I find it strange, unacceptable
and often hilarious whenever I witness bureaucrats buckling under
pressure, more often than not for reasons that are not above
board. What right someone in authority
has, to pressurize sub-ordinates to do what is not right for the organization
or the nation, and continuing on a similar vein, what right the dam subordinate
has for doing what he ends up doing while toeing the line of the unethical superior.
The previous year and a half made
me and many of my elk witness acts that no sane organization should ever have to witness, acts of
gross impropriety committed by none other than those supposed to lead by example. And the blatant
manner in which these acts were and are still committed, with vehement vengeance at their
core are pointers to a saga that is much more sordid than what appears on the
surface. Perhaps times have changed and so have the methods. Obviously the acceptability
of unethical practices has gained ground and being ethical is out of fashion in our society.
And corruption is indeed the biggest malaise staring at the nation, yet unfortunately not regarded as such and that indeed is the sad story of governance. The tentacles of corruption are so widely spread that almost every single interaction of the ordinary citizen with the sarkari tantra is laced with graft, cutting across political, sectoral and state boundaries. How the hell will we really move forward in such a scenario should be the biggest worry of all those who matter in the matter of governance in this nation, but do they one wonders?
What is even worse is the fact
that grossly improper conduct has accompanied the penchant for putting the
hands in the till. In the good old days, those in the sarkari sector who had a
tilt towards milching the organization they worked for, generally maintained a façade
of an impeccable conduct for perhaps deep inside their hearts they actually
faulted their indulgence in unethical practices. But not anymore, with putting the hand in the till being considered a birth-right nowadays.
And therefore the sordid spectacle of loot coupled with the lowliest form of
conduct almost bordering on the inhuman that we all have been sad and silent witnesses to.
Yet we look the other way till
our own turn comes and only then we cry out load against injustice, a scenario played
often in the social environment we inhabit.
Good governance is the magic word
of the present times. But should it not begin with emphasis on and also strict
adherence to ethical and moral value systems. Shouldn’t’ eradication of
corruption and propagating the need for maintaining an impeccable conduct amongst
all those in the seva of the sarkar be the first major step in the direction of
providing good governance? Great things will indeed happen, but only after the
basics have been taken care of and inculcating the same is not really difficult. It is my belief borne out of experience that each and every one of us longs for Ram-Raj provided it is for real and not merely in name.
Personally, after having gone
through the grind lasting almost three decades and a half, I am neither in favor
of nor believe that castles can ever be built on muddy foundations.
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