LINKED TO ABC WEDNESDAY
M is for Menace
For the last
few days, I had been thinking about the world order, we inhabit, where terribly sinister
happenings are raging and we can’t but accept them helplessly. Immense
empathy for the victims, gnaws our insides, though. Alternatively, we feel frustration and depression at
our inability to intervene. That is all. Terrorism is a painful reality of our times.
Hair-raising accounts of the brutal beheading of aid workers and a few others
have shaken our faith in the goodness of man. Mentally, we feel drained and hopeless.
Man has become such a dreaded animal on the face of earth, shames us internally.
The
worldwide arms race for manufacturing and acquiring weapons, ostensibly for
self-defense has fed hubris at the cost of human values. The terribly
destructive two world wars haven't taught us any lessons. Greed for annexation of
territory belonging to the other lurks menacingly in some hearts. Why can’t we
live in peace and goodwill towards all during the short time we are blessed with?
Sowing seeds of hatred and revenge only lead to bloodletting, which jeopardize
innocent lives. All religions teach love and compassion. Then why are we
witnessing disruptions, death and destruction, which belie any justification
whatsoever? No answers are forthcoming.We all know that we come into this
world empty handed and leave likewise. Why then there is so much of pain and suffering?
Poverty,
hunger, disease and illiteracy represent grave situations in many parts of the world.
They breed numerous social evils and result in untold sufferings to millions.
These can be partially overcome by judicious intervention of rich nations
with ample resources.
Some man made
disasters like floods and droughts can be taken care of via better planning,
conserving water and developing scientific irrigation systems.
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On a micro level, I’d zoom in on a menace which
is mostly India specific but deadly in its nature and spread. It has been written about ad
nauseam, but shockingly has remained unsolved. I’m talking about the palpable
stray dog menace in India. Sometime back, I wrote about it in a fit of intense
concern after reading a news item, where a couple of children were mauled
to death by a pack of stray hounds. Nothing happened to rectify the situation after the tragic incident.
I’m again at it due to a recent personal shock which
propelled me to share it with you. The other day, dear hubby went for a walk in
the park close by, at dusk. I was surprised when I heard him coming back after
a few minutes. To my anxious queries at the door, he blurted out that a dog
that came suddenly from behind without any provocation had bitten him. It was a
vicious attack on both legs. On the left leg under the knee and on the inner
side of the right thigh. One wound was deep red and the other was bleeding. One
does get panicky in such unexpected events and imagine the worst. We hurriedly washed
the wounds with soap and water. Luckily, a practicing doctor lives nearby and
he had the necessary injections as well. Later we came to know that the same
bitch had bitten four others too and still wanders freely.
Apart from pain,
discomfort, and stipulated five injections at specified intervals, physical
activity gets a beating. Also a blow to the freedom of movement.
Another fall
out is that I feel scared and it'll be some time before I venture out for a walk and
that too with a stick in hand. To make up,
we walk up and down in our driveway.
The moot point
is why our bizarre laws prohibit eliminating even dangerous and mangy stray dogs. Moreover, they lack other means of prevention. The insensitivity of animal lovers to human fatalities, from stray
dog bites is beyond comprehension. Some victims are too poor to afford the
expensive anti-rabies injections and die. The authorities sleep over the
complaints. Making genuine efforts to adopt other measures like sterilization to
control their burgeoning population entail comprehensive long drawn policies.
In the prevailing scenario, our life is at the
mercy of hordes of freely roaming daring canines in our environs.
Friends, welcome here as always!
Friends, let me take this opportunity to position you back in history, around early nineteen forties. World War II had torn asunder humanity in the fire of hatred and greed of territorial expansionism. My dear father,(2nd world war veteran) was part of the British forces in Burma (now Myanmar) fighting the Japanese, who had succeeded temporarily in taking control of BURMA. All of us know, how the war finally came to an end with the tragic bombing of twin JAPANESE cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 
