RETALIATION

One of our school teachers had a weird method of enforcing discipline in his classroom. Every time, a back-bencher would say or do something that would infuriate him, he would shout at the one who committed the mischief and… and strike the head of the boy sitting nearest to him.

In the case of our weird teacher’s unfair retaliation, all would find it funny except the one who was unfairly penalised for somebody else’s mistakes and the others sitting in the front row who would be on the edge fearing that the odd predicament would come their way, too. The rest of us were detached because it did not affect us.

It is this detached indifference that provides bizarre logic for the indefensible. How can anyone justify the inhuman killings and brutalisation of innocents? However, terming an entire community, culpable for the crime, is equally creepy. Retaliation is the resort of the inhuman but it is born in negative thought and talk before the resultant regressive action.

It is in times like these that we should salvaging humanity by choosing resolute and steadfast solidarity of tolerant living over bloody killing. It is the battle for reclamation of humanism under attack by various arguments for retribution. We must strive for desirable peace instead of allowing the vice of retaliation to strangulate humanity.

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Goa, India.