The High Court of Kerala has stepped in, to undo a wrong, once again. Acting on a Public Interest Litigation filed by the residents of Makkamkunnu complaining of amplified prayers with loud speakers and devotional music from Temples and Christian Prayer groups, causing sound pollution, the Court has directed the police to take appropriate action. Citing an earlier decision of the Supreme Court in Church of God Vs KKR Majestic Colony Welfare Case, the division bench has pointed out that €No religion prescribes for performing prayers through amplifiers and the use of microphones and loud speakers by religious dominations are to be within the limits prescribed under the Environmental laws and Police Acts'. The decision should well serve as an eye-opener.
We do have mechanisms in place which tend to act when individuals violate the law. But when Churches, Temples and Mosques perpetrate such wrongs, who will react? Imagine the plight of students studying for their exams or an ailing patient, amidst all this noise. What better right could anyone else possibly have to intrude into their lives? Times have changed and I have felt it myself. I distinctly remember my childhood days at my village at Parappur, when the mornings were so tranquil, filled with the chirping of birds, the call of the rooster and sounds of life, awakening from every corner. It's so different now when I go and stay there for a couple of days. Mornings, the most sacred hour of the day, drowned in the din from the Temple, the Church and the Mosque.
I remember once writing about the evils of unbridled freedom, in our in-house magazine. Years back, when I purchased a Benz car, it appeared to me that its horn sounded rather weak. I asked the service engineer, €Even after paying such a high price for this expensive car, why can't they fit a good horn?' He replied that in developed countries, they seldom sound the horn except in emergencies, and that they preferred horns which sound pleasant and soft. It did set me thinking. In our country, we compete with each other to install the most powerful horns available in the market and honk it unnecessarily. It speaks volumes of our civic sense or rather, the lack of it.
I firmly believe that life demands that €We make less inconvenience to our co-passengers'. It is quite sad to see almost every religion, attempting to throw in their weight and dominate the other. One of the objects of religion appear to me to be to regulate, discipline, guide and inculcate values and a spirit of brotherhood in the lives of men. If the very religion tends to oppress or fail to show concern, what does it convey? Huge demonstrations, amplified prayers are all attempts to exhibit strength, extract attention and to dominate. No surprise this, when religion and politics are closely inter connected. I would even compare religion to a walking stick. It can aid you in your difficult times and give you solace or you could wield it as a weapon. The only difference is in how you perceive it.
Our freedom is not absolute. It should always be subject to €reasonable restrictions'. Even while enjoying one's freedom, one should take care that the exercise of such freedom does not trample upon similar rights of others. Being educated, civilized people, at least that much is expected of us.
We do have mechanisms in place which tend to act when individuals violate the law. But when Churches, Temples and Mosques perpetrate such wrongs, who will react? Imagine the plight of students studying for their exams or an ailing patient, amidst all this noise. What better right could anyone else possibly have to intrude into their lives? Times have changed and I have felt it myself. I distinctly remember my childhood days at my village at Parappur, when the mornings were so tranquil, filled with the chirping of birds, the call of the rooster and sounds of life, awakening from every corner. It's so different now when I go and stay there for a couple of days. Mornings, the most sacred hour of the day, drowned in the din from the Temple, the Church and the Mosque.
I remember once writing about the evils of unbridled freedom, in our in-house magazine. Years back, when I purchased a Benz car, it appeared to me that its horn sounded rather weak. I asked the service engineer, €Even after paying such a high price for this expensive car, why can't they fit a good horn?' He replied that in developed countries, they seldom sound the horn except in emergencies, and that they preferred horns which sound pleasant and soft. It did set me thinking. In our country, we compete with each other to install the most powerful horns available in the market and honk it unnecessarily. It speaks volumes of our civic sense or rather, the lack of it.
I firmly believe that life demands that €We make less inconvenience to our co-passengers'. It is quite sad to see almost every religion, attempting to throw in their weight and dominate the other. One of the objects of religion appear to me to be to regulate, discipline, guide and inculcate values and a spirit of brotherhood in the lives of men. If the very religion tends to oppress or fail to show concern, what does it convey? Huge demonstrations, amplified prayers are all attempts to exhibit strength, extract attention and to dominate. No surprise this, when religion and politics are closely inter connected. I would even compare religion to a walking stick. It can aid you in your difficult times and give you solace or you could wield it as a weapon. The only difference is in how you perceive it.
Our freedom is not absolute. It should always be subject to €reasonable restrictions'. Even while enjoying one's freedom, one should take care that the exercise of such freedom does not trample upon similar rights of others. Being educated, civilized people, at least that much is expected of us.
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