Our Moral Condition

Let us survey now the capacities, abilities, virtues and achievements of the people of India - the Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs - which they can present before God in support of their petition that He should restore power to them. I trust that you will bear with me if at this stage I read before you openly and unsparingly every item of the charge sheet which has been indiscriminately served on the Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs by the ‘Court of Morality’. I am not very happy in describing the vices of my nation or my compatriots; in fact, my heart bleeds with sorrow at the contemplation of their perverse morals. But whether it pleases them or not, I consider it imperative to speak the truth on their face. I foresee the terrible consequence of their vices which they will not only witness but will have to endure in future. I fear that these vices will throw them into the byss of disgrace. We, you - none of us will be spared from the horrible results of our immoral acts. I mention these evils with a deep sense of sorrow so that those who have ears may listen and devise measures of reform. You can judge the moral standards of the individual members of a society in the light of your own experience and observations. What percentage of men from among us hesitates to usurp the rights of others , abstains from gaining profit by unlawful means, or refrains from telling a ‘useful’ lie or committing some ‘profitable act’ of dishonesty on the ground that such deeds are morally wrong? What percentage of men is prompted by moral considerations in refraining from committing crimes or perpetrating an evil on such occasions where the long arm of the law cannot apprehend them or where they hope to escape from the clutches of the law? How many persons work for the welfare of others, serve others with sympathy and selflessness or treat others fairly and politely without having a personal axe to grind?

What is the ratio of those traders among the business community who do not indulge in deceit, fraud, false representation or unlawful profiteering? How many of our industrialists pay due regard to the consumer and national interest simultaneous with the motive to earn maximum profits? How many of our landowners have the humanity to realize that by hoarding grain and making huge profits by selling it at highest rates, they are causing lakhs and even crores of people to suffer the distress of hunger? How many of our capitalists have amassed their hoards of money without oppression of the violation of the rights of others or without adopting unfair means? How many of our working people earn their wages and salaries by doing an honest day’s work? How many of our civil servants are not guilty of graft, embezzlement, tyranny, callousness, indifferent to duty, illegal gains and misuse of authority?

How many of our lawyers, doctors, hakims, journalists, publishers, authors and self-styled ‘Servants of the Nation’ feel some sense of shame when they use unsavoury means to promote their self-interest and inflict mental, moral, financial and physical harm on the people of God. It would not be an exaggeration to say that hardly five per cent are severely infected with this disease. The epidemic has spared none among the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians or the Harijans; all are equally in the grip of this disease without any discrimination. The moral standards of all these communities are alarmingly low and none of them can claim superiority over others in this respect.