THIS ABOVE ALL
This is not just
Khushwant Singh

Reactions to the verdict on men involved in the leak of toxic gas from the Carbide plant in Bhopal have been understandably more emotional than rational. It is natural to react angrily at the loss of thousands of innocent lives. Undoubtedly, the 26-year wait for the verdict riled most people, including Law Minister Veerappa Moily. But, surely, we must understand that long delays in pronouncing judgments have become a routine in our country.

The judgment on the killing of Sikhs — following the assassination of Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984 — has still not concluded. The anti-Sikh riots took place before the Bhopal tragedy. Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler are still going around from one court to another, eluding justice. Those involved in the demolition of Babri Masjid have not been charged with the crime they committed. Denying justice by delaying it has become a national malaise.

Leftists, who waxed eloquent on the long delay in the Bhopal verdict, should be able to enlighten us why similar delays take place in Communist-governed states like West Bengal and Kerala. And Minister Moily has to do a lot more than express regret at the sorry state of the judiciary, and enact measures to speed up trials. Why was the Bhopal case heard by a succession of nine judges, and not disposed of by one judge, hearing the case on a daily basis? Why did the case not come to an end within a couple of years?

A little background of the Carbide plant may be helpful in understanding the complex issues involved. It was set up in Bhopal when Arjun Singh of the Congress was the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh. The Congress later ruled the state under Digvijay Singh. Thereafter, the state has been ruled by the BJP. Neither the Congress nor the BJP took steps to speed up the trial. On the contrary, Arjun Singh helped Warren Anderson flee the country.

The plant was constructed by leading experts of the US to manufacture pesticides, much needed by farmers. It was considered accident free. A large jhuggi-jhompri colony grew near it, comprising mostly families of workers in the plant. Most of the casualties following the leak of the gas were from their ghetto. It was the worst man-made disaster, which killed almost 20,000 men, women and children.

One can understand why people wanted the owners of the plant to be hanged. Was the final verdict of two years imprisonment for eight members of the board, who were promptly released on bail, adequate punishment?

Most people believe it was a gross miscarriage of justice. It was the maximum the judges could award by law for the crime with which the men were charged. If I was the judge, I would impose a heavy fine, running into hundreds of crores — all of them are crorepatis — and distribute the money among the victims and their dependants.

When two Indians quarrel, the exchange of abuse goes somewhat as follows. One says: "Unknown to you, my friend, I am a very important person, who can teach you a lesson you won’t easily forget."

To this, his adversary replies: "I know thousands like you; do the worst you can. I don’t give a damn." Spoken in colloquial Hindustani, the first one says: Tum jaantey nahin main kaun hoon; tujhey mazaa chakhha doonga.

The other replies: Aby jaa. Tujh jaisey hazaaron dekhey hain. Imlee key pattey peh hug. This means you are so small that you can empty your bowels on a tamarind leaf. The point I am trying to make is that we are a nation of braggarts. We love to talk about ourselves and boast about our achievements.

This is different from Europeans and Americans. No matter how highly they think of themselves, they regard talking about themselves to be bad manners, and boasting of their achievements to be downright vulgar. In all my years living abroad, I did not meet a single person who indulged in self-praise.

By contrast I can count the number of Indians who never talk about themselves on the fingers of one hand. I have a few amusing encounters with eminent people who prided themselves for never praising themselves. One was Sardar Swaran Singh, who had a distinguished career as a student, lawyer and Foreign Minister in Indira Gandhi’s Cabinet. Evan Charlton, Editor of The Statesman, and I happened to be lunching in Davicos in Simla (Now Shimla) when we saw Swaran Singh come in and take a table in a corner. He was all by himself. Charlton asked if I know him. I replied in the affirmative.

"I would like to meet him," said Charlton. "I have heard a lot of praise about him, but it has not gone to his head." I went across and invited Swaran Singh to join us. I introduced him to Charlton and said: "Mr Charlton was saying many complimentary things about you, and yet you are a very modest man."

Sardar sahib blushed to the roots of his beard, and ruined our high regard for him by his reply: "Saarey kehtey hain main baraa modest hoon (Everyone says I am a very modest man). I never stood second in my class, but remained modest. I had the leading legal practice in my hometown, but I never gave up my modesty. Now I am the Foreign Minister, and Indira Gandhi thinks very highly of me, but I retain my modesty."

I concluded that when an Indian is modest, he has to be the most modest man in the world. Dharma Kumar used to relate a hilarious anecdote about Raghavan Aiyer, who was a topper in every exam he took in Madras and Oxford universities. He stood for presidentship of the Oxford Students’ Union, but refused to canvass for himself, and let his many admirers do it on his behalf.

He was not present when the results were announced. When his chelas went to his room, they found him sitting in lotus pose, with his eyes shut. They shouted: "Raghavan, you have won." He simply pointed his index finger towards the ceiling and pronounced: "Victory is Thine, O Lord."

He had composed a formula which he called "self-extinction." He silently repeated the formula in his mind. It listed all his academic achievements and ended with the words: "I am not Raghavan Aiyer. I am just a spark of the Divine."

Another variation was: "I am not Raghavan Aiyer, the most brilliant philosopher. I am just a vehicle of the mahatmas." A negative form of self-praise is to run everyone else down. That way you eliminate all your rivals and bask in self-glorification. This is also widely practiced in our country.

Can anything be done to change this sorry state of our minds? I think we can if we become aware of our shortcomings. Guru Nanak rightly said:

Every time you open your mouth, remember that you must not talk about yourself. Don’t say a word in your own favour, nor run anyone down.

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