There is only one way to reform an unethcal world: to lead by example

Last week, our Club was addressed by Rtn Sudarshan Agarwal, Governor of Uttaranchal, on the subject of ‘Ethics: a Forgotten Way of Life’.

Introducing him, District Governor Dr Bharat Pandya said that Rtn Sudarshan, who was known for simplicity and integrity, had joined the judicial service of Punjab & Delhi in 1956. After 1971, he joined the Rajya Sabha secretariat and served in various capacities. He was Secretarygeneral of Rajya Sabha from 1981 to 1993. In 1986, he was elevated to the rank and status of Cabinet Secretary of Government of India.

After his retirement, he was appointed to the National Human Rights Commission with the rank and status of a Supreme Court judge. In January 2003, Rtn Sudarshan was sworn in as the second Governor of the newly created State of Uttaranchal.

Throughout these four decades, Rtn Sudarshan had an illustrious career in Rotary as well, holding the posts of President of Rotary Club of Delhi, District Governor and RI Director of Rotary International.

Commencing his talk on ethics, Rtn Sudarshan quoted some paragraphs from a talk that he had delivered to IAS Probationers at their training academy at Mussoorie: “In a poverty-stricken Independent India, Government jobs with low demands on accountability and efficiency, and high returns from dowry and loot, were bound to attract men of high intelligence and higher aspirations.

“Ambitious men, who inherited a tradition of vision, hard work and meticulous scholarship and replaced it with their own brand of low cunning and lower morals, who treated the powers granted to philosopher kings with the base instincts of petty thieves, aspire to offices of great responsibility. Men who will exercise their mind for private gain at public expense now succeed men who produced remarkable works of scholarship. Because they passed the most difficult examination in the country, they now have the license to loot the public exchequer. The perpetuation of the privileges and powers of the civil services was an act of profound faith at the time of Independence. Their continuation in the face of non-performance, corruption and acts of outright criminality is a profound betrayal of the ideals of our Republic.

“The challenge of your generation is, therefore, much the greater. Not only do you have to prove yourself, but in an era of globalization and liberalization, where the very rationale of government is being questioned by skeptical voters and taxpayers, you have to restore our collective faith in the instruments of governance and government. So when a few years down the line, you are tempted with your first bribe, when you are offered that astronomical amount for dowry or when you are simply asked to look the other way while some irregularity is being committed, pause for a moment and reflect that what you would sell, if you were to succumb, would not just be your individual soul and conscience but also the collective hopes of a nation. Many of you would, alas, be prepared to pay that price, but I do hope that a courageous few among you would dare to be different.

“I share the belief with the rest of our countrymen that for all the degeneration of our public life and morals, for all the exposes about corruption scams, for all the painful images of R K Sharmas and Subhash Sharmas and Anurag Vardhans and Goswamis being produced in court in handcuffs, your institution still represents our collective hopes for a better and fairer future,” Rtn Sudarshan, told the future bureaucrats.

Addressing the Rotarians, he said, “You will agree with me that the experience of the common citizen in his dealings with the public servants, generally speaking, has not been very happy. Now, what about the professionals?

“The keystone of professional conduct is integrity. A professional must discharge his duties with fidelity to the public, his clients and employees, and with fairness and impartiality. It is the professional’s duty to interest himself in public welfare and be ready to apply his special knowledge for the benefit of mankind. It is only then, that the professional can live up to the expectations, the society has of him by virtue of his superior education, skill and talent.

“Let us look at the ground reality. Even the noble profession of medicine has not remained free from the polluting influence of greed. There are increasing instances of collusion between the general practioners and specialist consultants for fee splitting and kickbacks, unnecessary surgery performed on unsuspecting patients and unnecessary prolongation of treatment, all for profit.

“The professional has been the most admired individual in society. A quick look at the matrimonial columns of any newspaper will convince you of the high status a professional commands. What really attracts the parents of brides to professionals is their relatively high intellect and skills, and their social status, to say nothing about the promise of a life of affluence. But today, a fundamental question is being asked: Are professionals true to their noble calling or are they turning mercenaries?

“We see audit firms preparing fraudulent balance sheets, judges giving favourable judgements in exchange for sex or money, a Chairman of a state Public Service Commission whose lockers are full of currency notes, and army Major Generals caught on camera taking bribes, liquor and sex.

“About politicians, the less said, the better.

“I am reminded of a story about a political leader who walks into an evening reception. The hostess greets him and starts introducing him to another lady, who responds by saying, ‘Don’t be silly. You don’t have to introduce him to me. Who doesn’t know him? I know all about him’.

“Hearing these words, the politician shrugs his shoulders and gravely says, ‘Madam... you may know all about me but you can’t prove anything.”

“Today, the situation has come to such a pass that when you tell a politician that you know all about him, he thinks you are hinting at a scam.

“The problem with society is that no one is willing to look within. Each one is pointing a finger at others for the decline in ethical values. The common citizen accuses the medical professional of unethical practices, of conducting ultrasound tests clandestinely to kill the girl child. We accuse public servants of being corrupt and inefficient... and finally, all of us, in one voice, proclaim that the politician is the root cause of the decline of values in civil society.

“I am posing a question to myself and to each one of you. What kind of a world are we creating for our children to inherit ? Do we want to create a world full of deceit, lacking in compassion and love? Or do we want a world where our children will uphold values of honesty and fair play and a commitment to promote human welfare? We have inherited a rich tradition of moral values.

“This country has had a Lal Bahadur Shastri who owning moral responsibility, resigned as Railway Minister when a serious rail accident took place. Similarly, late Madhavrao Scindia resigned from his office for an air crash. We have an incident where after the LICMundra deals, Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru asked TT Krishnamachari to resign as Finance Minister.

“Dear colleagues, sports is associated with fairness and fair play. When you want a person to be fair, you say, ‘Be a sport’. But today, sportsmen found taking stamina enhancing drugs disgrace themselves and their country, and we hear instances of match fixing.

“In olden days, we used to say, “The king can do no wrong. But today, some of Rotary’s kings have done all that was questionable, unethical and not in keeping with Rotary’s ideal of fostering and promoting high ethical standards. The second part of the object of the Rotary is to encourage and foster high ethical standards in business and professions. Dear friends, there is need to look within. Our own conduct must conform to the 4 Way Tests.

“My dear friends, ethics and ethical way of life must begin with each one of us. They say that personal example is not the main thing in influencing others, it is the only thing. Let us be an example to our children, to our families, to our business and professional associates, and to every single person who comes in contact with us. Let each one of us live a life so that when our children think of fairness, honesty and integrity, they think of us,” concluded Rtn Sudarshan Agarwal.