A group of sightseers around Delhi zoo in the
winter of 1985, looked at various animals in turn
then paused in admiration before a great rarity—a
solitary white lion which was pacing up and down
outside its den.
“This is the only white lion left in the whole world!”
exclaimed a member of the group. “You see, the
Maharajah of Rewa owned two white lions, both of
which he handed over to the Indian government
after independence. One of them died, and we are
now looking at the one which was left—the sole
survivor of its species!”
If this gentleman had cared to walk a little further,
he would have seen a board attached to the white
lion’s cage on which the zoo authorities had given
detailed information, namely, that 69 white lions
still exist in the world today, 25 of which are to be
found in India alone. Yet just a few yards away
there was a gentleman who claimed that there was
just one white lion left in the whole world, and that
was the one in the Delhi zoo.
How ignorant people can be of established facts,
and yet how keenly they feel the urge to expound
their views as if there were nothing in the world
that they did not know.
Before holding forth on a subject, one should make
a thorough study of it, for opinions based on
inadequate research are bound to mislead the
unwary. Empty utterances may impress the illinformed,
but to the knowledgeable, intelligent
listener, they are simply a proclamation of the
speaker’s ignorance.
Sadly it is often the greatest if ignoramuses who
make the weightiest of pronouncements (111:18).
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
