any rules or regulations. Compassion has neither caste nor religion. Empathy is the best feeling of human behaviour. Only an insensitive person can make one suffer and the other enjoy. No sensitive person can tolerate that he eats himself and the person in front of him sits hungry and watches. Our tradition of feeding others while being hungry ourselves is the pinnacle of sensitivity. Sensation is not a thing for show, but a pain originating from within, which comes out with a sigh. The feeling does not originate in the brain but in the heart. This feeling makes a man great and immortal.
Today, in the era of competition, human sensitivity has become completely dead. Not long ago, we saw and heard in the media the shameful news of two women from Manipur who were stripped and paraded on the streets. Saying naked probably does not reveal the seriousness of the matter as much as saying ‘naked’ does. There were hundreds of people in the procession that brought shame to humanity on the streets of Manipur. Where had the shame in their eyes gone? Why was no one in that crowd ashamed of the fact that this treatment of women tells the story of the entire human sensibilities turning to stone? Not every person in that crowd of Manipur could be a savage, so why did no one in that crowd raise their voice that this atrocity was intolerable?
There are many reasons behind the pain of turning human emotions into stones that we have created such as the rapidly increasing urban population, rapidly increasing educated unemployment, lack of moral and inspirational education, the era of competition, and the disintegration of joint families. Increase in nuclear families, lack of group games for children, excessive use of mobile phones, confusing serials on Doordarshan, over-exaggeration of small incidents by the media, decreasing mutual brotherhood, more and more within the four walls of one’s own home. Increase in the number of personal vehicles, increase in incidents of robbery, taking unfair advantage of sentiments, polluted environment, children staying alone at home, teaching sensitive stories to children, and not providing employment opportunities in the village itself. We are moving from village to city, and following Western civilization, but we are losing our famous culture.
What is the mentality of the people of our society that despite being human beings, they have started doing uncivilized actions? Just a few days ago, I saw a video on social media in which a girl was first brutally beaten by the public and then she was burnt alive by sprinkling petrol and no one came forward to help that helpless girl. This is not just an incident that happens in society. The number of women who are branded as witches and brutally killed to take revenge is not one or two but is found in thousands. Even before this, a loving couple was burnt alive in front of the entire village and even the person who met with the accident was left for dead. They go ahead but no one comes forward to help the injured person.
It is surprising when our civilized society becomes a silent spectator and keeps making videos of the incident and uploading them on social media. This reality puts a question mark on our being human. Whatever may be the circumstances or reasons behind such tragic incidents, what kind of bravery is it to take someone’s life so cruelly and brutally? What is all this? We will have to think about something. We are turning into an insensitive society. This insensitivity is a denial of humanity, this has to be understood. No police or any law can fight against insensitivity. Every one of us has to fight and win this battle to keep our inner man alive. An insensitive society cannot be called a human society. What is the use of such progress, such achievements, such development, which destroys morality itself? The progress and development of society are possible only when man learns to love another man, and learns to live not only for himself but also for others. To maintain social harmony, man must awaken the feeling of human sensibilities within himself.
Author is a Research Scholar. She can be mailed at writerpriyankasaurabh94162@gmail.com
Discussion about this post