By Jacob Peenikaparambil: The most important lesson taught the world by Yusuff Ali Man, chairman of Lulu groups, through his latest act of compassion is that human life is most valuable and spending any amount of money for saving a life is not an issue. Media in the second week of June published his compassionate act of freeing a 45-year-old Indian Mr. Krishnan from death row in UAE after paying “blood money” of 500,000 Dirhams (around Rs. 1 crore).  More than paying the compensation money Yusuff Ali played a crucial role in convincing the parents of a Sudanese boy who was killed in a road accident in which Krishnan was accused of criminal negligence in driving. Yusuff Ali even had flown to Sudan to hold negotiations with the parents of the boy who died in the accident.  Yusuff Ali deserves appreciation from all for his noble and extraordinarily generous act of compassion.

During the first and second wave of Covid 19 many Good Samaritans came forward risking their own lives to save the lives of others. It shows how people value human lives. While encouraging people for proactive efforts to save human lives, there is also a greater need for stopping spread of hatred, revenge and violence that destroy numerous lives by promoting non-violence and communal harmony.

Individually, a large majority of people may not approve of taking the life of another human being. But often mob indulge in mindless violence and killing during communal riots and lynching. Our country, in the recent past, witnessed spite in mob lynching of innocent persons on account of rumours, prejudices and fake news. Disseminating false information on social media is playing a very destructive role in creating social unrest and murder of innocent people.

Fake news spreads like wildfire and creates rifts between various communities, castes and religions. Some organizations deliberately manufacture and market fake news for the purpose of “social engineering” and polarizing people. These kinds of diabolical acts create a lot of distrust and suspicion among various communities. As a result violence can erupt on slightest provocation and kill many innocent people.  

There is an urgent need for educating people not to believe in any sensitive and destructive news without verification. Similarly, people are to be cautioned not to forward negative and sensational news through the social media platforms.

Another step required is creating mass awareness against certain ideologies that are based on hatred against certain communities. These dangerous ideologies can lead to genocide as happened in Germany at the time of Adolf Hitler. Hitler’s ideology of Nazism killed six million Jews, according to the Wikipedia website. There are also perilous ideologies that advocate violence and bloodshed for creating an ideal society that is egalitarian.

While appreciating and extolling the compassionate acts like that of Yusuff Ali, people are to be guided and educated to be humane by avoiding violence and bloodshed. If Indians follow the path of non-violence and communal harmony as taught by Mahatma Gandhi, they will be able to save thousands of lives, because lakhs of people are killed in wars and violent conflicts.

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