Untenable

Yet another ghastly war

"What is this world coming to?"

We've all heard folks, usually of the older variety, voicing this question, born of concern and perplexity. In the past, the concern has been about deteriorating tastes, subject matter in movies, social mores and the like. And usually, with a shake of the head or a "tsk tsk," the speaker moves on to other things.

Well, the question appears more timely than ever and deserves to be addressed to even more serious issues – like genocide, wholesale slaughter of innocents, and persecution of religious and ethnic minorities around the world.

The list grows alarmingly long: Rwanda, the Sudan, Bosnia. Recently there was Ireland, China and Haiti. Somehow endlessly, the Middle East. And now, most atrociously, India.

Yes, India, the second most populist nation in the world, moving swiftly into prominence in the 21st century. India, new leaders in almost all technology and engineering; where your phone call asking for tech support or product delivery may be answered; where an automobile that runs on compressed air reportedly has been built and will be marketed. India, where in April a successful space launch expanded the nation's importance in the solar system.

But also India, where, also in April, a 6-year-old Dalit (untouchable) girl was thrown into a roaring fire about 40 km from the temple town of Mathura and burned alive. The little girl was accused of the dastardly crime of walking through the footpath meant for only the upper castes, on the very day those "upper caste" people were exulting over India's successful new satellite launch – another devastating indictment of mankind.

It seems just unthinkable, rationally impossible, that these two vastly contradicting events could happen, in the same month, in the same country, and in the 21st century. But wait; you haven't heard the worst, not by a very long shot.

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