Anyone who watches news will be aware of the details of the case. Hence I will not delve into them here. I want to put forward a few observations on the basis of the events surrounding this case. These are disturbing to say the least and need attention from all stakeholders.
- Pending cases - It says a lot about our judicial system when it takes 13 years for a verdict to come out and that too at the trial court level. We have the High Court and Supreme Court above this and hence there is no clarity as to when the final decision will come out. Just one of the many graphics detailing this sorry state is this. The government and judiciary are at loggerheads over the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC). One prays for the country's sake that this gets resolved soon and that we set up courts to free up the backlog.
- Hero worship - Hero worship is probably present everywhere in the world. However India must be unique in the extent to which we carry this mania to. Salman Khan may be a good person at heart, I do not know. Fortunately or unfortunately one cannot (or should not) buy one's way out of legal trouble by simply good behaviour. There is a very simple reason. We do not have a society which accepts blood money and lets the guilty go scot-free. However to his many fans Salman is beyond reproach. This is a very dangerous thing to have in society. Recall the similar reaction when Jayalalitha was convicted and jailed. Society should not give an impression to its prominent citizens that they are above the law.
- Ivory towers - There have been a few reactions, especially from the rich which seem to sympathise with Salman Khan rather than with the victim. The singer Abhijeet and the jewellery designer and daughter of Sanjay Khan, Farah Khan Ali immediately come to mind. There is a certain disdain which is apparent towards the weaker and poorer sections of society.
Take the latter for example. She is Sanjay Khan's daughter. I understand that this gentleman owns a resort in Bangalore where the rates are higher than those charged in five-star hotels. So possibly this lady has known only wealth from her childhood. One wishes that such people at least spare a thought for the poor people in our society. Alia Bhatt had a more balanced reaction, where she expressed sadness but did also say that Salman was in the wrong. - Parental upbringing and the role of values - This is a more controversial point. What upbringing do we have in our societies when we have reactions of disdain towards the poor, and open admiration for our "idols" in spite of they being in the wrong? We have examples of people like Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji in India itself who are known for their simple living and values in spite of their immense wealth. These are the models I would like to have.
