In
1982 one of the finest English
Judges Lord Denning ( Alfred Thompson
Denning ) submitted his
resignation as ' Master of the Rolls' ; the third senior most Judge in England. He
was in that chair for twenty years and could have continued till his Death. He
was Judge for 38 years and many Lawyers
consider him as the Greatest Judge of
the century. Many of his verdicts
resulted in changes in the 'British Common Law'. What prompted his resignation were his
remarks in a book in which he seems to have suggested that " some
members of the Black community were unsuitable to serve as Juries , and that immigrant groups may have had
different moral standards to native English". The views made the
Black Lawyers complaint to the Lord Chancellor and he was also criticized in
the Press. A distinguished career thus ended in an unnecessary blemish.
His remarks also put a question mark to
his years of learning and writing work!
In December 2014 Peter Hollingworth, a senior Immigration
Judge in England had to tender his resignation after he allegedly made racist
comments against an Indian origin woman with surname Patel. she had filed a case of harassment and
was not present in the Court . When the Judge asked for her the prosecutor
informed that she was not in Court. To this the Judge stated " She
can't be doing anything important… with name like Patel she can only be working
in a corner shop…" When she learnt of his comments she complaint of the matter to
the Senior Judge.
There was no
legal binding on the Judges to tender resignation , but they resigned to uphold
the ‘values of the society’ and for the long term good of their Nation. It is
famously said the ‘ Laws do not make people virtuous’ ! Just one moment of casualness , one remark
made their entire career questionable! It is a common saying that ‘Choti
choti baton se badi badi baton ka pata
chalta hai’ ( small talks make
big revelations! )
In March this year the Finance Minister of
Uttarakhand Premchand Agarwal had to resign as minister following his
insensitive remarks in the assembly in February. During a debate he had
stated that the Uttarakhand state was
not created only for the ‘Pahadis’ ( hill people) . The speaker intervened and stated that such
divisive remarks should not be made and that all the people of Uttarakhand were
one . However there was an outrage in
public and he was also reprimanded by his party and finally was left with no
option but to tender his resignation. Thus his ‘words and views’ led to his
political fall.
Each word
creates an image and we respond to that image . Poetic and creative words
register soothing and reassuring images and we return to those images and
artists frequently but violent and aggressive words are provoking and
create oppressive images . Sometimes
societies fall victim to such images and thus conflict and antagonism arises.
The power of
‘Words’ is much established! Words do
not vanish ; they resound, rebound and return . Sometimes with fondness
sometimes with regret ! ‘Words and Views’ have life beyond the moment . The
famous Hollywood actor Al Pachino states that ‘words can make you fly’ and that ‘word made flesh’. In his memoir titled
‘Sonny Boy’ he writes “ But when I read from the book of Psalms in a big,
booming voice –‘ He that walketh uprightly , and worketh righteously , and
speaketh the truth in his heart’ – I could feel how powerful the
words were . Because the words can make you fly . They can come to life. Like
my friend Charlie used to say , the word made flesh , to borrow another
biblical phrase . That’s what I thought acting
was , just saying beautiful words and trying to entertain people with
them”
The power of
the ‘Word’ is stated in Hindu Vedantic philosophy which states that ‘Shabda
Brahman’ meaning that the world
is word . In the book titled ‘Om Gayatri and Sandhya’ published by Ram Krishna
Math , Swami Mukhyananda writes “
Now the ‘a’ ‘u’ ‘m’ , known as Matras ( phonetic constituents) of Om , are
symbolic not only of the beginning ,middle, and end of all the words , and of
the entities and concepts represented by them , but of all the worlds ( Lokas)
as well for purpose of meditation . They represent the three planes of Bhuh,
Bhuvah, and Svah and the corresponding microcosmic states . …….Hence Om is also characterised as Sabda -Brahman(
Sound Brahman or Brahman in the form of Sound or the word )
“
To hear good , and to
see good is emphasised in ‘Vedic
Swasti Vachan’ ( chanting for well being and prosperity) :
‘Om Bhadram Karnnebhih Shrnnuyaama Devaah |
Bhadram Pashyema-Akssabhir-Yajatraah |
Sthirair-Anggais-Tussttuvaamsas-Tanuubhih |
Vyashema Deva-Hitam Yad-Aayuh |’
( O Devas, May we Hear with our Ears what is Auspicious,
O (Devas who are)
Worthy of Worship, May we See with our Eyes what is Auspicious,
With (Sense) Organs
Steady and Body Praying (due to Hearing and Seeing the Auspicious) ...
... May we Attain the Lifespan allotted by the Devas (thus
finding fulfilment in our lives).
Freedom of Speech is the Corner stone of a
Democracy but it is not unbridled as it has responsibility and Accountability
linked to it . Accountability to the people. The Judges resigned because they
were aware of the ethos of their Nation and perhaps could understand the grave
lapse which the 'People' would not tolerate. However many public figures in
responsible positions utter
irresponsible and insensitive statements they know that the people may tolerate them
or perhaps they know that our people are too engrossed to meet their economic
sustenance and may therefore ignore such
aberrations. But our Democracy will remain flawed till such time
our Citizens in the higher positions are not mature and refined in their
‘ Words
and Views’.
कोई टिप्पणी नहीं:
एक टिप्पणी भेजें