The plagiarizer therefore is nothing but a thief. Unfortunately, the law and society in general, especially in India, do not treat thieves who steal material objects such as cars, wallets and jewelry and thieves who steals ideas and words in the same manner. The former are typically prosecuted and jailed, but nothing much happens to the latter. As far as I am concerned, if a thief should go to jail for stealing a wallet, Mrudula by the same token should be behind bars for stealing the article. But that will never happen, simply because our society values tangibles more than intangibles.
People usually steal when two conditions are met.
First, there should be a need and second, the chances of getting caught must be minimal. Both reasons must have been at work here. Mrudula had been in touch with me earlier, through a hotmail address, which has since been discontinued, asking me to contribute something for this new site. I wasn't too excited and though I initially agreed to send her some stuff, I later just didn't bother. And that is what would have happened, considering that my readership is pretty small.