Reputation more important than Lives?
by tybmmjourno
I have always thought of an individual’s life to be of greater importance than reputation. But is that everyone else’s thinking as well?
In the year 2002, a friend of mine, was coming back home from a funeral when a car rammed into her car. The impact of the accident was so great that her cousin brother was thrown out from the back window onto the road and died on the spot, while the four other family members were critically injured. The mother of the boy died eventually of a heart attack, after learning about the death of her son. The man responsible for the accident did not want this issue to come into light and offered her father Rs. 25 Lakh to keep his mouth shut and close the case. The devastated man replied, “I will take the money on one condition, bring back my nephew and sister-in-law.” He decided to fight for justice, but unfortunately all the evidence had been wiped away. Medical reports went missing, reports against the accused disappeared. Since there was no evidence and many others chose to remain tight lipped about it. The case is still in court with no outcome, yet! Justice Delayed! Reason? The man was the grandson of a famous politician and he had to keep up with the reputation that his family had. He couldn’t be called a culprit. Hence all the evidences against him were taken care of.
The girl’s father was not someone who did not know how to go about it, how to get justice. He had done it before. He was a lawyer. He fought for other people and still he could not get justice for himself, for his family members who lost their lives due to a rich-reckless driver, who had power to back him.
This is just one incident, that I am aware of, there may be so many others happening every now and then. Incidents where lives are not given importance and weighed with money. It is like putting a person’s life on the same platter as business. Souls sold for money. With incidents like these coming up, it makes me wonder whether I have thought of it in a reasonable way. In India, many families kill a girl child, because she is a girl. The family’s reputation is considered to fall down for this reason, hence the murder. Young boys are killed. Why? Because he fell in love and chose not to marry a girl of his family’s choice. This may tarnish the reputation of the family. A valid question that people should ask is, ‘Is Reputation of that great importance and so essential in a person’s life or for a family that an individual’s life is of no importance at all?’
Alice Peter,
TYBMM Journalism,
Sophia College for Women, Mumbai
yell0wblog 
That the rich and powerful are able to purchase advantages in legal conflicts is a tragic fact in every country. It happens here in the U.S. too, where the majority of prisoners receiving death sentences are poor. The story of your friend gives me another reason to try harder to live a just, ethical life.
Glad to hear that this incident gives you a reason to try. Sadly, it is an unfortunate situation whose change is still like a far-fetched thought. But i do hope the change comes about, someday, sometime.