Where are Human Beings Marching; Towards Progress or Ushering in Dark Ages?

By Prof Mithilesh Kumar Sinha | EMN

Human beings are increasingly losing self-discipline in this era that celebrates the adage that greed is good on all levels. I really feel that human beings, instead of moving ahead, are in reality retracting their steps backward. There is cloud of perversion, illegality and inhumanity. Rampant killing people in the name of religion, Incidence of sexual assaults, violent outrages and rape prove that human beings are in trap of animalistic tendencies.

Nearly four out of five women (79 per cent) in India have experienced some form of harassment or violence in public, according to a latest survey by ActionAid UK. It also revealed that every three out of four women in the western states of the country, including Rajasthan, have experienced some form of harassment.

Child sexual abuse is now chronic to our generation. Like Cancer, it is the plague of the modern world. All workplaces and the domestic space have been becoming the theatre of sexual assaults. Are our women and children really guilty or is it that there’s something rotten in our entire system?

In 2016 alone, 36,022 cases of child sexual abuse were recorded with the NCRB, as the Home Ministry stated releasing this data. This number is only a patch on the reality, where far more instances unfold on an everyday basis and are shunned by families in the fear of disrepute. A child is sexually abused every fifteen minutes in our country. Another startling fact is this: most predators are known to the victim in close circles. Beginning with a warm hug from a particularly friendly uncle, or a gentle tap from a neighbour, these gestures escalate in no time and the child is stuck in a dark corner with no escape. Her screams are silenced with confused parents juggling dignity, reputation and sympathy.

World Vision India, shows that one in every two children are sexually abused at some point of time during their childhood, one out of five feel threatened that they may fall prey to the ways of sexual predators, and one in four families do not report incidences of sexual violence.

The Idealistic goals of “being a good person” are even more essential today than they have been ever before. Adults are in need of far more surveillance, guidance and education in ethics than children. We cannot pretend to live in a world exclusive of one gender. Assimilation and integration-of genders, classes, castes, communities, and nationalities-is essential in the modern, globalised world. Turning this around does not suit the sensibilities of today. The idea of integration has to be more effectively practiced. While harsh and unsuitable for modern days, the only answer to these animalistic tendencies could be the equal retort of primitive punishment.

If human values are no longer fashionable then of course only divine intervention can shield the helpless and innocent children from the inhuman demons. If the progress comes with bestial and perverted minds, then to hell with progress! Human beings can very well do without it.