The Consequences of Moral Decay

When the moral decay had degenerated a very large number of individuals, it was natural that this disease which had corroded our morals should assume an epidemic form and manifest itself in the collective behaviour of our people.

The first sign of this impending storm was the overcrowding of passengers on the railway trains due to war emergency. The selfishness, callousness and cruelty which people belonging to the same nationality and the same country exhibited towards one another was a clear symptom of our rapidly deteriorating morality.

To the hardships of shortages and inflation were added hoarding and black marketing on a vast scale. During the artificially created dreadful Bengal famine, a class of our people ruthlessly subjected millions of their compatriots to starvation to death for the sake of their own capital gains. All these were primary symptoms of the malaise.

The lava of wickedness, baseness, beastliness and cruelty which had been boiling for a long time suddenly burst out and its fires are now raging over the length and breadth of India in the form of communal riots. The new chapter of communal strife among the Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs started by the Calcutta riots have given these three communities an opportunity to exercise their vilest instincts. The most unimaginable deeds of inhumanity are being openly and unashamedly pertrated by citizen in and around their localities. In large places almost all inhabitants have turned into lawless ‘goondas’ and are indulging in such preserve crimes that were hitherto beyond the imagination of the fiercest goonds.

Infants have been butchered while they were suckling the breasts of their mothers. Men have been stripped naked and raped in the presence of crowds comprising of thousands of people. Daughters, wives and sisters have been assaulted before the eyes of the helpless fathers, husbands and brothers.

House of worship and religious books have been desecrated in the most degrading fashion. The sick, the wounded and the old folks have been subjected to inhuman violence. The passengers have been hurled down from running trains. They have hacked the limbs of living persons and hunted down the an-armed and helpless human beings like animals. Neighbours have sacked the homes of neighbours.

Friends have betrayed friends. The persons responsible for providing shelter have themselves abrogated their pledge for the protection of the people the forces responsible for maintaining law and order (Police, Army and the judicial Magistrates) have openly joined the communal riots. They have not only personally committed acts of violence, but have abetted, supported and guided the violent operations of their chosen factions.

In brief, no form of cruelty and high handedness, callousness and base villainy has been left unspared during the last few months to which we as a whole have not fallen victims. And the full venom has not been exhausted yet.

There are signs that all this is shortly going to recur on a larger and a more dreadful scale. Do you imagine that all the happenings are the outcome of some casual disturbance? It this is what you think, you are suffering from an illusion. I have just pointed out to you that ninety-five per cent of the inhabitants of this country are victims of a moral disease. How can the collective behaviour of a nation remain sane and healthy when such a large number of her individual members are morally degenerated? It is for this reason that the three communities, the Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs, no longer attach any value and importance to virtues like truth, justice and righteousness. A truthful, honest and upright person is reduced to an object of scorn.

To dissuade someone from evil ways and exhort righteousness—these are today the most in tolerable crimes in the governing code of their society. They have turned their faces from equity and fair play; they scorn all talk of justice and right conduct. Each community idolizes only those people who advocate her unjustified demands and claims, fan the flames of prejudice against others and ready to fight for the fulfillment of their fair or foul ends. It is on these grounds that these nations have carefully selected the worst individuals from among them to act as their representatives.

They hand-picked the most notorious criminals of their community and installed them as their leaders in action. Individuals who possessed the basest morals, had no sense of honour, and knew no principles rose as leaders of these communities and won the greatest popularity in the field of journalism. They drove their degenerate communities on the road to corruption harder and faster.

Instead of converging the contradictory national demands on an equitable point, they escalated them to the point of conflict.

To the conflict of economic and political interests they added the fire of fury, hatred and vendetta and continued to whip up these evil passions. For years, they incited their people with incendiary speeches and writings to fight like dogs and wolves. They filled the hearts of all and sundry with the fire of evil passions and blind vendetta. The storm that is raging before you today is not temporary or seasonal.

It is a natural result of the several disruptive causes which have been at work within our society for a long period of time. This resultant catastrophe is not temporary or short lived, but the situation will continue to aggravate day by day as long as the disruptive influences are at a work in our society. This is a poisonous crop which has now ripened after years of sowing and watering and no one can say for how long you and your coming generations will continue to reap it.