On Equality
- Imphal Times Editorial :: March 28, 2021 -

Article 14 of the Constitution of India provides for equality before the law or equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. “The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India.” .

Humans, like any other living beings, are a creature of habit.

Add to it the evolved mentality and concepts like aesthetics, power and pride- the resulting mix is one which threatens to change the very nature of the spontaneity of evolution and natural progression.

The human brain- the one incredible enabling our race to control and manipulate everything else around us- living and non-living alike, except for one important and very interesting drawback- the inability to control oneself- rather the senses and urges that makes us who we are.

This lacuna in our physiological make up which is apparently inherent is becoming more prominent with the passage of time.

The uncontrollable greed for power and land that led to wars being fought throughout the world, the unnecessary struggle for increasing power and control- all points to an irrational urge manifests into deeds that go against the very grain of human behavior- or is it so?

Nothing can be further from the truth. These bloody battles and physical challenges for power, supremacy and wealth of the early days have stopped- only to re-emerge in a more virulent and sinister yet subtler form at present.

Equality- the very premise on which our present society was founded remains to this day an illusion, a convenient pacifying tool for those at the helm of affairs to keep the common public at bay so that they- some if not all- can continue with the activities induced by the very weaknesses afflicting every human.

Is there any other rationale, however remote it may sound, to explain the widening chasm between the common public and those who are in power and influence- though everyone is equal- or so we are told to believe.

A number of politicians serving themselves while doling out rhetoric speeches proclaiming their efforts for the public, armed forces personnel abusing their power and using force to get their demands from the frightened and defenceless public, drug peddlers and their sources being shrouded in mystery behind a façade of power and money impenetrable by the public or the discretion of those who walks the hallowed corridors of power to speak out and express only those that they wish to be made heard- more often their own achievements and trivial triumphs blown out of proportions.

Is there a thing such as being more equal than equal? Why are so many seemingly mundane and simple problems being made so complex and tangled up as to make them impossible to solve?

Isn’t there any other way for the disturbed and concerned voices of the common man to be made heard other than be forced to resort to mindless destruction and mayhem- a natural, though unwanted, reaction of the frustrated and agitated souls who are made to feel less equal and cheated.

This feeling of discontent is made all the more intense as the public believes that solutions to a lot of wrongs in the society is so clear and right within their reach while those who are entrusted to act accordingly chose to look the other way.

The need of the hour is a bunch of people with rational minds and the resolve as well as the self-control to stick to the set plan with the habit to finish what has been started with the dignity to shoulder responsibilities for the same, and above all, a bunch that really regards the remaining majority of the population as equals.

Will the search prove to be an exercise in futility- yet again?