qudsiagani6@gmail.com
For a long time the Church authorities would say that Earth is flat. But then it turned out to be round. Truth is not enforced by authority but it is manifested by trial. Beliefs and values that have held sway for thousands of years have been questioned as never before. “Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife” said Johannes Kepler, the discoverer of planetary laws.
Truth poisons the relation between faith and reason. It makes us miserable in the beginning but it eventually liberates us for all times. As also confirmed in the glorious Qurān at various places, the belief systems of people are generally not based on any spiritual attitude of mind or rational thinking but just by mere imitation of their forefathers. People do what they find their fathers doing without involving the least amount of common sense or concern. Sometimes truth may also be hard to arrive at and may not be so apparent or obvious.
But, we can always pursue it to find that it stands out clear from error. Truth has always existed, only the falsehood needs to be concocted. Truth, be it social or scientific, is not always comfortable but it is always commendable. As we go down the pages of history, we find truthful men of exemplary courage and character who confirmed their intention with action. Eighteen years back in 2003 on this day, 27th November, truth personified by Satyendra Dubey was brutally undone.
Having risen from a humble background, Satyendra did his graduation and post graduation from IIT Kanpur and went on to become an Indian Engineering servant. He could have chosen to grow in corporate sector but he chose to serve in the public sphere.
The technocrat who started his job with lots of enthusiasm and confidence met his ugly fate for exposing the rampant corruption in his department. He focused on fixing the problem as against bulk of us who focus on fixing the blame. As the poet says, rather than lamenting the darkness of the night, we should have lit a candle & done our share.
shikva-e-zulmat-e-shab se to kahīñ behtar thā
apne hisse kī koī sham’a jalāte jaate
IIT Kanpur has established an annual Satyendra K Dubey Memorial Award given to an IIT alumnus for displaying highest professional integrity in upholding human values. The Indian Express also announced a fellowship in the name of Dubey. Institute for Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS), a non-governmental organisation from Lucknow has been awarding the Satyendra Dubey award for civil services in reverence to his contributions to the cause of fighting corruption. Did his murderers get penalized? Yes they did get. Did Satyendra get his due recognition? Yes he did get. Did he make a history? Yes he did.
History is not written for an entire population but a popular few. The experiments with truth never fail us. Truth earns us victory, eternal peace and recognition. Though strange, that bulk of us still choose to opt it out. As the time is passing, and we are growing and advancing, truth is getting rarer than diamonds. Why is it so? Perhaps, Sadhguru has the answer. He says, “Truth is not for comfort, it is for liberation. It is not a medicine, it is a killer.” I do not mind if people don’t say a big truth. It may cause them a big harm. What about the plenty of little pretty truths that can make our routine beautiful at home and at office. The reasons surrounding why we lie are endless. We may be late to office and blame it on the traffic to cover up being fired. We lie to save face, to hide misdeeds, to shirk responsibility or to get out of work. We may also lie to avoid hurting other people or to prevent conflict. But why do we use the same tool of lie in all situations. Why do we prefer to live with the long-term consequences of lying. Do we repress the truth only to keep the pain at bay. With truth reduced to a minuscule entity, can we dream of any more Satyendras in future?
How conveniently do we choose to forget our heroes. Unfortunately, the opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity. Despite all rewards to cowards, one should remember that it still needs an insane courage for something great to happen. Take the examples of Hyderpora at a local level and that of farmers at a national level, in the recent past. Let us believe in truth, let us build the trust. Let us stake the comfort for a while to avoid despair in the end.
Dr. Qudsia Gani, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, Cluster University Srinagar
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.