A Criminologist’s Diary-11

WALL-MART and GOD'S OWN COUNTRY

 

" You purchase anything from wall-mart, you can return it if not satisfied-and it must be within a specified period" Once you take back the purchased item, they return your money with pleasure, without any questions and with a smiling face. "Smile deliberately whether one feels like it or not, for it is almost impossible to have miserable thoughts when one turns the corners of his mouth upwards"-This is wall-mart approach. Wall-mart family believes that smile is a commodity which must be sold in their store. This philosophy makes many to go to wall-mart and purchase as much as they want. For, the people know that the purchased items can be returned if they are qualitatively inferior or not up to the mark or their expectations. Wall-mart feels that it is their success in business and they are the biggest retail- business people in the world-I am told.

Adulteration is not a new thing in Kerala. It is seen there in A-Z and people die of food poisoning, hooch, fake medicines, inferior treatment and what not? Duplicate articles are plenty and genuine parts of many things may be a rare commodity for purchase. False employment bureaus, fake companies, false N.O.C./Visa, blade companies and cheating enterprises, adulterated preachers, prayers, poojaries and politicians, false promises and programmes, fake advertisements for flesh trade , modeling, production of song albums, acting in cinema and T.V. serials and what not ?Are the Government aware of these nefarious activities? If they are aware of, what does the machinery do to prevent them? Wall-mart philosophy-i.e., returning of purchased item if found to be inferior or duplicate is not possible or unheard of .Nevertheless, proper vigilance and control may be possible. Flourishing of these crimes in the most literate State in the Country indicates that the administration is weak and far away from being satisfactory. The never ending 'FALSE AND FAKE' is and should be an eye-opener for the administration to believe that all is not well in the GOD'S OWN COUNTRY!

How many people cheated by various persons and agencies got proper remuneration or compensation and victim justice? Hardly any. When anything unpleasant happens, immediately there come false Government promises: "Strict action", "Law will take its course", " The criminals will not be allowed to escape" and thus the people are given the hope that they will be taken to the promised land or the Yahweh will come at last .Like the Jews, the Keralites live under a hope-hope for the better and the 'better' never comes.

 

Coming to wall-mart back, we too have retail shops in the State. People are cheated and the bills they receive after purchase contains an inscription 'Articles once sold will not be taken back'. FINE! The only option then left with us is to approach the Consumer Courts where consumers' cases are filling the court rooms –giving a HOPE to have HOPE against HOPE. There are shops which sell only duplicate articles and they sell not only in their shops, but also they promote their duplicates through 'DOOR to DOOR 'sale by their sale boys and girls who always study a course in business administration/management for which the sale of duplicate items becomes a part of the curriculum. God, you alone can save the people!