Society is worshipping affluence and calling the honest insane, laments Santosh Hegde

The former Lokayukta and Supreme Court judge inaugurates a youth convention with the theme, Save women’s dignity and human values

The former Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, who was also a Supreme Court judge, has lamented that those who have been convicted and sent to prison are being felicitated and welcomed back into public life after they are released from jail.

Inaugurating Yuvajanara Sankalpa Samavesha, a youth convention with the theme, Save women’s dignity and human values, organised by All India Democratic Youth Organisation (AIDYO) in Dharwad on Thursday, he said that the erosion of human values has led to a rise in heinous crimes like rape and murder.

Mr. Hegde said that the whole country woke up after the Nirbhaya case, resulting in a mass movement against such crime.

“In the present situation, there is need for a similar mass movement. There is also a need to fight drug menace. Earlier, when someone completed his sentence for a heinous crime and came back to the mainstream, society would have boycotted him in public life or, at least, would have handed him out a sort of social punishment. However, now society has reached such a stage wherein such people are being welcomed back to public life and honoured,” he said.

He said that it is pathetic that society has reached the stage of worshipping affluence and calling the honest as insane.

Mr. Hegde also felt that the inordinate delay in punishing the guilty is also a reason for the loss of fear of the law.

He appealed to youth to imbibe human values handed out to them from their elders and strive towards building a society wherein there are no crimes.

All-India vice-president of AIDYO G. Shashikumar said that heinous crimes like gangrape and murder of girl students have shocked society leading to widespread protests.

He said that the reason for the increase in crime rate is unemployment and insecure life. The objective of the youth convention is to boost the morale of the youth and help them think, he said.

Dr. Shashikumar said that although post-Nirbhaya, the Verma committee recommended setting up of fast-track courts for hearing cases of atrocities against women, no subsequent governments has implemented the recommendations in toto.

Consequently, similar incidents have been recurring in the country and it is the responsibility of the youth to protest individually and also stage societal protests against such issues, he said.

State president of AIDYO Sharanappa Udnal said that the objective of the convention is to help youth imbibe cultural and moral values along with building movements against unemployment and other issues.

State secretary Siddaling Bagewadi made the introductory remarks. Senior counsellors Nadahalli Vasanth, Sujnanidevi Patil and advisor of Dharwad Janajagruti Abhiyana Ramanjenappa Aldalli were present.

Published - September 19, 2024 07:26 pm IST