The other day I offered a five-hundred-rupee note to a vegetable seller for a purchase of seventy-five rupees. Though he had packed the vegetables, he returned the note for lack of change in his purse. Then I went to a fruit seller nearby and asked for half a dozen bananas so that I could get the change. He readily agreed, took the five-hundred-rupee note, and returned four hundred and seventy rupees. Then I asked the vegetable seller to cut down on the weight of brinjals by five rupees as I had ordered for it more than the other vegetables. Actually, I needed four hundred rupees immediately to make another payment. But he refused to do so and asked for a hundred-rupee note as he had seen me taking it from the fruit seller. This is only an example.
Some time back, when my cooking heater stopped functioning, I immediately took it to a mechanic for early repair as I expected some guests at home the same day. He said that I had to wait for an hour as he was busy with some other work. I asked him to get relaxed and repair my heater by the evening before cooking started. He told me to come at 5 PM, and when I reached at the given time, he asked me to come the next day. I was forced to take the heater to another mechanic and got it repaired within half an hour so that I could attend to the guests.
I am reminded of these incidents in my day-to-day life in the wake of repeated news of corruption, crimes, and strange behaviour of man in the present society which have been crowding the social and print media in recent times. Women killing their husbands and young officers being entangled in the web of corruption have even forced people to jump to the conclusion that the ‘Kalyug’ or the present cycle of the era is really about to end. It may be mentioned here that almost all the major religions around the globe in their scriptures speak about such a degradation in the nature of man and society and a subsequent annihilation of mankind and the world. Before jumping to any such conclusion, let us try to find out the immediate reasons for such degradation and gradual loss of moral values in the society:
- Rise in population – The population of India has risen considerably since independence, thereby leading to many an evil in the society. Population explosion not only brings about a strain on resources but also causes environmental degradation and has far-reaching social and economic impact. For any society, poverty, unemployment, and social inequality are not good, leading to health and mental issues which may very well be a breeding ground for crimes.
- Unemployment – Unemployment is an automatic sequel to a rise in population. Despite development in certain sectors and fluctuations in the rate of unemployment, it is still a problem in India mainly due to overpopulation and certain other factors. Unemployment and underemployment amongst the youth lead to frustration, thereby dragging them towards anti-social and criminal activities.
- Materialism – In the present society, man has developed a materialistic attitude towards life. This has gradually dragged him away from the path of spiritualism. He can go to any extent for earning money and leading a life of luxury.
- Greed for power and money – Man’s greed for power and money has become exemplary. For him, education has been a means to have a white-collar job and pots of money. Service of the country has taken a back seat, and the purpose of education for developing values and citizens is being defeated. This is often leading to corruption in the society.
- Craze for overnight success – Craze for overnight success has become a tendency with the youth in the present society. Hard work and consistent struggle to achieve something in life are no longer being given importance.
- Superstitions – The Indian society is greatly affected by superstitions, most of which lead man towards committing crimes. What to speak of rural people, even the urban people are not free from it. It is still believed that by means of a human sacrifice one can get rid of a fatal disease or earn immense wealth.
- Lack of ‘Sanskar’ – Till recently, the issue of lack of ‘sanskar’ in the family has cropped up in the wake of crimes having been committed. Though no parents would like their children to go astray, yet certain factors like the impact of western civilisation, the break-up of the joint family, and the present generation following a lifestyle of their own can be held responsible for withering away of ‘sanskar’ or good manners in the family.
- Friend circle – Friend and social circles play a crucial role in shaping the nature and behaviour of man. Even if the family background is good, there are chances that a child would be spoilt in the wrong friend and social circles.
- Impact of media – The impact of the media on society can hardly be ignored. Reality influences the media and also gets influenced by it. Sometimes, innovative methods of crimes are shown in movies for success. Till recently, it has been argued that a murder has been organised under influence from a movie.
- Criminal tendency – It is often seen that a criminal tendency is born in the mind just like depression and suicide. The criminal thinks that he is clever and his activity too planned to be detected by the police or investigating agency. But criminology and methods of technology have developed so much that one can hardly hide one’s crime and escape.
- Modern ways of life – Modern ways of life like attending late-night parties and having drinks and drugs, joining casinos for gambling and entering into relationships other than marriage are not only polluting social life but also leading to criminal tendencies. Change in lifestyle and a tendency to deviate from the system and tradition are further leading to a loss of societal and moral values.
- Lack of packages in job and service – In the wake of a young officer having been caught red-handed in a corruption case recently, somebody made the remark that the abolition of pension may be cited as a reason for such cases of corruption. But this does not seem to be cent percent true. In the private and public sector, absence of pension has not led to corruption. It all depends on the mentality and integrity of the government or public servant. There can be substitutes for pension, and the government is also revising pay packages from time to time.
- Excessive freedom – People seem to be exercising excessive freedom in a democracy to the point of caring in the least for authority and administration. Education and a sense of respect for authority on the part of the citizens can only save the situation.
The scenario of increasing cases of crimes, violence, and corruption in recent times have forced people to go through the pages of ‘Bhabishya Malika’ and search for the end of ‘Kalyug’. But it may be mentioned here that as per Hindu mythology, the tenure of ‘Kalyug’ is 432,000 years, and it has completed just 5,126 years after the death of Lord Krishna. So we can imagine the plight of the ‘Yug’ with still almost 427,000 years when the present situation has become so intolerable. Scriptures have forecast further heinous and deadly activities of man as the ‘Yug’ progresses. Switching over from marriage to contract marriage, live-in relation, and open relation is indicative of what would be the shape of sex and man-woman relations in times to come. So what should worry us is not the end of the ‘Yug’, which still has a prolonged tenure, but the degrading societal and moral conditions. Man cannot stop the inevitable, but he can mend himself and improve upon the quality of the ‘Yug’.
(The views expressed are the writer’s own)
Mr. Prafulla Kumar Majhi,
Retired Asst. Director, A. I. R, is an eminent Scholar and freelance writer in English & Odia. His areas of interests are sociocultural, economic, literary, historical and analytical studies and writings.
Email: airprafulla61@gmail.com
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