A bizarre cause of murder

Recently a piece of news of bizarre nature has come from Thane in Maharashtra. A 42-year-old college professor killed his 32-year-old wife with a sharp-edged weapon in a fit of rage. His wife too was a professor. The professor also killed his 9-year-old daughter in the same manner. Then he tried to commit suicide. Before the attack he pushed out his 15-year-old son from the room, according to the police, fearing the latter would resist the attack. It is said that there was no smooth sailing between the husband and wife. They often picked quarrels. The night of July 2 also witnessed a quarrel (between the two). – Spousal quarrel is common in the Indian society. Such incidents make headlines in newspapers but most of these incidents take place in the lower section of society. A man is a drunkard, commits evil deeds; when the woman objects to it, it is not quite unusual for the drunkard husband to do so. Or, there is poverty and the man is lazy and unemployed. Sometimes either husband’s or wife’s too much leaning towards his/her parents or relations also gives way to this crime. At times dowry or property disputes also cause the same situation. But the Thane incident does not fall in any one of these categories. Here is a bizarre cause of its own nature though not unique.

Cheap purpose of receiving education

According to the police investigation, this professor named Sanjay Umbarkar is a professor of Arts while his wife Swati was a professor of Science in a college. Umbarkar was jealous of his wife and was suffering from some inferiority complex. For, in comparison to him, his wife had a bright career, and in this sense she was ahead of him. The cause of the professor’s rage and act of murder was this (The Hindu, July 4). It is obvious that such an incident is a subject of social scientists and experts in human psychology. Hundreds of books in the various languages are available on this subject; lectures and seminars (on the subject) are also arranged. Babas and gurus also appear on TV channels, sermonising on the subject. But their impact is not seen in the society in proportion to the frequency of such programmes. – And the major cause of their not leaving any impact on society is man’s materialistic attitude towards life. If the cause of the Thane incident is the same as has been reported in the newspapers, it unfolds many aspects into light. Cheap purpose of receiving education: the majority of people today get education merely to lead a pleasant life, but this education does not create high moral values in them and cannot stop them from committing crimes.

Let social scientists take notice of it

It is crystal clear that the professor of Thane was an educated person. But his being educated could not stop him from killing his wife and innocent daughter on a trivial matter. If the woman was suffering from some superiority complex, used to influence her husband with her science education and heftier salary, and taunt him, it is a rather more serious issue, which the experts should take notice of. Moral education is present in some way or the other right from primary class to higher classes in colleges even today; but this education is ineffective. Total focus is on career-making and thus on making life materially pleasant. Though this purpose of life has been in vogue since independence, the materialistic economic system has increased it. No one is free from it. This mentality is found in (the followers of) every religion and every social unit. Even the individuals and families of the community that has been blessed with high moral status in the various societies are not exempted. – This scenario can be changed by inculcating the fear of Allah in human beings and creating real mutual love among families, and only responsible Muslim organisations can do this work. They should widen the area of their social reform work.

24/ 07/12 khabar-O-Nazar by Parwaaz Rahmani, sehrozaDAWAT, translated by: Abu Yusuf