Man is a
social animal and thus cannot live alone, so he formed a society. We all know
that crime is as old as society. The dictionary describes crime as an offence
for which one may be punished by law. Laws are made by society, and since no
two societies are the same, laws change from society to society. Like polygamy
is a crime in some countries, while it is not in others. Same is the case with
abortion or consuming alcohol. Hence, the meaning of crime is highly subjective,
and within each society, it has evolved over a period of time. Hence I FIRMLY believe that society not only defines but is COLLECTIVELY
RESPONSIBLE IN THE MAKING OF A CRIMINAL
Let’s face it, family and
surroundings play the most important role in instilling moral values. If a
child is brought up in a dysfunctional family or a crime-ridden area he is
bound to be a victim of abuse he will grow up to be an insurgent, with wrong
moral values and would also end up being anti-social with a feeling of hatred
towards society.
We live in a society that is
constantly progressing financially and at the same time the void between the
rich and the poor is also increasing drastically. Whilst the rich flaunt their
wealth, the poor are left yearning. At times, the yearning reaches a point of
desperation. That’s when they turn to the wrong way of doing things-CRIME.
Including myself,we all have a
strong feeling of hatred towards the 26/11 Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab. But how many of us know that he
was once just another poor, innocent, mislead youth. One encounter with the
Lashkar-e-taiba changed his life for ever. Misguiding him towards the wrong
interpretation of his religion. We cannot deny the fact that it was the
society and the environment around him that turned a simple film loving boy
into a cold blooded terrorist.
We live in a country (INDIA) where our
courts have more than three crore cases pending. The daily soaps we've watched for generations finally came to an end after a certain period, but some of our court cases are far from closure . Thus we have earned the dubious distinction of a country
with the slowest judiciary. This has caused, the justice deprived people to
commit what we call a crime, to seek what they believe is justice. Because
justice delayed is justice denied. So in such cases society itself turns
victims of crime, into criminals
All
children are born innocent, irrespective of their family background or the
environment around them. Then what is it that washes away their innocence? Do you all not
agree that it is our society, which is the missing link between an
innocent mind and a criminal? Thus I would like to conclude by quoting
H.G.Wells who said "Crime and bad
lives are the measure of a State’s failure, all crime in the end is the crime
of the community."
(This article only expresses the opinion of the writer, your view may differ from the writer's)
