There is a popular TV programme named after the old adage “The Buck Stops Here”. It literally means, “Who is ultimately responsible?” It is usually asked in a pejorative sense, for somebody shirking responsibility, or for apportioning blame. Now that Anna Hazare has made his Jan Lokpal Bill (JLB) a life and death issue, it would seem that the buck stops at the doorstep of the Central Govt. The Govt has since taken the plunge and accepted Anna’s main demands.
Anna has captured the collective mood of the nation, with people going ballistic in supporting his anti-corruption campaign, which was launched in New Delhi this 5th April. I myself, as convenor of the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Andolan in Kanpur, gathered together about 40 diverse social, civic and religious groups for a day long silent fast and a 1000 strong rally in his support on the 5th. It spawned a chain reaction of spontaneous protests, signature campaigns and candle light marches.
After the candle light vigil at India Gate, New Delhi, demanding justice in the Jessica Lal murder case, and the mammoth gathering at the Gateway of India, Mumbai, post 26/11, candles seem to be the flavour of the season. (Prices of candles may go up)! Before these, candles were usually associated with church services or childrens’ birthdays. How things change! I wonder if some “custodians of Indian culture” think that candles are again some kind of a foreign conspiracy to destabilise our ancient culture? But I am digressing.
Anna has raised two issues – the JLB and corruption. I am not sure how many have studied the JLB. I have. At this stage, when its merits and demerits are being debated and a joint committee has been formed, I would not like to go into its specifics. However, since it has become a national issue, I will make some brief comments.
The impression sought to be created is that by enacting the JLB, corruption will be eradicated! How naïve! We have laws against dowry, untouchability, domestic violence, child labour, child marriage etc. Have these social evils been eradicated by mere legislation? We know the answer. In a democracy like India, we have a system of checks and balances in the three wings of Govt – the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary. We also have watchdogs like the CEC, CIC, CVC, CAG, CBI, ED etc, which have varying degrees of autonomy. If despite all these provisions, there is still a high level of corruption, is the system to blame, or is it the operators of the system?
Most of the laws of our country, or rules and regulations, are the legacy of the British. Though I was born in independent India, old timers tell me that despite the many failings and excesses of the British, they had a respect for the rule of law, which they had inculcated in their subjects. Once the British left, the fear of the law left with them! We Indians mastered the art of breaking, manipulating or circumventing the law. We are jugarias. I have often said, “Jab niyat saaf nahin hai, tho niyam kya kare?” (If there is no sense of morality, what use is legality?)
I give two instances to buttress my argument. Before T.N. Sheshan became the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the country paid scant regard to that office. Sheshan did not invent any new rules. He just went by the book, and instilled the fear of hell in those seeking election. His example has been followed by every CEC since.
Look at the Supreme Court. When Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency in 1975 and curtailed human rights, 4 of the 5 Supreme Court judges hearing the case acquiesced before her. Only Justice H.R. Khanna (who later stood for President and lost) gave a bold and dissenting judgement. We have had illustrious Chief Justices of India (CJI) like P.N. Bhagwati and J.S. Verma, who even entertained a postcard as a writ petition. After a shadowy era under CJI Balakrishnan, we now have another intelligent and upright CJI in S.H. Kapadia. We must credit the Govt for appointing, and subsequently respecting his autonomy.
So what lesson do we learn? The people who operate the system are far more important than the system itself. When conducting leadership training programmes I have always stressed that a good driver in an old car, is better than a bad driver in a fancy new one. It is the driver who is in control, and not the car.
I see three levels of corruption in the system. The fist level is the FORCED one, when one is compelled to pay money for a basic right, like getting a ration card or caste certificate. The second is the NUISANCE level when one is obliged to pay something to a Govt official because, in the still prevalent ‘inspector raj”, the official’s nuisance value is so high, that the cost to benefit ratio dictates that it is better to grease the palm than struggle indefinitely. The third level is the MALICIOUS level, where one bribes officials to get undue favours and advantage; to file false cases and harass one’s opponents; or to cover up criminal, anti-social or anti-national acts. This is the corruption angle of the establishment.
What of “we the people”? Are we also not dishonest in various ways, thereby encouraging corruption? Fudging birth certificates to lower one’s age and gain an unfair advantage in nursery class is a common practice. Are we then not laying the foundation of dishonesty in our childrens’ lives? How many have not cheated in exams? Have we been honest in our private, public and professional lives? Are we also not taxchors, kamchors and bijlichors? It is so easy to point fingers at politicians and bureaucrats. Should we not begin with ourselves? Only then will we have the moral right to point fingers at others, for “the muck starts here”, with ourselves.
Some years ago, Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma, had begun a moral rearmament movement. Parents, educationists, religious and social leaders need to abjure all forms of hypocrisy and double standards, to be paragons of virtue for the next generation. If not, Anna Hazare’s fast, and the proposed JLB, would be an exercise in futility. The writing is on the wall – The buck stops there, but the muck starts here.
* The writer is a Gandhian activist and the Convenor of the Bhrashtachar Virodhi Andolan, Kanpur
9th April 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment