A chasm between precept and practice can exist only because of two reasons: either those entrusted with the execution of the policy are INSINCERE or the policy is not worth the paper it is written on. It is utopia and imaginary and has no relevance to the facts of life. Its diagnosis is faulty, its prescription wanting.

Fundamentals of Western Civilization

When the mighty cataract of Renaissance swept away all the vestiges of the past and opened a new chapter in the history of civilization, lofty hopes were en­tertained about the future of mankind. Inevitability of progress I was a fundamental tenet of faith with the humanist. The three cannons of Humanism were:-

  1. Denial of supernatural powers and confidence in the unending powers of man.
  2. Belief that the society can be changed by the change in the environment and the System of education. And,
  3. The Inevitability of Pro­gress.

This last and the most import­ant concept inspired people with a new confidence. It was the Secular substitute for the Religious Faith!* Secularists, and men of letters all sang in a chorus that “today” is better than “yesterday” and “tomor­row” will be better than both. Progress is inevitable. It is bound to come. Human nature is taking a turn to the better. Human society is progressive beyond recognition. Soon a time will come when milk and honey will flow like anything; when sin will be abolished and terror banished; crime will become an annul of the past and all-out happiness will become the order of the day.

But these high hopes have not come true. Evidence to the contrary is accumulating every day. In the modern world crime and anarchy are spreading like hay fire and are assuming uncontrollable proportions. Nobody knows what would be the end of this tragic dance. Some recent statistics about these moral con­flagrations would suffice to show the march of events.

CRIME IN ENGLAND

The statistics issued by the Home Office are most authentic in this respect. According to this rep­ort, the command “Thou shalt not steal” is broken as frequently as the command “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” In 1938 there were 219, 135 crimes of theft, in 1949 they “progressed” to 500,000. Since 1938 convictions for larceny hare increased by 36 percent-, for breaking and stealing by 88 percent. The most serious feature of these statistic! is that they show a large number of these offences hare been committed by young people—persons who have been born and bred under the sheltering care of secularism and who have imbibed indi­fference towards religion with milk of their mothers: the true sons of civilization!

In 1949 no fewer than 6,445 persons under fourteen were found guilty of “offence of violence” against property. But the cases of dishonesty known to the police resulting in conviction are small compared with the large amount of pilfering from sheds and docks, from the factories and from the shop. In 1948 the University of Liverpool, Deptt. of Social Science issued a report on “The increase in crime of theft.” In its summary it stated that “crimes of theft have incre­ased very rapidly during the de­cade 1937-42.” If estimated that the increase in thefts from railways has been 315 percent and “the value of property stolen with the country has increased from about £2,500,000 to an order of magnitude of 13,000,000 (i e. Rupees THIRTEEN^ CHO­RES—K.A.) during the’ same period.”

CRIME IN U.S.A.

Latest figures have been releas­ed by the Police Chief of the New York City. (17th August, 1954). He says that in the city crime is on the increase. If Sunday is taken as the test day the follow­ing crimes are committed ‘In New York only:

  • One murder.
  • 27 severe assaults.
  • 3 severe sex crimes.
  • 140 thefts and lareeny crimes.
  • 40 cases -of Motor-theft.
  • 31 cases of loot and plunder on New York’s main roads.

He says that at present New York has 19,800 police constables but because of the mounting number of crimes an addition of 7000 more constables has become indispensible.

Another report says that crimes are being increasingly committed by the TEEN-AGERS. The re­port further says that youngsters are becoming more and more cruel, callous and sex-minded. They are prepared to do any amount of lawlessness merely to achieve their ends. According to the report, causes of this rising tide of crime and lawlessness are diverse. The following facts are cited by the report which are eye-opening.

  1. Greater part of the stu­dents’ time is spent in Cinemas. It is calculated that if one visit is paid to the Christian church, eight are paid to the “churches of the civilization-—” CINEMA.
  2. There is an unprecedented rise in the sale of sexy maga­zines and crime journals. In America the average sale of these journals is estimated to be ONE and a HALF CRORE!
  3. If a scrutiny of the revenues of expenditure of American Na­tion is made, one finds that if ONE dollar is spent for the pur­poses of church and religion SEVEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY dollars are spent on Sex and entertainment.

(Bombay Chronicle Sept. 26, 1954).

It seems that in the “Christian World” all the older values are slowly but surely dying away and a new morality is becoming rampant. And its fundamental commandment, as against the Christianity’s commandants of “Thou shalt not steal” and “Thou shalt not commit adultery”, is: ‘ THOU SHALT NOT BE CAUGHT BY THE POLICE”!

ILLEGETIMATE BIRTHS

More havoc-inspiring are the reports about increase in illegiti­mate births. Dr. Goodrich C. Schauggler declared at the American Medical Association’s Convention that the un­married mothers are on the increase in America. He says:

“In 1938 there were 88,000 illegitimate live births. In 1950, the-number had increased to 142,000. Most of the mothers were under the age of 20 and 44 – percent were from 15 to 20 years. About “32,000 in 1950 were 17 years or younger.

“A much higher percentage of unmarried mothers nowadays & comes from comparatively privileged groups—high school students compared with the ‘poor working girls’ or the “penniless domestic of the beginning of the century”,’ he said.

“We must recognise that there is a greatly increased awareness of sex in the younger group, and maintained by the sex hysteria which is a calculated instrument of modern journalism and so-call­ed entertainment trends—movies, radio, television, and theatre. Beyond this, there are loose practices, bad examples and lack of supervision in home influences.” —Reuter.

This state of affairs is extremely disappointing. The hopes so merrily enkindled by the pioneers of the Western Secular Civilization have now been completely foiled. Brotherhood, respect for others, spirit of cooperation, tole­rance and harmonious bring all appear more as mockering shadows than realised values.

Two conclusion flow from the above discussion and they are —

1. Inevitability of progress has been proved to be a hoax and a delusion. Instead, there has been ample progress in the inverse gear. Now the civiliza­tion has harboured itself in most turbulent and disaster-spelling waters. Only a mighty rescue party can save “the ship from the impending disaster—only a revi­val of moral values of religion can teach the human beings the happy ways of living.

2. Those who are trying to smuggle in our country, the Western Way of life, are in fact, doing greatest harm to the na­tion. If they are doing so with the purpose of corrupting our society, they are our real ene­mies. Their activities must be stopped by persuasion and nego­tiation if possible, by force, if need be. And if they are playing this tragic game because of their, ignorance, they do not deserve, the place they are occupying, let it be known that:—

“If a blind man leads the blind, both are to fall”. And mere good aspirations cannot save us from the nemesis, for hell is often paved with good intentional.

* The philosophy of Hegel and the theories of social evolution of Darwin and Herbert Spencer” strengthened belief in this inevit­ability of progress. They became the gospel of hope.