The end justifies the means - no way!

In school, during my final years and while at the NDA, I'd always put in my thought on this topic, rather vehemently, during the heated debating competitions. The argument was simple, if one achieves an end through unscrupulous means, the conscience - if one has it, that is - can never ever accept it! One may hoodwink every other for any amount of time but kidding one's conscience - no way!!

I'm referring to this theory of mine against the backdrop of the World Athletic Championship currently being held at Daegu in South Korea. And the specific event is the men's 100 mts. The reigning champion and the strong favourite, Usain Bolt, was out of the reckoning due to a false start. It has come to light that he was distracted by a fellow runner, adjacent to him(who went on to win the crown, I'm not quite sure!) resulting in the false start and the subsequent disqualification.

The winner might have got his 15 minutes of fame but at what cost? Can his conscience ever get over the guilt of having achieved something that wasn't rightfully his? Never!

Tailpiece.

Since I've quoted an athletic example, I'd like to share with you a very humorous incident from an athletic field, years back from school. The annual athletic meet of my school was on in full swing and the event was the 100 mts(seniors) where Dalbir Singh Chauhan(of class X belonging to the Ashoka House. I was from Prasad) was the hot favourite and the one tipped to win. The Ashoka House Master - a well meaning Maharashtrian gentleman - was the official timekeeper and hence stationed smack on the finishing line. As the race got off on predictable lines, so excited was the House Master that he was seen to be jumping with joy at Dalbir's performance and totally absorbed with the race like the rest of us.

The race was over and Dalbir had romped in first. He, naturally wanted to see his timing when the timekeeper realised that he'd unwittingly squeezed the stopwatch shut at 7.3 seconds at the height of his excitement. Unfazed, he restarted the watch and let it run to over 11 seconds saying that the then world 100 mts' timing was 9.9 seconds and Dalbir did not have the world class facilities to back him up, in the circumstances! In other words, it was his considered opinion that the timing had to be over 11 seconds! Dalbir, to put it bluntly, was crestfallen!!

I can still see Dalbir's fallen jaw at the ridiculous argument put forth by his House Master.