Let’s set up a Condemnation Inc.

Think of the brisk business this company would be able to do. We, of course, have too many events that are condemnable and too many people liable to be suspected for not having condemned them enough. For instance, not enough Hindus condemn the killing of Muslims, and not enough Muslims condemn the killing of Hindus.

The Left seldom condemns Naxalite violence and the Right is usually silent on violence committed by the state. Not enough people condemned Indira Gandhi’s assassination and even fewer condemned the riots that followed. The RSS legitimised Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination and one might even think that there are a few Tamils who did not condemn Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination enough.

Some Kashmiri Muslims have not condemned the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, and many non-Kashmiri Brahmins have not condemned what the security forces did to those Kashmiri Muslims.

Those who belong to the upper caste have not condemned violence on lower castes, and lower caste folks on still lower castes.

Bengalis and Assamese have not condemned their own parts in riots in Assam and who even remembers the Nellie massacre for anyone to condemn it?

Come to think of it, there is scope for endless business. After all the Prime Minister can also condemn the condemnation as being too weak and then condemn the condemnation of the condemnation of the condemnation ad infinitum.

This company, of course, would be on a retainer to deal with all the contingencies; its fees would be based on the idea that nobody should be able to say about its clients: they did not condemn enough.

This company would take care that the condemnation was widely publicised, was done in time. After all its mandate is that everyone should know that you condemned and did on the February 28th not on February 29th.

There is no way such a company would lose money. After all, according to our political culture, the serious crime is not that you killed people; the serious crime is that you did not condemn a crime enough.

We don’t usually kill killers; we just kill people because they did not condemn crimes enough. What a wonderful market structure!

If you are ever caught not condemning enough, or condemning at the right time or someone just forgot that you had actually condemned, you are liable to untold consequences. What’s the price of a small retainer compared to the risk of being branded: ‘‘They did not condemn enough.’’ And the risks are enormous.

Suppose someone who just looks like you, or shares your last name or religion, did not condemn an event enough, you are still liable for them not having condemned enough. Really, does any one of us want to take this risk? The probability that you have not been seen to condemn something that you should have condemned is, well, as high as any probability gets. And who knows you will be in power to point the finger. It will not help to protest that you did not commit the crime, that you really did condemn it.

Sorry pal, if you weren’t seen and weren’t heard, or are even mistaken for someone else, you are responsible. Of course there is the slight problem: if someone has condemned on my behalf, is that condemnation genuine? But we do not really care about intentions, do we? After all, only the Lord almighty knows what is truly in our (or the Prime Minister’s) hearts.

So Condemnation Inc is a business venture that cannot fail. There is an endless market, no matter how many companies jump into the fray. It is also a perfectly ethical business. After all you will save lives by preventing people from getting killed by a disease that afflicts us all: we do not condemn enough.

Forget information technology. Forget biotech; Condemnation Insurance is the next boom sector in the economy. Of course we could all simply and categorically condemn all forms of violence, including violence that is perpetrated on people because they have not condemned enough. But that would have two disadvantages: it will take all the fun and conflict out of politics, it will take away the pretext to beat up on anybody. And the second is, of course, it would jeopardise the Prime Minister’s attempts to jump start the Indian economy.

Creating a condemnation industry is a brilliant idea: we will have a real advantage in this service sector. Who says he does not care about the interests of each one of us?

(The writer is a Professor of Philosophy, Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi)