Two important events stand out in the last week. And surprisingly, in both the events the lead actors have the name of the most favorite Indian God ‘Ram’ as part of their names–- Asaram and Raghuram Rajan. These two individuals, though totally unconnected to each other have one thing in common -- they are prime symbols (of course in their respective fields of expertise) of the pathetic state of affairs the country is witnessing. The society and the economy both seem to be crumbling and Ram as usual is omnipresent.
Let us start with Asaram. A self-styled ‘godman’, who is currently lodged in the Jodhpur jail on charges of alleged sexual assault on a minor girl, is considered a successful religious preacher among the many of such class that the country is seeing. There is very little point in going into the debate -– whether the charges are true or not. Let the law take its course -– the truth is that the charges have been leveled. The ‘godman’ has been arrested. The police says there is a strong evidence to nail him and till now there is no credible defense being offered by the supporters of the ‘godman’. The moral standards in the society have fallen to a new low and this incident is just a reflection of them. Immorality, treachery, devilish scheming, etc. are some of the traits, which are now becoming very visible in our society. Not a single television soap opera is complete without the presence of a vamp and of course a large number of negative characters. Going by the success these serials enjoy it is certain that the society has started identifying itself with these traits. It seems Ekta Kapoor was right. And if Ekta Kapoor’s depiction of the society was right, then the ‘godman’ incident is not very surprising. In reality, nobody is surprised. People have taken it in their stride as if it was in the offing. This is most disturbing. Moral values -– one of the strongest pillars of the society -- can be enforced more by internal character of an individual rather than the external legal environment. The less we talk about the external legal environment in India the better. And now it seems inner character is also making its way out of the society. An allegation of sexual assault has been leveled on a religious preacher -– it is alleged that he used religion to allure the victim whose family had complete faith and trust in him. The faith and trust have gone to pot. The government should immediately ban the use of the name ‘Ram’ lest we as a nation loose faith and trust in what Ram symbolizes -– a pure society based on the inner value system of the individuals.
Wait, wait before the PM takes a decision on the use of ‘Ram’ in names (I am sure he will make a statement in the RajyaSabha on this one) let us have a look at the other Ram in my script. Instead of symbolizing the nadir, he is a symbol of hope and recovery. He is a real hero. Enter Raghuram Rajan and the Rupee and the Stock Exchange start the dance. He seems to have lived up to the reputation of his name. The economy is being battered from all sides and of late the Reserve Bank of India has been the centre of action. The falling rupee is a cause of huge concern and precious little (other than lip service) has been done till now to arrest the fall. At least Raghuram Rajan has taken some concrete steps in the battle to arrest the fall. The future of the economy is closely linked to the movement of the Rupee and so any thing good happening to the Rupee is good news for India. If RaghuramRajan is able to pull off this one, the nation will eternally be indebted to him. Let us wait for his term to be over. Till then he should definitely be allowed to use the word ‘Ram’ in his name.
Let us start with Asaram. A self-styled ‘godman’, who is currently lodged in the Jodhpur jail on charges of alleged sexual assault on a minor girl, is considered a successful religious preacher among the many of such class that the country is seeing. There is very little point in going into the debate -– whether the charges are true or not. Let the law take its course -– the truth is that the charges have been leveled. The ‘godman’ has been arrested. The police says there is a strong evidence to nail him and till now there is no credible defense being offered by the supporters of the ‘godman’. The moral standards in the society have fallen to a new low and this incident is just a reflection of them. Immorality, treachery, devilish scheming, etc. are some of the traits, which are now becoming very visible in our society. Not a single television soap opera is complete without the presence of a vamp and of course a large number of negative characters. Going by the success these serials enjoy it is certain that the society has started identifying itself with these traits. It seems Ekta Kapoor was right. And if Ekta Kapoor’s depiction of the society was right, then the ‘godman’ incident is not very surprising. In reality, nobody is surprised. People have taken it in their stride as if it was in the offing. This is most disturbing. Moral values -– one of the strongest pillars of the society -- can be enforced more by internal character of an individual rather than the external legal environment. The less we talk about the external legal environment in India the better. And now it seems inner character is also making its way out of the society. An allegation of sexual assault has been leveled on a religious preacher -– it is alleged that he used religion to allure the victim whose family had complete faith and trust in him. The faith and trust have gone to pot. The government should immediately ban the use of the name ‘Ram’ lest we as a nation loose faith and trust in what Ram symbolizes -– a pure society based on the inner value system of the individuals.
Wait, wait before the PM takes a decision on the use of ‘Ram’ in names (I am sure he will make a statement in the RajyaSabha on this one) let us have a look at the other Ram in my script. Instead of symbolizing the nadir, he is a symbol of hope and recovery. He is a real hero. Enter Raghuram Rajan and the Rupee and the Stock Exchange start the dance. He seems to have lived up to the reputation of his name. The economy is being battered from all sides and of late the Reserve Bank of India has been the centre of action. The falling rupee is a cause of huge concern and precious little (other than lip service) has been done till now to arrest the fall. At least Raghuram Rajan has taken some concrete steps in the battle to arrest the fall. The future of the economy is closely linked to the movement of the Rupee and so any thing good happening to the Rupee is good news for India. If RaghuramRajan is able to pull off this one, the nation will eternally be indebted to him. Let us wait for his term to be over. Till then he should definitely be allowed to use the word ‘Ram’ in his name.
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The Prime Minister is very happy and extremely relieved at this –- NO DECISION to be taken on the use of the word “RAM”.