Why The Law Must Punish Those Who Block Goodness

• Why do we insist on punishing the wrongdoer but look away when someone obstructs a good deed? 
• Why does the law treat provocation toward crime as culpable, yet fails to treat the prevention of virtue with the same seriousness? 
• Why do we forget that society collapses not only because of evil actions, but equally because good actions are stifled before they can breathe? 

This is the paradox at the heart of modern justice: we chase the criminal but ignore the saboteur of goodness. But can Dharma survive if the law protects the bad but neglects the guardians of the good?

Good and bad are not abstract opposites; they are structural forces — like the two wheels of the same cart of civilization. Remove one, and the entire edifice collapses.

Across our itihaasa, puranas, and even in today’s corporate boardrooms, the narrative remains consistent: it is not enough to punish evil; we must also condemn and penalize those who obstruct good.

Let us now explore this.

The Ancient Mandate: Dharma Protects Those Who Protect It

The Mahabharata is filled with examples not just of villains doing evil, but of characters who prevented good from flourishing — and paid the price.

1. Shakuni: The Architect of Obstruction

Shakuni did not personally kill anyone on the battlefield. Yet he prevented good counsel, blocked dharmic decisions, and ensured that Duryodhana never walked the path of peace. He was more dangerous than the warrior who killed with a weapon. He killed possibilities. Dharma punished him accordingly. His obstruction of virtue was treated as a crime equal to, if not greater than, direct wrongdoing.

2. King Vena: Punished for Blocking Social Good

Vena outlawed yajnas, charity, and all acts of virtue in his kingdom. He said good deeds disturb royal authority. The sages did not merely scold him — they eliminated him. Because preventing goodness was itself seen as a crime that destabilizes society. In ancient law, obstructing good was intolerable.

3. Ravana’s Crime Was Not Only Abduction — It Was Suppression

Ravana’s greatest sin was not just kidnapping Sita. It was preventing good counsel, silencing Vibhishana, and suffocating Dharma within Lanka. History doesn’t remember him as a mighty king — but as a cautionary tale of the fall that comes from choking goodness at its source.

The Legal Principle We Ignore Today

Modern law recognizes abetment to crime. A person who provokes wrongdoing is punished as severely as the one who commits the act. But what about abetment to preventing goodness?

Where is the punishment for:

• the person who stops another from feeding the hungry
• the neighbor who blocks someone from helping animals
• the official who obstructs welfare initiatives
• the manager who suppresses ethical reporting
• the political leader who discourages public-spirited action 

Why is preventing good not treated as a serious legal wrong?

Dharma says: The one who blocks good is equal to the one who enables evil. Society collapses when the doers of good are intimidated, silenced, or obstructed.

The Dharma Lens on Modern India: Corporate & Business Examples

A. Whistleblowers Silenced

Satya Nadella once remarked that culture is built not by slogans but by enabling people to do the right thing. Yet multiple Indian corporations have punished or sidelined employees who raised ethical concerns. The obstruction is not trivial — it destroys institutional morality. Companies like Enron and IL&FS fell not because of one villain, but because good employees were blocked from speaking and acting. The saboteurs of good were the real accelerants of the collapse.

B. Blocking Sustainable or Ethical Innovation

A startup founder wants to introduce a sustainable alternative. But legacy stakeholders, fearing disruption, block the initiative. Here, the obstruction is a direct assault on public good. In Silicon Valley and India’s tech hubs, this is one of the biggest unseen crimes against progress. Dharma would punish obstructionists because they prevent benefits from reaching society.

Political & Public Life Examples

1. Officials Who Block Welfare Efforts

We often see officers who, out of ego or politics, block civil society groups from conducting service activities — feeding programs, animal rescues, education drives. In essence, they are committing a social sin: preventing good from blossoming.

2. Individuals Who Obstruct Animal Welfare

A person feeding stray dogs is doing an act of compassion that our shastras describe as punya. But those who violently stop such acts are never punished by law. Yet they have committed a moral crime of blocking compassion. Ancient India would never have tolerated such behavior. If abetting harm is a crime, then obstructing non-harm must also be a crime.

3. Political Sabotage of Good Policy

History shows that even good policies — healthcare reforms, environmental protections, social welfare laws — are often sabotaged by vested interests. Here too, the obstructionists are more dangerous than the critics. They harm millions by preventing benefit from reaching society.

What the Law Must Recognize

Modern jurisprudence needs an additional category: Obstruction of Good Conduct (OGC). A legal framework that punishes those who stop others from performing acts beneficial to society, animals, environment, or public welfare. This aligns perfectly with:

• Natural law theory
• Dharmashastra tradition
• Constitutional morality
• Social contract theory 

A nation progresses not merely by ‘restraining evil,’ but by ‘protecting the doers of good.’ This should include penalties for:

• blocking public-spirited activity
• intimidating people who help others
• stopping acts of compassion
• preventing truth-telling in organizations
• interfering with civic duty or ethical action

Because goodness is not optional; it is a structural pillar of a functioning society.

Where Do We Go From Here?

• When good people are stopped, society loses its spine.
• When good actions are obstructed, Dharma retreats.
• When goodness is intimidated, civilizations collapse quietly — not by attack, but by suffocation.

Modern law must evolve. Punishing evil is not enough. Protecting good must become a legal mandate.

Final Thoughts: When Goodness Is Blocked, Justice Is Blindfolded Twice

So, here are the real questions society must confront:

• Why should the saboteur of goodness walk free?
• Why should a person who stops bad be praised, but a person who stops good not be condemned?
• Why must the doers of good fight two battles — one for their cause and one against those who block them?

And finally:

How long can a civilization survive if it punishes the villain but ignores the oppressor of virtue?

• The law must rise to protect goodness.
• Dharma has always demanded it.
• And history has always punished those who ignored it.
• This is not merely philosophy.
• It is a blueprint for a society that wants to endure.