Briefly

Remember the Mahatmaji’s three moral monkeys, who were taught “not to see evil, not to hear evil, not to speak evil”. That, in fact, is a high standard of personal morality.

However, it must be kept in mind that public morality is quite different from the personal. That is why when the Union Home Ministry recently refused to take note of the alleged involvement of Abhinav Bharat in terrorism, one was amazed. Public morality, or the kind of morality required for governance, is not covered by the monkeys’ antics.

The fact remains that quite a few like Col. Purohit and Aseemanand have been obliquely related to the programmes conducted by Abhinav Bharat, besides the openly anti-Muslim, vile-tongued niece of a Hindutva leader of earlier vintage.

One only hopes that such restraint would also be exercised in the case of weaker groups in the future. The Home Minister has refused to act against Abhinav Bharat on insufficient grounds, contrary to a large number of Muslim youth languishing in jail for years on mere suspicion. Equality before law is a vital point in our Constitution. The Hon’ble Home Minister and ministry should take note of it.


(IOSCA)