Kailas answered, ‘One of the inevitable outcomes of this act will be that other rich people will also be encouraged to indulge in such heinous crimes. Wealth may conceal the greatest of crimes, but the spread of an idea like this will wreak such havoc in ways you can’t imagine.’ Naeem was cut to the quick. ‘No, I can’t imagine. Bribery may conceal ninety per cent of crimes, but people are still afraid to break the law.’ This discussion continued for a long time, but Kailas’s sense of justice could not overcome Naeem’s frivolous views on the matter.4
The murder case of Vishnupur began to make headlines. The newspapers were unanimous in stating that that government had been partial towards the prince. At the same time, they refrained from any definitive comments, saying that the case was still sub judice.
Naeem took a whole month to convert his ‘findings’ to the ‘truth’. When his report was published, it created a furore in the political world. The suspicions of the public were confirmed.
Kailas was now faced with a complex problem. He was the only editor who had maintained a studied silence on this issue. He had been unable to decide what to write. To be on the side of the government would have meant demeaning his conscience, to sacrifice his personal freedom. But to remain silent was even more humiliating. Eventually, when a few of his colleagues began to imply that his silence was not without cause, it became impossible for him to stay neutral on the issue. There began an agonizing conflict between his personal and social duties. To throw out from his heart a friendship whose seed had been nurtured for twenty-five years and was now a huge shady tree was equivalent to tearing out his heart from his body. Would he have to implicate the friend who had been by his side through thick and thin, who was always ready to help him, in whose company he would forget all his worries, and the very sight of whom inspired self-confidence and strength in him? He rued the day he had decided to enter the newspaper business. He would now have to betray his friend and break his trust. Naeem had trusted him, hidden nothing from him. It would be a gross injustice to his friend to reveal the confidences he had placed in him. ‘No,’ Kailas decided, ‘I will not put a blemish on this friendship. May God never bring the day when Naeem should suffer because of me. I’m sure he would willingly give his life for me. How can I then humiliate him in public?’
Kailas’s social duties weren’t lacking in argument either. He realized that a newspaper editor is primarily a servant of the people, whose perspective encompasses the society as a whole. He was so accustomed to moving in the vast philosophical arena of the society that the individual became insignificant for him. To sacrifice the individual to society was the first dictum of his creed, so much so that he frequently gave up his own interests for the sake of the society. The goal of his life was to follow in the footsteps of those great men who built nations, emancipated the downtrodden, and achieved immortality. He could not consciously perform an act that cast a slur on the glorious lineage of his ancestors. Kailas was a well-known and much-respected figure in the political world. His opinion was valued, his approval sought. His fearless and impartial espousal of his views had made him the leader of the newspaper community. Maintaining his friendship in this instance was therefore not only against his principles, but against his intrinsic nature as well. It would be indicative of his self-degradation, his timidity. It would mean shying away from responsibility and being ostracized for all time by the political community. What’s a mere individual, however great he may be, before the nation? Naeem’s prosperity or destruction would not affect the nation, but a deliberate concealment of the autocratic excesses of the administration could have disastrous consequences. Kailas was not bothered about the impact of his criticism of the government. For every editor, his own voice is like the roar of a lion. He believes it will rattle the administration and shake the world. He is sure that his opinions will change the epoch. Naeem was his friend, the nation was his God. Should he inflict a fatal wound on his God in order to protect his friend?
For days on end, this conflict went on in Kailas’s mind. Finally, the community triumphed over the individual. He decided he would expose the irresponsibility of the administration before the people. He would reveal to them the selfish and time-serving attitude of the officials. He would make known as those who served as the eyes and ears of the government. What better way would there be to prove its incapability and its weakness? ‘Naeem may be my friend,’ he thought, ‘but he is nothing before the nation. Why should I turn away from my duty towards the nation, destroy my conscience and blemish my freedom because of fear that it may harm him?’
He cried, ‘Oh my dearest friend! Forgive me for sacrificing you at the altar of duty. Had my own son been in your place, I would have done the same.’
The next day, Kailas began his commentary on the incident. He began to publish serially all that he had heard from Naeem. He became a veritable snake in the grass. Other editors, having nothing but conjecture to go by, would write all kinds of false, contradictory things. On the other hand, Kailas’s comments were backed by solid proof. His columns were fearless and seemed divinely inspired. They were known more for their substance than their length. He didn’t spare Naeem either. He
