We will fight over the most precious resource in the world – water. We knew that. But how frighteningly we will resort to some of the most horrid means to gain edge over others we never knew.

And here it is: as real and dangerous as things can get. At home we have a lesson. Some people are describing it as ‘water terrorist’. But we are sure that this is not the right term for those who engage in such rotten and despicable acts, however lowly and pathetic it essentially might be. This is a beginning of sickness that a society is suffering from. Do we fall to it, at such levels? That’s the real question.

People have now resorted to poisoning water to have their own share of the precious resource. The police have nabbed the culprit, yet they would not share the information with the media. Why is this happening? It is unsettling. Do we not owe explanation as members of society to protect our families and friends? Our nation?

What is the real societal sickness we are facing today? Any which way, this is a legitimate question. It takes courage to put forth such queries. Maybe we are too used to seeing ourselves in very good light, which could be grossly delusional. This is a disease.

Why are our people feeling widely pushed to the fringes? We do not want to picture ourselves that way as a society, yet we are becoming so widely divided. Where are we getting wrong?

These are right, nakedly honest questions. We need to ask more such questions because we are a mirror that throws our own images back, as real and stark as we stand. Good or bad, we are what we make of ourselves.

What does Gross National Happiness mean to us, for example? We need to seek answers? We need to feel the pain as well as the real hope of the opportunity to climb up the ladder of possible successes. Differences, even very subtle, could have serious impact on the way our society is structured and will function.

We might feel comforted in the knowledge that we and our dear ones are not affect by this most sinister act of greed and desperation as contaminating the city’s drinking water, but pain will come to us when one of us is affected by this very act. Our society is festering on it’s own nurtured rot. And this is dangerous.

What kind of society have we concertedly worked to build?

The police not sharing information is one thing; we don’t even understand why. State not taking swift and drastic actions is shocking. Those who are engaged in such vile and appalling crimes must be punished and punished to the highest degree.

This is the challenge facing our society today. We will wait and see how such matters are handled. Perhaps we will get to see our own face this time round. Are we a delusional hypocrite or are we the real builders of good and happy society that nurtures peace for one and all? It is time we looked at the disease that is eating into our society.