Nerve Endings Firing Away

”He (Abdul Karim Telgi) has done so much for Khanapur. Even those who haven’t seen him worship him, He distributed clothes and money among the villagers. He sponsored village activities, pilgrimages and even helped people get jobs.”

”We owe a lot to Ranjit (Don) who gave employment to hundreds of youths of Patna and Nalanda districts,” says sexagenarian Deo Nandan Pandit as others gathered around him nod in approval“.

Don’t we sense something horribly wrong here? Abdul Karim Telgi, the prime accused in the infamous multi-crore stamp paper scam and Ranjit Don, the man who almost single-handely destroyed the credibility of India’s premier management institutes. But I am shocked by the misplaced solidarity expressed by their native villagers, in spite of being aware of the protagonists’ misdeeds.

They cite the numerous things that they have done for the villages and its well-being but are they shying away from the fact that all the riches bestowed on them spring from misdemeanors and criminal activity?

It surely doesn’t resonate well with the often clichéd Bollywood confrontational scene between a mom and her criminal son. “Mein iss paap ke dhaan se khareede hue ghar mein nahee rahongi” (I will not stay in this house built from ill-gotten wealth) before storming out to join her poor righteous son always brings cheers in a rural theater. Do we compromise on our values as long as they benefit us and thus calmly adopt the “not in my backyard”?

These criminals are virtually the scum of the society and have swindled enormous amounts of money but also have being abetted by equally selfish people. Have we lost all morality that we tend to look beyond the ill-gotten wealth and focus solely on its materialistic benefits? Do the ends justify the means?