Just the word 'Death' is enough to send a chill down the spine, even for the bravest amongst us. Though cannibalism has never been widely prevalent, even in the earliest phases of human existence, it is strange why humans have resorted to killing as a means of settling disputes. Whether the dispute is over property or ideas.
The earliest tribes fought with each other over grazing and hunting grounds, It could mean starvation and death, if they could not secure these. The concept of a Nation is but an extension of this need. As commerce increased and a better distribution network was established, the need for war and the desire to kill off rivals should have diminished. Unfortunately we do not see it happening.
As humans with our ability to think and conjecture, we have opened up a new theatre for our wars, and that is the human mind itself. It is agonising that we should be fighting even this war which is essentially of the mind, by resorting to killings and maimings just as if we were fighting for pasture land like our ancestors.
There is a great clamour for the abolition of the 'Death Sentence'. The abolitionists claim that it is a 'murder committed by a state, under judicial supervision'. Some countries have gone ahead and done so. India is still 'debating' the issue. One wonders with armies placed eyeball to eyeball, in umpteen war theaters around the world, ready with their sophisticated weaponry to kill and maim at the slightest provocation (real or perceived), what sense is there in talking of doing away with the death sentence, which any way affects only a minuscule of those condemned.
We have evolved and moved much ahead from our animal brethren, but I feel we could take a lesson from them in choosing when to go for the 'Kill'. They rarely fight, but for food and territory. Never heard of an animal fight, because it thought, its idea of divinity, was superior to that of its rival!
The earliest tribes fought with each other over grazing and hunting grounds, It could mean starvation and death, if they could not secure these. The concept of a Nation is but an extension of this need. As commerce increased and a better distribution network was established, the need for war and the desire to kill off rivals should have diminished. Unfortunately we do not see it happening.
As humans with our ability to think and conjecture, we have opened up a new theatre for our wars, and that is the human mind itself. It is agonising that we should be fighting even this war which is essentially of the mind, by resorting to killings and maimings just as if we were fighting for pasture land like our ancestors.
There is a great clamour for the abolition of the 'Death Sentence'. The abolitionists claim that it is a 'murder committed by a state, under judicial supervision'. Some countries have gone ahead and done so. India is still 'debating' the issue. One wonders with armies placed eyeball to eyeball, in umpteen war theaters around the world, ready with their sophisticated weaponry to kill and maim at the slightest provocation (real or perceived), what sense is there in talking of doing away with the death sentence, which any way affects only a minuscule of those condemned.
We have evolved and moved much ahead from our animal brethren, but I feel we could take a lesson from them in choosing when to go for the 'Kill'. They rarely fight, but for food and territory. Never heard of an animal fight, because it thought, its idea of divinity, was superior to that of its rival!
2 comments:
Eye for an eye has been the philosophy behind India's jurisprudence where as many other countries are striking it down! Thought provoking!
deepak, i like your post. i like that you are raising these questions as an intelligent human being and as a considerate person for the fellow human beings ... my life experience has taught me that i have been full of fear, anger, hate, jealousy, need for love, need for attention and so on. as i started to melt them away, with a conscious effort, i found that there was more of each of these emotions/feelings underneath the one i just cleaned up. and the process kept going. however, after a very long haul, i found out that there was/is an end of all this within me. ... the amount of anger and hate i had within me, if i did not have a million times more of fear within me, i would have been a really violent person -- committing an actual physical act of violence. ... for the first part of my life, i suppressed my anger instead - because i was fearful of being beaten up. it does not mean i was not a hateful person within -- it does not mean i did not show anger ever -- i got angry plenty of times. ... the only helpful contribution towards the violent humanity i feel i can make now -- after a very long haul -- that i quite likely can eliminate the hate, the anger, and the fear within me, such that i am not adding anything to this insanity. ... lastly, my life experience has taught me that there is one more component to this insanity -- the desire to be a leader/a president/a prime minister/ a world leader .... but my life expereince has taught me that that desire can be melted away too, not suppressed but melted away, and must be melted away before i can say i am not contributing anything to this insanity ... thanks for keeping the comment section open. p.s.: luckily, i never developed skills to be a political leader even though the 'innate' desire to be a leader existed.
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