1141. Time to Unfold the Blindfold???

The statue of King Ellalan can be seen in the premises of Madras High Court in Chennai. King Ellalan belonged to Chola Dynasty and ruled the South of Tamil Nadu region including Sri Lanka with Thiruvarur as the capital in 200 B.C. He was conferred the tittle “Manuneethi Cholan” (Chola who followed Manu Smriti). 

Manu Smriti also called “Manava Dharma Shastra” is traditionally accepted as one of the supplementary arms of the Vedas. It is a compiled bulk of ancient rules and regulations, customs, laws, and rites. Yes, it is the same Manu Smriti which the so called “Pseudo Secularists” and “Pseudo Socialists” of my country are against. 

Human have the ability to transform and hence we have various law books during different period of times. Nothing remained static in the Hindu world it kept on changing. Manu was one of the law givers. Hindu jurisprudence propounded the doctrine of “Dharmo Rakshati Rakshita” (You protect righteousness and righteousness will protect you).

Coming back to the Chola Kings, it is said that he executed his own son to provide justice to a cow. Legend has it that the King had hung a giant bell in front of his courtroom for anyone in need of justice to ring. One day, he came out on hearing the bell ringing to find a cow pulling the rope. Upon enquiry, he found that the calf of that cow had been crushed under the wheels of his son’s chariot. In order to provide justice to the cow, Ellalan sentenced his own son to death. His name ever since has been used as a metaphor for fairness and justice in Tamil literature.

Truth has to be the biggest assets of a region. If that Truth is suppressed it is like allowing false to spread its tentacles to become deadly to the law enforcement agency itself and ruin it. It is believed that the tripod on which the democracy stands is Karyanga (Bureaucracy), Nyayanga (Judiciary) and Shasakanga (Legislature). If either of the one fails democratic values get fractured. 

Nyayanga in a civilized system is the pillar of hope to get impartial justice. It is only an effective judiciary that can guarantee a fair deal in a legal proceeding. Effective judiciary is a powerful weapon against injustice, but the experiences in court are often far from fair in recent times. Judges can be bribed or they can be pressurised. If the people with mighty and money abuse their power they can influence decisions and distort the judicial proceedings. Moreover people are often unaware of law and their rights. Hearing about the countless negative experiences in the court from others they sometimes simply resign them to their fate before a corrupt court.

Is there no solution to this problem???

Awareness of the fact that the real trial is not inside the four walls of a courtroom but deep within, will trigger the conscience. A clear conscience is a soft pillow. The Moral Fear has been the key to lawfulness. The rationalists ridiculed and destroyed it in the name of awareness. Even those who sit in the seat of judgement do not care about morality. As told in the “Garuda Puranam” everyone have to answer some uneasy questions on the “Judgement Day.” 

So time to unfold the blindfold.......no not the one on the Statue of Justice!!!