Author: Hari Jaisingh
Publication: The Tribune
Date: May 3, 2002
Intellectual dishonesty and the
silent majority
How come unscrupulous politicians,
wayward bureaucrats and operators manage to thrive? This question was put
to me by a professor friend of mine the other day. My instant reaction
was one of helplessness and disgust but soon I collected myself and gave
him three reasons for this sickening state of affairs.
One, the growing ranks of dishonest
intellectuals who see selectively, think selectively and draw attention
of the powers that be on the strength of their sycophancy power rather
than on the basis of the quality of opinions and logical assessment as
to what is right and what is wrong. Doublespeak. Double standards. These
two elements sum up the neo-feudal class character.
The Indian intelligentsia has been
politicised. It has also been selectively communalised. It plays an increasingly
partisan role in which truth is the first casualty.
This is not the role expected of
the thinking class. It is supposed to guide the people correctly so that
they acquire the ability to sift the right from the wrong and the brutal
from the humane.
Two, increasingly subjective and
selective role played by the media and its godfathers. Market-driven quickies
and sponsored opinions have captured some critical areas of the Fourth
Estate. To say this is not to deny that a large number of journalists are
public-spirited persons. They conduct themselves freely and fearlessly
and keep the media world afloat not standing certain serious functional
distortions.
These distortions often emanate
from the new class of owner-editors who have sidelined professional editors.
The owner-editors generally pay lip sympathy to ethics while they use newspapers
as crass commerce. The professional voice is stilled in these circumstances
and newspapers start playing a cash-for-news role.
All that glitters in the electronic
media is not "gold". The Gujarat coverage is one such latest example. Professional
ethics and values are no longer taken seriously. Everything is market-driven,
including fleeting images which may dazzle but may not reflect the truth.
There is considerable mismatch between promise and performance.
Still, we have a very bright set
of journalists, both in the print and electronic media. They have a professional
attitude and know their job. The failure, if any, is of the seniors at
the helm who are supposed to set the standards.
Most news persons these days have
become part of the floating political culture. They hardly care for fair
and clean journalism. Objectivity and credibility suffer in the process.
Despite communication gaps, India
is experiencing a quiet information revolution. The process of politicisation
has triggered demands for instant revolutions at the doorstep. This is
understandable as a new wave of human consciousness sweeps over the hitherto
untouched segments of society.
I believe that the media will come
out of this glitter business sooner or later. The people have common sense
as well as the ability to discriminate between good and bad. They will
finally accept or reject newspapers or TV channels on the basis of how
credible they are in the dissemination of news and views. Objectivity is
the key. Facts have to be told truthfully in a larger perspective.
The people have the right to information
and it is the duty of the media to give them a fairly accurate package
without bias or prejudices. Every piece of disinformation needs to be owned
and corrected. For, democratic institutions thrive best when we provide
a helping hand for building an informed society.
Ours is still an ill-informed polity.
An air of secrecy prevails in official functioning both at the Centre and
in the states. Transparency is hardly visible in the working of our politico-bureaucratic
establishment. Everything is labelled "secret". This is the main reason
why the country has been periodically seeing major scams and scandals in
different segments of public life.
What make things difficult are the
cumbersome legal provisions and procedures. Guilty persons hardly get convicted
as facts are twisted to the advantage of powerful manipulators. We run
the system on antiquated rules.
The country's ruling class has found
these colonial rules convenient to promote their interests. Who cares if
people are restive and angry and the custodians of law and order are tilted
in favour of the wealthy and the mighty?
How can we evolve a just system
in the circumstances? A lot depends on the quality of leadership. The country's
political leadership lacks vision, drive, dynamism and right perspective
on problems. Even the system of decision-making and decision-enforcement
is faulty. Most leaders become prisoners of their own indecisions.
They have also come to be branded
as "self-seekers". They are concerned primarily with the pursuit of their
self-interest for which they may not even hesitate to break the harmony
of community life. Any number of examples can be cited to prove this.
Since politics has become business,
the lust for money has brought into play crooks and scoundrels in every
segment of life.
A third major reason for corrupt
and unscrupulous elements to thrive is the silent majority. We, as a people,
all the while seem to follow the famous "monkey rule" of not seeing an
evil, of not hearing an evil and of not speaking an evil. How can things
improve if we prefer not to speak out and assert ourselves?
Perhaps, the fear of witch hunting
forces people to digest insults quietly rather than speak out against erring
officials and publicmen. However, we cannot improve the system unless people
pick up courage to question wrong acts and demand a fair deal. This is
the crux of the problem.
Erring politicians, guilty bureaucrats
and their collaborators can be put on the mat if people question their
wrong moves while appreciating the good deeds.
Democracy cannot thrive in a state
of vacuum. Nor can improvement in the system be brought about if people
rationalise their sufferings as part of their luck (kismet). God helps
those who help themselves. The world belongs to the brave and the wise.
The country can be shaped and reshaped as a land of opportunities with
the right vision and concerted efforts for the good of society.
The nation's destiny must not be
entrusted to the timid and the opportunist. They have to be sidelined.
This is the only way we can throw up the right leadership. Nothing is impossible.
India can be governed competently provided we learn to be at least 25 per
cent more honest to ourselves as well as to fellow citizens and the country
at large. A corrupt society can only provide a decadent system to the delight
of manipulators, operators, musclemen, criminals, crooks and scoundrels.
The people deserve the best. They
have to be given the best. This is possible if they learn to assert themselves
instead of resigning themselves to fate. I may sound an idealist. Well,
I am an incorrigible optimist. I believe in the principle of "never say
die".
The country's young generation is
very good stuff. They can make any country proud. All that we have to do
is to create a proper atmosphere so that they can take initiatives and
function professionally with a degree of freedom and commitment to liberal
values.
Democracy is a live system founded
on morality. It cannot be made a plaything of crooks, scoundrels and operators.
The intelligentsia and the media must not be indifferent to the ugly facets
of modern India.
Looking ahead, the present contradictions
and conflicting trends need to be viewed in a larger perspective of change
and the compulsions of the times. However, as long as the intelligentsia
and the media conduct themselves objectively and justly and the public
is exposed to new ideas, the modernisation process and consequential adjustment,
there should be no cause for concern.
Indian thinkers, however, should
be worried if these "contradictions" and "conflicts" are allowed to get
"institutionalised". This is where the thinking persons have a role to
play, not as passive onlookers but as active catalytic agents to bring
about the desired changes in the right direction.
With known and unknown scams in
the PPSC and other critical areas of public life, the time has come for
a massive "operation clean-up".
It is going to be a long and painful
process. Sleepy indifference can be disastrous. The danger of being caught
unawares and giving in is to crumble as everything crumbles around us.
An honest approach to men, matters and issues can make a difference to
the quality of the democratic polity.
