Inculcating respect for law in the youth
Reeta Sharma

MANY years ago, when I had first visited Vimla and Satya Pal Dang in Amritsar, their lives had commanded me to think and introspect. I was ushered into their room through a rickety staircase. The room, cluttered with files, had two charpoys, two working tables and a telephone. There was nothing more in the room and yet it was like a Mecca for people in utter misery and agony. It is amazing that even though the Dangs live a spartan life, they have been able to fill the miserable lives of many with much-needed relief, justice and peace. People narrate their sorrows, and talk about the injustice meted to them at the hands of society and the system. The Dangs record the grievances of people in a file and help them in their fight for justice. Day in and day out, they are chasing and confronting officials and exposing the system with these very files. Do they charge money for this? No. On the contrary, they even donate the meagre pension that both of them get to children who have been victims of militancy, which had affected Punjab for over a decade.

Another such dedicated social worker was Sheela Sehgal, who died recently in Chandigarh. For the last 20 years, she was living all alone but was a mother to thousands of hapless women. Her house used to receive unknown and unannounced visitors seeking relief from miseries perpetuated by fellow human beings. Sheela Sehgal, without fail, used to welcome them all with open arms and heartfelt warmth. Despite her age and frugal means, she would go from pillar to post to fighting for justice. Some of the other noted social workers who have left an impact on society are: Dr Parmeshwar Rao, who acquired a Ph.D in nuclear science from Pennsylvania University but took a decision to work for the poorest of the poor in Andhra Pradesh; Bhagat Puran Singh, who devoted his entire life for the welfare of the destitute, orphans and mentally sick by setting up the Pingalwara in Punjab and Anna Hazare, who spent his entire life’s earnings as a mere driver on his native village in Maharashtra and today is revered next only to God in at least 500 villages.

Contrast the lives of these humanists with those of Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan and many corrupt politicians and officials, who are a disgrace to society. Even though they have fame and money, they are neither happy nor contented. The Salman Khans of today lead a totally self-centred life. They only focus on appearances, be it concerning their body, their home or their possessions. Any wonder then that the man, who acquired millions of fans all over the world, failed to make a good human being of himself.

His scant regard for the law can be witnessed from the fact that he did not care to get a driving licence for himself. Though his parents sent him to the best of the academic institutions, Salman has remained uneducated, unaware and devoid of any consideration and kindness for unfortunate fellow beings.

Somewhat similar have been the life stories of Sanjay Dutt and Fardeen Khan too. Sanjay, born to Nargis and Sunil Dutt, one of the most famous couples of those times, too acquired name, fame and wealth. But he, too, has displayed scant regard for the law of the land.

It is time for all of us to pause and think where our younger generation is heading. From the older generation to which artists like Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman belong, you cannot pinpoint even one individual who could be equated with the likes of Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt or Bharat Shah. None of them ever got embroiled in any major controversy or unlawful activities. I feel that the names of stars of yesteryear are still taken with respect because they made a niche for themselves on their own strength. None of them had a readymade platform to launch their career. They had to work hard, suffer insecurity to achieve their goals. However, the present generation of Salman Khans and Sanjay Dutts have goals which can easily be bought. They have evolved like robots and not like human beings.

I attribute this destructive change to excessive stress on acquiring wealth. The parents are failing to inculcate in their wards basic values such as kindness, honesty and adopting the right means to achieve their goals. As a result, the younger generation is being pushed to chase money and indulge in self-promotion.

Most parents do not want their children to pursue contentment. They want their children to choose only those careers that would ensure them monetary gains. This is no more just an urban trend. The children in the rural areas are also being pushed to achieve goals without paying any attention to the means. In fact, illegal means are being justified. Take, for instance, the craze of Punjabis wishing to migrate to foreign lands in the name of seeking greener pastures. Parents, relatives and society as a whole find nothing wrong in sending young people abroad through illegal ways. When they approach a travel agent, they are fully aware of the illegal manner in which their wards would be sent abroad. Yet, they are willing to sell their small land holdings, borrow money and even risk the lives of their children to fulfil their dream of becoming rich one day.

If we want that the new generation should constitute of the likes of Dangs, Sehgals, Sunil Dutts, Lata Mangeshkars and Anna Hazares then we should make our children learn to respect the law and live honestly.