The Mirage of Justice

“Lets be fair it should be a win win situation, your approach should be unbiased, you should keep that compassion ,passion & integrity high up there ” …. all this means we just be just , not biased, not parochial in our approach.

Justice means fairness , being fair means not being partial to some , preferential to other & step motherly treatment to the neglected. When you are in a car , a beggar comes on the signal & begs in front of you ” Bhaiya, aage jau ” is what say — we take his condition to be deplorable , ours to be privileged , we consider him to be just one of the many beggars — who wants to loot us presumably , a transgender is laughed off & made fun , we feel that these people dont want to work & eat for free ?? Let alone the person sitting in the car would still not have anything of his own — just living on the earning of his parents .. What is the Fundamental difference ??? just ACCIDENT of BIRTH … is the only difference that separates the two …

We take this situation for granted, our attitude is Apathetic, we don’t care & forget the very next moment, Our senses are immobile & we are not touched by his deplorable situation, we are not empathetic, let alone being compassionate. The huge cleavages in the society , where handful are privileged & large section deprived, where some enjoy the benefits, other live in deplorable , inhuman situations . Where are focus is on the outcomes that one achieves in life, MONEY becomes our Parameter of difference, SUCCESS is what counts … in short we are just bothered about the RACE – in fact just the winner of the race– … we dont care whether all the participants had proper kit, where all of them wearing sports shoes ?? or were some running with naked legs ?? all of them had proper built ?? did some of them not have money for a proper diet ?? some gained their physique by hitting the Gym,while others through manual labour ?? or were some handicapped among them ?? did they even have a common starting point ?? — The privileged today feel its their birth right to be privileged & others are born to be poor– the line of difference is very thin ..

We are some busy in our daily routine .. we have no time to think about these mundane things, ” Bhai jo hai vo hai , kya kar sakte hai ?? ” — JOHN RAWLS — an liberal egalitarian thinker — looked at JUSTICE to be the highest of all values — he kept it even over liberty & equality as a value. The Aim was to create perfectly just system. He wanted to give Equality of Opportunity to all, where the deprived have equal opportunity & compete with the privileged.

“ JUST or UNJUST are not just NATURAL facts — what is Just or UNJUST — depends on the way the systems of the world — treats them “ — Hence being poor, born in a rich family , being from the underprivileged sections , or even born with a golden spoon may be natural facts at that point of time — But it depends on the way the Society treats this natural injustice — Gives them equal opportunity, equal resources , identifies their dignity & what we call as INVIOLABILITY OF INDIVIDUALS — which means the rightness of a human being , dignity of a person should not be suppressed for the Collective good of the society .. “individuals position should be pivotal ” —- HOW CAN THIS BE DONE ??? — why are things unfair at the first instance ??

Human beings are complex species — they have tendency to both cooperate & conflict — when these individuals who lack qualities like empathy , integrity & compassion — are made in charge of a position of Authority , when they are given discretion — they take decisions that would benefit themselves the best , they are not in a position to understand what the needy is feeling, they are unable to keep themselves in his place. For instance RESERVATION in INDIA — is it GOOD or BAD ?? — it depends on which side one is ?? is one a VICTIM or a BENEFICIARY ?? taking decisions on immediate

gratifications ?? so have we lost our RATIONALITY as INDIVIDUALS ?? — we should go behind the ” VEIL OF IGNORANCE “ — according to Rawls — that means a person taking decision should know nothing about the particular talents, abilities, tastes, social class, and positions they will have within a social order. When such parties are selecting the principles for distribution of rights, positions, and resources in the society in which they will live, this “veil of ignorance” prevents them from knowing who will receive a given distribution of rights, positions, and resources in that society– he should focus on the beneficiaries — he used use his RATIONALITY & analyze what is best suited for the society … is this quality present today ?? off course not ...

Is giving Equality of Opportunity enough ?? — for example a underprivileged son of a bonded labor is allowed to sit for a prestigious exam with a son of a doctor, or a civil servant or an actor … Can both compete ?? should not their backgrounds be considered ?? is the starting point same for both ?? we should thus Compensate Individuals for their “BRUTE LUCK ” — here is where AFFIRMATIVE ACTION comes in , or giving extra advantages or privileges — “individuals should not be blamed for the decisions they take in Unchosen circumstances “…….

POLICY MAKING — especially in INDIA needs to go a long way — policy makers should develop the basic Emotional Intelligence , they should have the Compassion , Empathy because for persons in discretion — it is just another case , but for person in need it is their LIFE… we should keep ourselves in their places & make decisions — the privileged should value their position in LIFE & live each day with GRATITUDE .. we have a along way to go before we establish a Just society, free of inequalities, free of bias ness — The solution cannot be just giving equal opportunities , but making the Starting point same , by Developing EQUAL CAPABILITIES — so next time we see a underprivileged, we should not take things for granted , rather fill ourselves with Gratitude, be modest & try our level best to change the STATUS QUO………..

It is said that with respect to most of the social evils in India – more prominently Casteism and with respect to Reservation, our opinions in Public and Private life are different.With the above write up, I just want you to think pause for a second and think from the other side (for beneficiaries and victims both ) – I am in no way supporting the loopholes, forgery, people misusing it and some others suffering – in fact the entire idea is to promote BOLD DEBATE on the topic, all though Ram Chandra Guha states that ,”The Debate on Reservation in India – Generates more Heat than Light ” – still an attempt for Societal Peace is worth giving a try ………………..

always an optimist

CHINMAY DANDEKAR

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