Laws alone cannot cure this “Moral Epidemic”

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The ideals of a progressive and free India will never be realized as long as our children are unsafe.
The Gang rape and murder of the eight-year old girl in Kathua had fumed a nation-wide anger, frustration and mass protest by people of all caste and communities. The incident was one of the most shocking and heinous acts in the country, which had distressed everyone and immediate call to hang the rapist was made by common masses. After continuous protest by the people, President Kovind on Sunday promulgated an ordinance, which was approved by Union Government, to pave way for providing stringent punishment, including death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years. Now The Indian Penal Code (IPC), The Evidence Act, The code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC), and The Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act will stand amended.
This amendment act stipulates stringent punishment for perpetrators of Rape. But it is no more a legislation problem. We need to introspect on the reason for the increasing brutality in the society. There is something seriously wrong with the society we are living in. No doubt a strict law has a deterrent effect on the society. Until the law will get strongly strict and active, the criminals will not be afraid of committing the crimes, and offences will happen again and again. But it is also true that all social evils cannot be removed by the enactment or amendment of laws only. For this there should be social consciousness. There is a need to educate people and when I say education I just don’t mean to earn a living but to be a better human being. The key to preventing crime is through instilling moral values in the young especially boys.
Rise in rape cases are the result of the downslide of moral values among People. We are facing dangerous situation today. And we have to understand that only enactment or amendment of laws cannot stop rape. Mass awakening of people is required. We cannot numb ourselves to these heinous acts of violence.
Children have never been responsible for conflicts, wars, natural disasters or any other human tragedy but are the worst sufferers. If we look at some facts: In India two children are sexually abused every hour. Every day 55 children are raped in India, and one- third of all crimes against children are sexual offences as the recent NCRB data revealed. We cannot accept this as our reality. We must act. And awareness is the first weapon in the fight against sexual abuse.
There should be an education policy founded on moral values. Every parent should teach their children from small age to respect women and girls. Childhood is the most vulnerable period which impacts the overall development of an individual’s personality. Children are the foundation of our society, the torchbearer of our nation. Parents must take care of the moral training of their children and the basic qualities that are conferred on the children. It will eventually affect the fate of the country as a whole. That is why it is the need of the hour to impart and inculcate moral values to children so that our future generations will not do such kind of heinous crime. And the ideals of a progressive and free India will never be realized as long as our children are unsafe. First educate your children about moral values and then let them be a perfect human being.
Though much damage has been caused already but we shall now intervene as conscious keepers of our society. All religious organizations instead of wasting time and resources on futile debates need to come forward at this crucial juncture. Educationists have to leave their lethargy and stop in, NGOs if they are true to their salt are the most wanted in such circumstances. Not only these people but all media, lawyers, doctors, teachers, parents, women and youth should join hands to make India safe for our children because laws alone cannot cure this moral epidemic. I want to sum up with a famous quote of Mahatma Gandhi, “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it”.

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