Priya Rajendran

Till the time, it happens to one personally, there is a nonchalant detachment to events around that question ethics of public men and government system.

What does one mean by this newly etched term? The first thought that crosses our mind is the image of a person free from corruption and a believer of Mahatma Gandhi. Well, youth today admit that an ethical form of leadership should function in our country, however not the Mahatma’s style of ruling the country.

An excellent example of a mass youth awakening regarding their attitude towards power and wealth hungry MPs could be seen during these elections. The string of sting perations by the media group Tehelka (headed by young journalists, who wanted to change the system) showed the door to three corrupt politicians, who were forced to resign under political pressure.

Any number of films, drama, TV serials and a host of such mass media exercises have few alternatives to offer the apathic Indian society. Till the time it happens to one personally, there is a nonchalant detachment to events around the question of ethics of public men and government system. Administration of law in the land, subject to interpretation, does attract tangential personal influence. This gets compounded with vested interests and a corrupt mindset. The truth that honest leaders do exist is a live testimony as Dr. Manmohan Singh took over the reins of our country. He was clearly not only the party’s choice, but also the masses too.

Sowmya Manohar and Nandini Rao, two mass-communication students, admit that ethical leadership is absent in most of our politicians today. “The reason for this may be that people have always chosen the stereotyped politicians (leaders with political backgrounds),” reiterated Sowmya, who thinks the ideal leaders of this era could be Sudha Murthy and Omar Abdullah – both of whom sport a down-to-earth attitude.

There are people in other walks of life viz., economics, films, literature and science, who also deserve to be leaders of the country. Such people often remain in the background, supporting the country’s economy, concentrating on the social welfare of people, and weaving the nation’s social fabric far away from the arc lights.

For example, a village in Rajasthan that followed traditions (marrying off girls at a young age and not sending them to school), has now become a role model for other villages as girls managed to break free from the traditions by educating themselves and making other women literate in a school started by them.

When one speaks of ethical leaders in the arena of social work, names like Sundar Lal Bahuguna, Khairnar, Maneka Gandhi, Medha Patkar, Arundhati Roy and many more, become exceedingly familiar. Some have been in the media spotlight for many years, while many have silently worked and not received the recognition they deserved. Leaders like Medha Patkar and Arundhati Roy have diverted the media’s attention to the plight of the displaced tribals of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra due to exploitation of natural resources in the name of satiating mass needs of water and power.

In the 56 years of our post-Independence era, has our media ever focussed its attention on the common citizen, who doesn’t belong to any public walk of life, but who probably may have dreamt of an ideal India? He may have been an honest police officer or probably an IAS officer too, who went unrecognized and unappreciated. However, he may have tried to bring about a revolutionary change in the ‘system’ (as we call it) and not have got adequate support from the government or his workplace.

We know the fate of the honest IAS officer Satyendra Dubey from Bihar, who tried to blow the whistle on the corrupt government officials. Though he had pleaded anonymity in the letter against corrupt officials, he was betrayed by the government, which ended in his murder. If we consider all these perfect traits of an ethical leader, then why do we not find them in our country or for that matter in other countries – a billion dollar question in every citizen’s mind.

Priya Rajendran
Journalist, Coimbatore