The Hindu Business Line : Towards a clean public life

It is a sure bet that wherever public meetings under this title are held, the speakers will dwell in sepulchral tones on the grave crisis of character confronting the country. The common refrain is: Corruption has become a shameless way of life; values and standards have plummeted; role models are extinct; the consumerist, possessive, acquisitive, grab-as-grab-can society is under the vice-like grip of mafias, musclemen and marauders of every description. The audiences usually disperse with an ominous foreboding of impending doom.

Mahatma Gandhi said in one of his earliest speeches made popular in the 1920s by His Masters' Voice company in its 78 rpm gramophone record: In the midst of falsehood, truth persists; in the midst of darkness, light persists; in the midst of death, life persists. So also, in the midst of despair, hope persists.

In fact, giving up hope means giving up on bringing about an improvement in the situation, since only hope sustains and carries to a successful conclusion such attempts at changing the society for the better. Let us first view things from the historical perspective: Britain and the US are today hailed as model democracies, with premium on rule of law, transparency, accountability and probity in public life. Not too long ago, Britain was riddled with pocket boroughs, and high posts under government went to the highest bidder.

The story of the US right up to the beginning of the 20th century was replete with quick-on-the-draw cowboys of the wild west, sidewalks studded with the `stiffs' (corpses) of rival gangs of criminal mafias settling scores, blacks being lynched in broad daylight, and States getting into the clutches of political daredevils with a stranglehold on laws trying to plunder public coffers for their private benefit. In both countries, purchase of votes and rigging of elections were fairly routine. And yet, in the last 100 years, they have shaken off these repulsive features.

TOXIC MIX

India too is passing through a phase in which the toxic mix of poverty and ignorance have led to exploitation of the weak and the vulnerable by the powerful and the rich, and the despoiling of institutions by the venal and the incompetent. But already, factors that will counter these evils are visible on the horizon.

First is the effect of liberalisation, resulting in the withdrawal of the Government from areas where it used to be the dominant, if not the sole and final, arbiter. This has opened up for people multiple avenues of seeking remedies and opportunities for improving their lot. The process is being strengthened by the silent revolution taking place at the grassroots, unbeknownst to the elite of urban centres, in the form of the growing influence of panchayati raj institutions and selfhelp groups.

Almost the entire representative assemblies now comprise educated members, a good proportion of whom are post-graduates and even Ph.Ds. They are soon bound to realise the importance of not losing respectability in the eyes of their own progeny, whose own sensitivity to right and wrong is being sharpened by the communications revolution and access to the Internet.

The obvious benefits of electronic voting and computerisation of the railway reservations in reducing the scope for malpractices are but a fraction of the immense sense of liberation that people will feel once e-governance becomes a reality in all the States. In short, we can expect India also will take its place by 2020 among enlightened and progressive democracies.

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