The term crisis signifies undesirable
changes which are expected to lead to dangerous and unstable situations
affecting individuals, groups or even a state. In a developing country like
India there is no dearth of crises and they are manifested in many forms like
social, political, economic, moral etc. It is a common observation that while
other form of crises especially the economic form are frequented by the nation’s
population significantly battering the democratic machinery and overall
development, however a crisis of moral code of conduct poses a far more greater
concern as it is bound to tear apart the delicate social fabric of the masses.
The downfall of morality is undoubtedly a precursor and an indicator to
insecurity, mistrust and poses as a colossal obstacle to the coherent effort of
the masses towards national prosperity and well-being.
Undeniably there has been a
steady onslaught of economic concerns in the recent time. We were witness to
the dramatic depreciation of the rupee against dollar, a policy paralysis
knocking down the growth of the nation’s key industries and the miserable
decline of Indian positioning in the various global economic indices. However
the shocking proceedings did escalate the issue and numerous counter measures were
tabled out as a response to the daunting wake up call. The Pradhan mantra Jan Dhan
Yojana to account for the unbanked population is helping to achieve goals of
financial inclusion. The scheme tends to attract funds from transactions which
were till date never accountable to banking sector. These funds obtained are to
be used effectively used in infrastructure development of the rural sector. The
Make in India Initiative brings the much awaited drive from the bureaucratic
fronts to engage in fostering private-public relationships. The initiative is
aimed at breaking away unwanted regulations for doing business in India, luring
foreign investors to come and manufacture in the country. It is a fact that
there is a definitely a huge demand of inexpensive but good quality products in
the global market. Apart from these steps, steps have been taken for vigilance
and disciplinary actions against corrupt practices, raising caps on FDI, oil/gas
price regulations and the economic machinery seems to be poised for growth in
the near future. In contrast to the economic scenario, the moral landscape,
however, reflects poorly of both developments and initiatives.
Today the morality has been
compromised on many fronts. On one hand, there is an ever increasing frequency
of violence against women making it a national shame and on the other hand
there has been unprecedented corruption in public offices. Moral understanding
of an individual is being exploited in the name of religion by various fanatic
outfits, winding and twisting the ethics held sacred to heart. The striking
fact to these developments is that there has not been a national consensus and
a strong stance taken against the deteriorated standards of morality. A high
profile rape case gets highlighted in the newspapers, candle light vigils are
offered by the sympathizers, debates ensue with heated aggression on national
TV prime time but what happens next day is a total disgrace. The next day, the
same guy standing amongst the candle light vigils starts taunting the girls nearby,
the same officer praising Anna Hazare receives monetary benefits of his
position in a non-hesitant manner, the women mocking fake god men attend a
divine session shouting propaganda slogans and many such instances. This brings
us back to square one, an infinite loop of despair. Instead of being on the
track of higher state of consciousness in a modern state, we are nose diving
into feudal mindsets with girls being seen as an object of pleasure and
commodity, power as a tool of exploitation and corruption and religion as a
means of duping people at a mass level. The outrageously insane level of
exposure in corruption scams, rape incidents and fanaticism demands serious
attention on our part as Indians to be proactive and deal with this degrading
morality.
In a nutshell, one may say that
though the economic and moral crisis are perpetual in nature but their impact on
the national spirit and development is dissimilar in nature as well as
magnitude. One knocks the bottom out of a stable growth of economic foundations
whereas the other tears apart the social conduct of the individuals. The fact
there is no other tool for gauging a morally degrading society apart from an
individual’s willingness makes it a far more threatening problem. Today, when
we live in a modern society of a rapidly developing democratic nation with
aspirations to become a super power, a moral crisis seems carcinogenic and far
more precarious.
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