I recently watched a movie on social discrimination and its perils. The Indian Constitution does not permit such acts, but unfortunately we live in a country soaked in discrimination from time immemorial.
Can we find any society where there is no discrimination? Probably not; only in terms of the degree there might be differences.
Let us look at this objectively. Nature, or the Almighty, or the Creator of this world — depending on your point of view — discriminates among everything. Is he or it not discriminating between an animal and a human from birth? Do we have the same geography and climate in every part of this universe? Does every human being or animal look the same though there are similarities?
Can we confidently say life is fair to everyone? When I mentioned this once to my friend, she asked: “Why do you expect life to be fair to everyone?” She was right. Life cannot be fair to everyone. So there is definitely a bias.
If we look at a human being’s life from his or her birth, at every stage he/she has to face or find inequity. First, the looks and colour, then IQ, then education, then academic achievements, job or marriage, children, health, and finally, death.
Factually speaking, the whole world survives only because of discrimination. If everyone is equal and same, life will just not move. An engineer cannot do the job of a doctor and a factory worker cannot execute the position of a CEO. One can argue that some start their career on the shopfloor and one day become CEOs. But such instances are far and few between.
Can we vouch that all the intelligent students reach high positions in their professions, or vice versa ? I have seen many intelligent students who turned out to be mediocre in their careers while many of the mediocre and dull ones achieved great heights in the later part of their lives.
If everyone is intelligent there is no need for education; if everyone is beautiful, the word may not exist in the lexicon at all. If everyone is rich, there will not be anyone to do the work. If everyone is healthy, there is no need for doctors. When equality is attained, one cannot talk about bigotry.
Life and humans are in black, white or grey. No two things are equal. No two lives are comparable. No two achievements can be similar. Life runs because the roads of life are made by destiny with several ups and downs. Everyone, except the blessed few, had no option but to pass through them.
A world without discrimination or distinction is an utopian concept. Contrasts only propel life.
So basically, nature itself differentiates everyone and every life and every act; we humans exploit it to further our benefits, the rich and the poor, the educated and the enlightened, the good and the bad. So blame it not on humans but on nature!
gswaminathan19 @gmail.com
