Politics

Opinion | The Moral Questions in the Puri–Epstein Episode

I did not want to see the Hardeep Singh Puri and Jeffrey Epstein episode through a political lens. I genuinely tried to examine it through a moral one. Through the prism of what we claim as a civilisation. Through the values we repeatedly say define India.

Not one major television newsroom is asking the most basic question. Not one primetime debate is framing this the way it deserves to be framed.

This is not about whether Puri participated in Epstein’s crimes. It is not about jets or parties. The core question is far simpler and far more disturbing.

How does a senior Indian diplomat, someone who represented this country at the highest global forums, seek favours from a man who was already convicted in 2008 on charges related to trafficking and sexual abuse of minors? By the early 2010s, Epstein’s reputation was not a secret whispered in dark corners. It was documented, reported and globally known.

If he did not know, what does that say about judgment?

If he knew and still proceeded, what does that say about values?

What message are we sending to our children, especially our daughters? That morality is negotiable if the person is influential? That a man can be a predator by night but a useful contact by morning? That power cleanses character?

When you represent India, you do not represent yourself. You carry the weight of a civilisation that speaks of dharma, honour and righteousness. Those words cannot be ornamental.

I also saw Puri invoke Rahul Gandhi in his defence. Since when is attacking a political opponent an answer to a moral question? Is deflection the new accountability? Is comparison the new conscience?

This is bigger than one individual. It is about standards. If we stop asking questions because it is politically inconvenient, then we have already lowered the bar.

The real issue is not optics. It is moral clarity. And on that count, silence from the mainstream media is as troubling as the controversy itself.

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