Saturday Reading!

 Saturday Reading!

During British rule, a British officer once slapped an Indian youth across the face.Instantly, the young Indian struck back with full force, slapping the officer so hard that he fell to the ground.Shocked and humiliated, the officer wondered: How could an ordinary Indian dare to slap a military officer of an empire on which the sun never sets?He rushed to his post and demanded strict punishment for the Indian.
But the senior commander calmed him and said,
“He should not be punished he should be rewarded. As a reward, give him ten thousand rupees.”The officer shouted in disgust:
“This is not just my insult or yours  it is an insult to the British Queen herself! And you want to reward him?” The commander replied firmly,“This is a military order. You will obey it without delay.”

The junior officer had no choice. He went to the Indian youth with ten thousand rupees and said,“Please forgive me and accept this as a gift.”

The young Indian accepted the money and soon forgot that he had been slapped by a colonial officer on his own land.

Ten thousand rupees was a huge amount in those days. He used the money wisely and within a few years became wealthy and respected in society.
A once ordinary man had now become a prominent figure.

Years later, the same British commander summoned his junior officer and asked, “Do you remember the Indian who slapped you?”The officer replied,
“How can I forget that insult?” The commander said,
“The time has come. Go find him  and in front of everyone, slap him hard.”The officer protested,
“How is that possible? When he was poor, he dared to strike back. Now that he is rich, he will kill me!”But the commander insisted,
 “Do as I say. This too is an order.”The junior officer obeyed. He went to the Indian  and slapped him across the face.

But this time, something completely different happened.
The Indian youth did not react. He didn’t even dare to look the officer in the eye Confused, the officer returned to the commander.Seeing his bewildered face, the commander asked,
“Why do you look so surprised?”

The officer said,“When he was poor, he retaliated without fear. But today, when he is wealthy, he could not even raise his eyes. How is this possible?” The commander spoke softly,
“The first time, the only thing he had was his honour.He valued it more than anything, and he fought fiercely to protect it.

But now he did not defend it  because now he has something he values more than his honour: his wealth.The day he accepted those ten thousand rupees, he sold his dignity for money.And when a man’s self-respect is sold, his spine bends forever.”

Let us protect our self-respect.Never bend for position, gifts, or greed.
Stand straight  always.

The craziest defense in court that actually worked!

Someone I know once got extremely drunk, got in his car, attempted to drive home, and crashed into a pole, shutting off electricity to some 400 local residents.He then apparently proceeded to back out of the accident and finish his drive home, completely blacked out the entire time, mind you.

The cops went to the accident site, saw the damage, and proceeded to follow a trail of debris back to his house.They busted in, found him, and arrested him.

At the station, they drew his blood and took pictures of him, including strong evidence he was there when the airbag went off, and the bruising from the seatbelt clearly indicated he was the driver.About 16 hours later he is released from jail and goes back home.

The next day, now about 36 hours after the crash, he wakes up on his own couch and finds his Dad is there with him (he’s at his Mom’s house, so this is quite odd).He said, “What happened?”And his Dad said, “You don’t remember anything, do you?” And he didn’t…

So, a few months later, and after hiring a very good lawyer, they go to court for some very serious charges. DUI  ( driving under the influence), leaving the scene of a crime, life endangerment (or something like that).

In court, they proved one small error from all the evidence collected: The police did not have the authority to break into the home, they needed a warrant first, even with all of the probable evidence (the smashed car in the driveway and pile of debris leading to it).

Without the warrant, my friend would not have been arrested, which is called “Fruit of the Poisonous tree,” and means literally every piece of evidence against my friend had to be thrown out. He walked… Even though everyone knows he is guilty and, if I’m being honest, he really needed (at that time) a good punishment to set him straight.

Nowadays, my friend is a high priced lawyer himself. And I like to think he doesn’t drink and drive anymore.

Searched and Illustrated by Tejinder Kamboj

                         (1940 -20??)