The Descent of the Messiah — Page 12
THE DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH Is it the obligation of a newspaper to publish every report without investigation or scrutiny? I am not too well versed in British law; if it is the case that the Government permits editors to unhesitatingly publish baseless stories that cause hurt and in- jury to people, then there is nothing more to be said. However, if this is not the case, then the Government will render a great service to its people by holding Paisa Akhbār accountable for publishing such filthy, unholy, and hurtful lies and by asking for proof of the false mortalities, and meting out punishment to the extent of the law. It is noteworthy that while the plague is causing great anx- iety across the country, Paisa Akhbār has taken it upon itself to report false cases of the epidemic. Under these circumstances, if the Government, which has the good of the public at heart, does not hold this insolent person [i. e. the editor] to account for publishing such baseless lies in such a blatant manner, then who knows how much further he will go and how many more people he will needlessly hurt? It is still an early stage and at this time even a slight reprimand can prove a deterrent. The least punish- ment for publishing lies should be that the newspaper should be shut down forthwith or some other appropriate punishment should be given. If the Government is in any doubt about this matter, let it send an officer to Qadian to investigate and verify whether or not what I have written is true. Through this filthy lie, the unfortunate editor has proven himself to be a liar and a slanderer in the eyes of the people and the Government. Regrettably, however, his lie did not benefit him at all. His purpose in telling the lie was to prove that while I had written in my book, Dāfiʻul-Balā', that the plague would never break out in Qadian, it did actually break out. Had he closely read my book Dāfiʻul-Balā' and seen the footnote on page five that I have cited above, he would have saved himself from 12