We are Criminals
We are
criminals, aren’t we? Yes, indeed. We have committed a heinous crime, the
gravest crime to this young generation and the coming generations.
We became so much
obsessed in advancing on the path of progress and advancement and so much
engrossed in amassing comforts in our life that we could hardly notice how and
when we have exploited our resources beyond the limits of replenishment. We
forgot that even the renewable resources need sufficient time to regenerate.
Our comforts
slowly and steadily, became our bad habits and these habits became addiction
fighting with which was impossible for us. Our comforts and luxuries became
indispensable in our life and irresistible for us even when they posed a major
threat to our environment and our own existence. ACs, vehicles, machines and
apparatuses, industries and technology have become a threat to our existence causing
global warming, creating industrial and e-waste resulting in air, water and
land pollution. However dangerous it may become, people find themselves
helpless to discontinue using them.
In this modern
age the colonies and residential areas are beautifully lined by the attractive
trees. But alas, the birds and butterflies don’t visit them, all thanks to the
fast growing technological network and number of smartphones and other gadgets.
Children wake up to notice scorching heat in summers and fog has transformed
into smog during winters. Pleasant seasons in between have become a thing of
past.
This is predicted
that there will be no water by 2050. If this generation is breathing polluted
air and drinking bottled water and the future generations will have to buy
oxygen and water, who is at fault?
Since ages
humans have enjoyed all the bounties of nature and all the blessings of life
provided by Almighty. They had the blessing to bathe in holy rivers, swim in
clear streams, count the shining stars in clear sky, run in the open fields,
breathe in aromatic air, dance in the drizzling showers, meditate on the
mountains, hunt in the forests and so on but what about our children and coming
generation? Why are they not so fortunate?
Our parents and
grandparents have enjoyed sailing paper boats in ponds or lakes in rainy
seasons and riding on the backs of animals. They have experienced the joy of
chasing butterflies to the other end, plucking mangoes or guavas from the orchards
stealthily. Running to touch the horizon point and flying a kite on the open
roof are merely dreams for the children of 21
st century particularly,
the children of cities and towns. What is their fault? They are paying for our
sins, the crimes we have committed. If we wish to view a sunset point, stroll
by the lakeside or ride a camel or elephant, now we have to plan a trip to a
suitable destination.
Now, if our children want to have a close look at
nature, they can do so either in the poems of William Wordsworth or on the
National Geographic Channel.
We have been far
too selfish in satisfying our needs and amassing our comforts that we forget
that this earth belongs to all the creatures equally. I would like to conclude
with a beautiful thought, ‘we have not received this earth from our ancestors,
but have borrowed it from our children’. Hence, it needs to be kept secure with us and transferred to them as a legacy.
