Elizabeth cry once said, "Punishment is not for revenge but to lessen crime and reform the criminal." Provided the crimal gets reformed in the process.
I have grown up hearing the phrase 'tit for tat'. You get what you sow. Isn't that how it is supposed to be? I still remember when I heard about nirbhaya gangrape incident, I was really upset. Like hundreds of others, I expressed my views on the castration laws. People committing crimes should suffer as well. After all the misery they have caused to the victims, they deserve no mercy.
Some time back, I read that 'It's not a matter of punishment or revenge, but closure. We'd like to put an end to this and learn why it all happened.'
Then comes the lesson I learnt in my next class, 'An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.' With confused thoughts and a puzzled mind, I knew this was absolutely unfair. This was nowhere near justice. How can we settle until and unless the culprits learn a lesson.
Then comes the lesson I learnt in my next class, 'An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.' With confused thoughts and a puzzled mind, I knew this was absolutely unfair. This was nowhere near justice. How can we settle until and unless the culprits learn a lesson.
Now, years after, I have realized there is nothing as clear as distilled water. Truth is in fact an illusion. We know that a person has committed a crime, but the layers of the person's mind are as visible as moon on a no-moon night. I don't know if he should be punished or not. But I do know that if my mom had punished me for all mistakes I did, I would have been as hard on the world as she was on me.
Just like beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so does crime. What might be unacceptable for me, might be trivial for other. So, now what do we do? We get to the depth of the person, and not the crime. Punish only when you think that it will do more good than harm. Maximum OCD patients are those who have been punished for anything and everything during their tender years.
You create a new enemy by punishing someone who is innocent. This was one of the few amazing guidelines by chanakya. I have heard ample examples of innocent people being penalized. On the top of it, punishing them instead of rehabilitation, would sound like adding fuel to fire.
Else, go for making the person fit for their environment. Instead of punishing them, fix them. All of them may not be wrong. They might just be damaged and not selfish.
Further, rehabilitation nowadays has evolved enormously. It utilizes the energy of the inmates and channelises it into the right direction. In addition to this, it equips them with traits to earn an honest livelihood. These may include stitching, tailoring, embroidery, bakery, packaging among others. At the same time, taking away their freedom and family, is enough of a punishment.
I would conclude that we don't need to choose between punishment and rehabilitation, instead we need a combination of both. They are both ends of the same thread.
Just like beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so does crime. What might be unacceptable for me, might be trivial for other. So, now what do we do? We get to the depth of the person, and not the crime. Punish only when you think that it will do more good than harm. Maximum OCD patients are those who have been punished for anything and everything during their tender years.
You create a new enemy by punishing someone who is innocent. This was one of the few amazing guidelines by chanakya. I have heard ample examples of innocent people being penalized. On the top of it, punishing them instead of rehabilitation, would sound like adding fuel to fire.
Else, go for making the person fit for their environment. Instead of punishing them, fix them. All of them may not be wrong. They might just be damaged and not selfish.
Further, rehabilitation nowadays has evolved enormously. It utilizes the energy of the inmates and channelises it into the right direction. In addition to this, it equips them with traits to earn an honest livelihood. These may include stitching, tailoring, embroidery, bakery, packaging among others. At the same time, taking away their freedom and family, is enough of a punishment.
I would conclude that we don't need to choose between punishment and rehabilitation, instead we need a combination of both. They are both ends of the same thread.
"I heard Life has 2 phases
Is it day and night solving the mazes
So is the story of humans
Both Black and White in the game
Allowing us to make blunders
And then learn and move ahead..... "
Mridula.
Is it day and night solving the mazes
So is the story of humans
Both Black and White in the game
Allowing us to make blunders
And then learn and move ahead..... "
Mridula.
