The Reality of Life

The Reality of Life

1992 8-9 August-September 7 The Reality of Life (342) ‘Son kills mother for refusing to hand over Rs. 500’ is the heading of one news item in the Indian Express of July 24, 1987. This grisly killing shows to what extent the rot has set in present-day society.

According to this report, Ashok Kumar, 23, of Delhi, was so infuriated when his mother refused to oblige him with the Rs. 500 he demanded, that he picked up a grinding stone and hurled it at her head. She collapsed with the impact and died on the spot.

Afterwards, Ashok locked her body in a box, having washed away all the blood marks from the surroundings. When his brother and sister came home, he told them that their mother had rushed to the Punjab after receiving the news of her husband’s illness.

The very next day, however, the box began to emit a foul smell. When it was opened, it revealed – to their horror – the decaying corpse of their mother. Ashok Kumar then confessed to his crime and was taken into police custody.

In a country where mercilessness and waywardness have crossed all limits, it is quite obvious that if Muslims do not sedulously refrain from retaliation in unpleasant situations, the net result will be their own humiliation, if not destruction. Given the prevailing situation, leaders who give no thought to asking Muslims to retaliate are neither serious nor sincere. No one who was really serious and “sincere would ever advise his people to adopt a high-profile stance under the present circumstances.

While a fool knows only himself, the wise man knows others as well as himself. In a world where so many different kinds of people exist, only he can be a leader who not only knows himself, but who also takes into account the activities of others. One who sees only himself can never succeed in this life. The vessel in which he sets sail will be shattered on the reefs of life long before he ever reaches his destination.

This is one of the hard and unchanging realities of life.