Shall We Learn a Lesson

Shall We Learn a Lesson

1991 3 March 15 Shall We Learn a Lesson (328) The following report was published in the October ‘83 issue of World Health, the monthly magazine of the World Health Organisation published from WHO Av. Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland:

“Eight years ago, 197 people became ill on a long-distance flight. Ham Omelettes had been contaminated by a cook with an infected sore on his hand, and poor temperature control in the kitchen and on board the plane had allowed the organism (Staphylococcus aureus) to grow in the food and produce a toxin. The infection sent 144 of the victims to hospital, though all eventually recovered. Nonetheless the airline catering manager took the blame for the incident and committed suicide.”

The catering manager’s sole fault was that he had supplied unwholesome food to his passengers, which made them ill. Even although the mistake was actually someone else’s, he realized with agonizing clarity that the ultimate responsibility lay with himself. And so he killed himself. A much graver mistake, with consequences on a far wider scale, has been made by the leaders of our country, who have mislead, and are still misleading our people in the name of dharm (religion) and rashtra (country). Quite mindlessly and without any reasoning, they have driven their followers in unconscionable directions. Yet, after witnessing the ensuing terrible and devastating madness, such as has culminated in inhuman massacres, not one of them has stopped to consider where the responsibility lies and, certainly, no one has thought fit to commit suicide.

Our leaders seek to present their devils’s cavortings as rashtriya Pravrutti (national activity)! They call their foolish acts dharma-yuddh (crusade). If people are uprooted they give this the beautiful label of aahooti (sacrifice)! A mad frenzy results in large-scale looting and killing and burning so they call the victims hutatma (martyrs)!

Those who are not even worthy to be food managers in an airline have taken upon themselves the responsibility for solving the far more complicated affairs of our society. God save this country!