Acharya Tulsi
Disasters can be of two kinds—natural and artificially created. Excessive rains, draughts, earthquakes, floods, cyclones, volcanic eruptions and some fatal illnesses are the calamities resulting from natural imbalances. Man's fertile brain has discovered ways to triumph over these calamities, but their percentage is very little. Man however surrenders himself to nature. In spite of sufficient meteorological warnings, he feels helpless by himself and is unable to avoid natural dangers. This may be called nature or fate or something else.
Artificially created calamities are of three types— the creatures of the lower category (animals, birds etc.) create all sorts of troubles for the human race. Sometimes unbearable difficulties arise because of divine wrath. Some difficulties are created by man himself. How ridiculous it sounds that man should deliberately do things to harm him. Such persons are considered stupid. Such behaviour on the part of anyone is not an orderly behaviour. This happens unwittingly when one behaves without thinking. But what should one say about the man who resorts to such an action in a well thought out, well planned manner? What name should be given to mindless destructive activities of killing on large scale? In which category should we place the man who plans such conspiracies? He bears no trace of divine or human qualities. One hesitates to call him even a lower creature or a demon. A poet has very appropriately described such people:
People who give up their own selfish interests and act benevolently in this world belong to the highest category of man. Those who act in the interest of others without harming their own interests are ordinary people. Those who harm the interests of others to attain their own selfish ends are demons residing in human bodies. But I do not know how to describe those who attack violently the interests of others without any rhyme or reason.[*]
Are not the bomb explosions in Bombay and Calcutta respectively on March 12 and March 16 in 1983 suggestive of a mentality more vile than demonic mentality? In the light of the information about the widespread bomb explosions in the main commercial and business centres in Bombay and in the Bow Bazaar in Calcutta and about the recovery of bombs on a large scale in many other areas, the possibility of a well-planned conspiracy cannot be rejected. I cannot understand the selfish interest of which persons or group were served by these bomb explosions.
One has never heard of such a large scale plan of destruction could be made in such an organised and secret manner. We did not get even inkling about how many people were involved in such a big plan of destruction, how much time it took; were all intelligence agencies unconcerned? Or were they engaged in discovering something more important? Today the people are mouthing certain questions which contain very grave warnings. The unfortunate incidents at Bombay and Calcutta do not mean merely the destruction of buildings and loss of human life. They tell the story of the destruction of humanity.
Whoever may be responsible for this conspiracy of bomb explosions, whether from this country or from outside, it seems insufficient even to call him a demon. Would it ever be possible to erase the mark of disgrace such people bring to humanity? The question is not about Bombay, Calcutta or India. The question is about such ruthless conspiracies. At least let man not be so depraved that without any reason he should indulge in such a dance of destruction so that its powerful impact should give violent jolts to the world. Let the persons engaged in such cruel acts stop and think what would they do if those acts were aimed at them? I believe that only such of sensitivity would be able to give a desired direction to man.
