Haven't we lost our soul?

We, Indians, seem to have lost our soul. To highlight this, I’m just drawing attention to three news items that I’ve come across in the recent past.

The atrocious first.
All fruits and vegetables that are available in the open market today have a high level of toxic material in them which can lead to slow poisoning by consumption, over a period of time, resulting in permanent handicap or even death. The toxins, incidentally, find their way into the eatables because they’ve been injected by unscrupulous vendors to enhance the ‘looks’ for brisk sale! As businessmen, one is permitted to make reasonable profits but it’s definitely not justified when lives are at stake for the sake of making gains. How can one ever think of building on one’s assets at the cost of others’ lives? How can one ever knowingly poison one’s own countryman’s food?

The disgusting second.
The authorities of the Bethany High School of Bangalore have passed a circular, warning the affluent parents of their students against the reservation of 10% of seats, consequent to the implementation of the ‘Right to Education’ legislation by the central government. The emphasis is that they need to be weary of the ‘poor’ children who’d be a bad influence to their children’s growth in that they’re the perpetrators of all sorts of bad behavior like smoking, drinking and use of drugs. Can people, especially those who run educational institutions, be so blatantly ignorant and lacking in sensitivity? Isn’t it a way of punishing another unfortunate individual for the sheer accident of his/her birth?

The shameful third.
Till yesterday, I had a soft corner for Suresh Kalmadi because of my interaction with him at the NDA, in 1973, when he was a service officer himself. The way he used to solicit our indulgence, as cadets during our outings on liberty, to use the then fledgling ‘Poona Coffee House’ had a personal if not disarming touch! I and many of my fellow mates have contributed to its growth, albeit in a small way. And I also understand that he has adequate wealth thanks to his wife’s inheritance from her ancestry. If so, why this sorry spectacle of channeling funds from the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee to a ‘fly-by-night operator,’ working from a garage, towards purchase of important equipment and allied services for the baton ceremony at London a few months back, breaking all laws of tendering and contracts? Suresh Kalmadi and your ilk, how much money do you require in this life of yours to make you self sufficient? You’ve really let me down but above all, let down the country.

Aren’t these three sad examples enough to show that we, Indians, have lost our soul? And we’ve the gumption to call Pakistan a failed state!