Judge the Judge...

Seema Goswami writes in her weekly column Spectator in Brunch:

It is okay to be judgemental about people who hate those who belong to other faiths, who treat those less fortunate than themselves with contempt and cruelty? Nobody in his or her right mind can deny that the Taliban is one of the greatest threats to humanity in general and womankind in particular? But isn't saying so an instance of exercising our judgement?

The truth is that all of us have a moral compass that guides us through life. Needless to say, this moral compass doesn't point the same way in every human being. But to say that we can never use it to exercise judgement is to deny us the very humanity that defines us.

At first, I was too taken aback by what she had written. A few days ago someone had called me judgemental and I wanted to contest the argument that I am not and told him that by calling me judgemental, he himself was judgemental about me !! But as I read her article, I began to have second thoughts about it. Yes, I agree it is none of our business that how a person leads his or her life but at some point, we knowingly or unknowingly do judge people's actions, their behaviour, their conduct and what not, though we might not be candid enough to say that and keep it to ourselves. So, there is nothing wrong in being judgemental say and you are free to judge me by whatever means you can though I know everyone thinks of me :-(

But to be judgemental you have to know facts and not be guided by gossip. Else that is just hypocrisy. If you do not like a movie, you have to first see it and then say that you did not like it.. The book The Satanic Verses written by Salman Rushdie which was banned because it was offensive to some community but it was ridiculous that people who wanted a ban had not even read the book. Then how can you be judgemental about the book and the author whose Midnight's Children is one of the finest pieces of literature I have read. How could anyone protest against a film like Fire or Jodhaa Akbar before it has been released? It is just publicity stunt and lunacy. You watch a film and you have every right to judge it if you have paid for it. You eat at some restaurant and you have full right to call it good or bad because you have paid for it. So, IMO, be judgemental but don't be a hypocrite which we all are in some ways :-(