“Son, you have two options when you come to the witness stand as your name is called. One is to confirm what you just read in the CB- CID report when I ask you leading questions. Then you go back home and forget about the whole case”. The public prosecutor assured. He continued nonchalantly.
“Other is to tell the judge that the whole thing, the report of CB-CID circle inspector, the investigation report and prosecution case, are pack of lies. Then you continue fighting and forget about your studies in IIM as you will have to here most of the time for the matters of the case” He was just stating a fact.
This happened some time after I had competed my engineering and was getting ready to join for my post graduation in IIM. My neighbor was my professor and also my uncle. Few years ago while his family was away there was a burglary at his house and quite a lot of gold ornaments and other valuables were lost. The police were called and they asked me to give my name as a witness. I was eager and willing as my role was only to conform that such a burglary had taken place.
Years went by and I forgot about the incident. One fine day I got a summons from the court asking me to appear as a witness for prosecution. I was asked to meet the public prosecutor. He asked me to sit down read the case file.
Suddenly I saw a statement that was purported to have been made by me in front of a circle inspector of police. As per this statement, after the police caught the thief, I was called in and asked to identify the man and I remembered that this was the same man who was standing in front of my uncle’s house in a suspicious manner and whom I had asked what he was doing.
I was horrified. I had never met a fellow standing in front of my uncle’s house. I was never called to the police station to identify the thief and I had never made any statement to any police officer.
The prosecutor understood my dilemma and what I narrated in the beginning of this article was my conversation with him. He also showed me lots of other proofs which included recovered gold and his confession.
Though I felt less guilty and felt that I was contributing to the punishment of the guilty (like we see in the movies where the hero takes extra legal methods to punish the guilty) there was, and still is, a vague sense of uneasiness. Especially when the prosecutor explained to me that this cooking of documents is almost a standard operating procedure in law enforcement. He further added how the same culinary skills help to let the guilty scot free too.
Over the years I had a number of occasions to experience this cookery magic in a variety of circumstances. I realized that in the business of governance, it is an essential skill to succeed. “Yes Minister” is one of the most humorous depictions of this art form that I have seen. Private sector is no exception. But here it is used more in company structuring and financial engineering.
Although transparency and clarity in laws of governance can address this to a great extent, it can never control the human ingenuity in the way it uses the system; whether it is used for good or bad of the humanity at large.
The good and bad use of the system will always be there in any society. What determines the proportion or the level of good and bad is the value system of its populace.
I was reading the history book of my daughter and I was fascinated by Fa- Hian’s account of the administration and general life of people during the Golden Age of Indian History- the Gupta period. I quote below some exerts that I believe will touch a chord in our heart.
“The people do not have to register their households or attend to any magistrates. If they desire to go they go or if they like to stop they stop. Taxes were low, roads were safe, and one could travel to any place without fear. The people being good and disciplined, only very mild laws were needed. Capital punishment was not given. There was no dishonesty whatsoever. Bribery was not heard of. …”
This is not fairytale. This is our history; the history of our forefathers. Somewhere along the line we seem to have lost our link with these values. In fact, the heartland of the Gupta dynasty Magadh and Pataliputra today have become citadels of dishonesty, graft, muscle and money power.
When growth becomes synonymous with material goods and respectability is measured in cash, we start tolerating and then encouraging the leaders who were willing to sacrifice anything for power and money. A vicious cycle, feeding on each other. ‘Yadha Raja, Tadha Praja” The society gets the king it deserves and the society get molded by its kings. This is what happens today.
Foot Note: At this time of national election will we remember to vote with our values or with/for our purse. I hope the Mallika Sarabha, Meera Sanyal, Shashi Tharoor and Capt. Gopinadh will keep this in their mind when they are trying to make a difference in the political landscape.
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