Prof. Meena Hariharan and Lateef Mohammad Khan in their article “Guts needed to apologise” (Deccan Chronicle, 24 February) talk at length on the importance of apology and forgiveness in human society. The article is in the backdrop of indiscriminate arrests of Muslim youths, most of whom are declared innocent later by courts of law, especially in the case of Mecca Masjid blasts in Hyderabad.
The learned writers say “the debate leads to a pertinent question – is the feeling of regret or seeking forgiveness positive or negative?” The feeling of regret and seeking forgiveness is always positive, for it can never tell badly upon the political or service career of the politician or the public servant concerned.
The writers agree, “Positive psychology has a significant place in the act of regret, apology and forgiveness. They are useful for enhancing the wellbeing of both the parties involved. Expression of apology has the power of restoring the deep sense of self respect in a person battling guilt.” And, especially on the receiver’s side, it works as “an emotional first aid”.
The writers aver: “With the continuous struggle of Civil Liberties Committee, it has exposed the Hindutva terrorists’ involvement in the blasts and now the Hyderabad police are under the scanner. If at all the Government is sincere in providing compensation to the victims, the first step should be to take action against the police so that in future these types of police excesses does not take place.
“The State and police has become communal and dishonest. A team of Hindutva minded people have infiltrated in to the State and the police are creating total impunity. Not only the police but in all the other State agencies and sectors. They have their own agenda of showing every Muslim as a terrorist. It is a part of the greater conspiracy only to fulfil the Hindutva agenda and to capture the majority community vote by creating a feeling of insecurity. In this whole process a big political game is being played.”
The authorities concerned need to apologise with open heart and real intent. They also need to punish the police personnel who arrested Muslim youths on concocted charges, threw them behind bars, humiliated and tortured them, filed false charge sheets against them for no fault of their own. But all this needs, as the writers opine, guts, for without strong will, indomitable courage and great moral strength you cannot take the cudgel to do justice with the victims and punish the guilty. For the government machinery, which is well equipped with the means to gather information, probe into the cases, see through the conspiracies, and sift the concoctions from what lies on the ground and ultimately do justice, it is not difficult to have courage to say sorry or apologise and compensate, if some wrong decision has hurt an individual or a group of the society. But when we find the government and all its departments standing in want of the due courage and intent or guts to do so, there arises a need of total reform of our state machinery and this gives us a call to rise against injustice and oppression with the sole intent to serve the country and save her from degenerating into the abyss of total darkness.