MORAL DECAY IN MODERN SOCIETY: LESSONS FROM RELIGION AND REALITY

It is not just about Ujjain case; many incidents happen in broad daylight-, minors driving two-wheelers, triple riding, acid attacks, molestation etc.

- DR. PYALI CHATTERJEE

By now, we are all aware of the Ujjain rape case, where a woman was brutally assaulted in broad daylight, and no one dared to intervene. Instead, people were recording this heinous crime on their phones. One of them even uploaded the video on social media. Fortunately, the police have since identified and arrested the individual responsible for recording and sharing the video under various legal provisions.

Today, however, I won’t be discussing the legal aspects of the case, as we’ve been doing that for the past month, especially after the RG Kar Medical College rape case. But that’s not what I am concerned about, instead of that I want to talk a little bit more morality- our moral obligation. In the age of high-tech civilization, somewhere we lost our morality.

Even though we have grown up learning about moral duties in schools, colleges and through religious texts; mostly our actions represent a complete absence of any morbid conscience. We expect others to behave morally toward us, yet we fail to follow those principles ourselves because we don’t want to be held accountable. For some, morality is seen as a weakness; for others, it’s viewed as foolishness.

Why am I raising these questions today?

The Ujjain rape case could have been prevented if passers-by had reacted quickly and stopped the culprit. One intervention could save the victim and restore hope that humanity still exists. It could also act as a strong deterrent against future offenders.