LEARN TO IDENTIFY THE REAL RATNAS OF BHARAT 

KAJAL CHATTERJEE

 

A reputed journalist has come up with an article wondering the sharp contrast in reaction following the back-to-back passing away of a top tier industrialist and a social activist (who could have lived a safe luxurious life with money cars and houses, even abroad, had he acted selfish and concentrated solely on his academic career)! 

 

While the natural demise of the octogenarian industrialist saw deluge of tears and tributes in print visual and social media for weeks, hardly few souls cared to shed a single drop of tear for the social activist who had to languish in dark corner of cell for around a decade (despite suffering from 90% disability after getting polio-affected since childhood), only to get bail thereafter as not a single evidence of alleged wrongdoing could be proved in the Court! Simply put, the muted dumb reaction of his untimely demise in late 50s seemed as if he didn't exist at all in this earth! 

 

In contrast, the contribution and personality of the industrialist was not only praised to the sky, he was also celebrated as a man of "impeccable compassion" by projecting his "benevolence" towards the lot who have "no option" but to ride atop Two-wheelers and get drenched in rain! 

 

Feeling "pain" for the families getting drenched in rain atop Two-wheelers and resultantly coming up with business plan and marketing opportunity in head to produce cars for them (as if it will be "gifted" to the "poor" customers for free!) simply pale in comparison to that pain which get perceived in hearts by witnessing the daily toils and unfathomable sufferings of hunger malnutrition forced-displacement poverty illiteracy torture and injustice faced by the poor marginalised oppressed Dalits Adivasis and other vulnerable communities since decades all across the country! 

 

While suffering from rainfall is just a temporary setback for the class privileged enough to afford two-wheeler and that woe can also be minimised by sporting raincoats, innumerable homeless people of this country have to get drenched during every rainfall and those in make-shift tents or huts get religiously inundated with hardly any remedial measures in sight! 

 

But the recently deceased social activist  not only felt pain for the marginalised tortured poorest of poor, he and his fellow minded rarest of rare individuals had/have devoted their entire life to provide service to them and non-violently raise their voice or wield pen to accord minimum human rights as entitled to an individual! Also they suffered immense sufferings from the State apparatus by being charged with fictitious allegations! 

 

Not to forget those humanitarians also who had raised the flag of secularism rationality and scientific temper (by discarding all norms of superstition) so as to enlighten the darkness embedded in the mindset of the society and in turn had to literally sacrifice their own lives! 

 

"Development" of a nation in terms of industrialisation and product output is certainly not unwelcome ;  but it should not come at the expense of the land of the marginalised people, forest and water resource of the country or state of the environment. And most importantly establishment of basic human rights of all, as enshrined in the Constitution, coupled with nurturing of scientific mindset are much more important than luxurious cars or gadgets being churned out by the industries. 

 

So there lies no scope of doubt that a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic owes much deeper debt of gratitude to the concerned "marginalised unsung" social activist than the "mainstream worshipped" industrial honcho. 

 

 If divine justice indeed exists, then the place of the social activists who have sacrificed their all (career money luxury comfort and even life) for the welfare of the downtrodden will remain permanently reserved in heaven. 

 

Last but not the least. All Indians must hang their heads in shame and disgrace (provided an iota of conscience still exists in mindset) for relentless travesty of justice and mockery of human rights with the real Ratnas of Bharat regularly falling victim to it. Also it is a matter of utmost disgrace that the "mainstream" media preferred to go gaga over the natural demise of the industrialist but  maintained scandalous silence (at the most a passing mention) revolving the untimely demise of the humanitarian social activists who could have lived longer had he didn't get persecuted by the State and lodged in jails in most inhuman conditions possible and bereft of proper medical treatment.