Class Notes 4 You

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam said the above statement in a speech at the European Union emphasising on the continuity of ethics and righteousness that germinates in the family and reflects across the universe like ripples in an ocean.  ● Righteousness in the heart enables individuals to pursue an ethical course of action. It is key to consistent ethical choices which builds integrity and ultimately a beautiful character.  ● People with character nourish their personal relationships with acceptance, respect, understanding and appreciation. It ensures harmony in the home which keeps the people rooted and content despite the adversities of life.  ● Harmonious families build harmonious societies where the cleavages of caste, gender, religion and class become non-existent. According to Dr. Ambedkar, without such social democracy, political democracy will remain the top soil and a half-realised dream.  ● The prosperity and well-being of the nation is ensured and pursued by individu...

Gandhiji made the above statement highlighting those ideas are the genesis of all our actions and life events.  We have to first conceptualise and manifest our life goals in our mind to then see it transform into reality. • Our thoughts enable our efforts and help us persevere against challenges that may present themselves on the way. E.g.: Gandhi's commitment to swaraj helped him remain dedicated to the cause of freedom. • Most revolutionary transformations in society have its genesis in the thoughts of men and women. For example, Raja Ram Mohan Roy’s efforts against Sati, Martin Luther King, Vinoba Bhave.  • Thoughts therefore become the building blocks of our attitudes and actions. E.g.: a positive attitude towards Swachch Bharat Abhiyan enabled its success. • Education should therefore be centred at developing progressive, positive thoughts about self and society, to create ethical individuals. E.g.: the Awakened Citizen programme of Ramakrishna Mission and CBSE helps to i...

Socrates made the above statement highlighting the necessity of a deeper understanding of life and our actions that can help us live a more fulfilling life. Without a continuous assessment of our life and its purpose, its potential and abundance cannot be truly realised.  • At the individual level, self-reflection is the force of human progress. For example: Ratnakar Daku had a change of heart upon self-examination and became Sage Valmiki. • As a society, self-reflection by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar amongst others crusaded for abolition of sati and widow remarriage. • In history when USSR re-examined its society and politics, it realised its own hubris and the disintegration of 1991 followed. • When the economic depression of 1930 hit the world, self-examination of society resulted in Keynesian economics and welfare state policies. • Examination of environmental processes led to Rachel Carson writing the Silent Spring about the evils of DDT pesticide leading to ...

Emotional intelligence refers to the ability of recognising, accepting, managing one’s emotions as well as others to meet goals like common ends, professional success, team work etc. According to Daniel Goleman it involves self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social management. Emotional Intelligence is the ability to make your emotions work for you: 1. Emotional intelligence can help individuals respond to a situation of crisis effectively. For example, when dealing with adversities of life. 2. It can help channelise emotions constructively, for example, Kailash Satyarthi channelised his anger against child atrocities and initiated the Bachpan Bachao Andolan. 3. Emotional intelligence avoids crises of conscience and internal dissonance since an emotionally intelligent person acts in an ethically just way and with deep empathy. This ensures personal well-being as well as rights of others. E.g.: Gandhiji. 4. Emotional intelligence also leads to better decision making s...

Probity in Governance refers to maintaining and sustaining highest standards of morality and righteousness in overall conduct. It envisages people as being ethical pole stars, constant and consistent in their efforts at maintaining good governance. Probity in governance is the sum total of public-spirited values like integrity, honesty, uprightness, dedication to public service and objectivity.  Measures for ensuring probity in government. 1. Ethical training is a key pillar that must be imbibed through entry level training (example foundation course at LBSNAA), mid-career training as well as interventions like Vigilance Awareness Week, Integrity pledges. 2. Transformational Leadership that respects, understands, celebrates the team by effective communication, delegation and motivation. 3. Strong oversight mechanism through Parliament, law enforcement, independent media and civil society 4. Decentralisation and people’s empowerment: E.g.: through effective implementation of 73rd an...

The Official Secrets Act was enacted in 1923 and retained after Independence. The law makes spying, sharing secret information, withholding sensitive information, a punishable offence. The law meant for ensuring secrecy and confidentiality in governance, mostly on national security and espionage issues, has often been cited by authorities for refusing to divulge information. Governments have faced criticism for misusing the law against journalists and whistle-blowers.  OSA as an obstacle to RTI: 1. OSA creates a culture of secrecy that is at odds with the goals of transparency rooted in the Right to Information Act. The frequent use and misuse of OSA has made confidentiality a norm, hindering the very essence of providing information under RTI. OSA along with other rules and instructions impede the freedom of information creating a culture of secrecy and non-disclosure, which is against the spirit of RTI. 2. Ambiguity which enables discretion to deny information under RTI: The law ...

The 12th report of 2nd ARC on Citizen Centric Governance states that Citizen’s charter is fundamentally a set of commitments made by an organisation regarding the standards of service it delivers. The basic principles of citizen charter movement are as follows: 1. Value for taxpayers’ money. 2. Accountability: of individuals and organisations. 3. Transparency: of rules, procedure, schemes and grievances. 4. Standards: specifying what to expect and how to act if standards are not met. 5. Quality: improving the quality of service. 6. Choice: wherever possible. The importance of Citizen Charter movement lies in: 1. Enhancing Transparency and accountability by providing citizens with information of service delivery standards 2. Citizen’s Charter decreases opportunity for corruption and graft. 3. Increased participation of common man in efficient working of an organisation.  4. Helps reduce cost, prevent delays and red tapism. 5. Citizen friendliness & convenience which leads to inc...

Conscience refers to the voice within us that guides us to make ethical decisions. Crisis of Conscience refers to the dissonance between the voice of conscience and external realities and responsibilities of individuals. It reflects a state of dilemma and poses difficulties in decision making.  Manifestation of Crisis of Conscience in public domain: 1. Crisis of conscience can occur when there is a conflict of interest between the primary duty of public service and personal duties and responsibilities.  2. It can result when an honest individual is working in a corrupt organisation and is expected to either collude or stay quiet. E.g.: Edward Snowden before he became a whistle-blower.  3. It can also emanate when public officials have to balance the goal of objectivity with fairness and compassion for the poor. E.g.: providing PDS benefits to an old woman who is not a registered beneficiary but in need of help. 4. Crisis of conscience also results when public officials ha...

Constitutional Morality refers to the standards of morality that are rooted in and derived from the principles and ethos of the constitution. For example: equality, justice, secularism and so on. Upholding constitutional morality is a sine qua non and can be done by:  1. At the level of our families, socialising children to practice gender equality, respecting all genders equally.  2. In our society, constitutional morality is upheld by practicing secular principles and non-discrimination against any religious or cultural community.  3. In organisations, maintaining standards of integrity, transparency and accountability to shareholders can ensure upholding the principles of constitutional morality. For example, transparent accounting standards, CSR activities under Section 135 of Companies Act. 4. At the national level, governments must be consistently committed to the cause of the Antyodaya in the spirit of Gandhiji’s Talisman. This can ensure justice, equality and true...

Corruption essentially refers to any form of deviation from ethical living and working. The 2nd ARC report gives the formula of corruption as: Secrecy + Monopoly + Discretion - Accountability- Transparency = Corruption Non-performance of duty is also a form of corruption because: 1. Public resources and taxpayers’ money supports the public servant which in turn demands effective performance.  2. A public servant is bound by oath and the Central Civil Services Rules to perform their duty which if not done reflects moral corruption.  3. A public servant is legally and constitutionally bound to prioritise the interests of the Antyodaya, only then can Sarvodaya be attained. Failing to do this is a form of corruption. 4. Performance of duty to borrow Immanuel Kant’s words is a categorical imperative. 5. Non-performance of duty for example not resolving conflicts of interest, automatically lead to corrupt decision making. E.g.: A judge not recusing from a case of relatives. 6. When...

Utilisation of public funds in a correct manner is a necessary imperative for growth and development. Public fund involves the financial resources of the public held by the state and divided under the revenue and expenditure heads. The sectoral allocations as well the efficiency and economy of utilising public funds has an impact on how well schemes for public welfare function and deliver.  Reasons for Under-utilisation, Mis-utilisation. 1. Improper planning and budgeting 2. Corruption in utilisation of public funds 3. Utilisation for bailouts of businesses 4. Running loss making PSUs using public money 5. Misplaced government priorities, for example loan waivers for farmers in place of agricultural investments which have better impact on productivity and agricultural income. Impact of the same: 1. Compromises legal obligations of fair and efficient utilisation. 2. Undermines the principle of accountability with reference to utilisation of funds 3. Undermines openness and transpare...

Public Servant refers to individuals who by the demand of their profession or commitment of their conscience are dedicated to the welfare of the public selflessly. E.g.: Magsaysay award winner Bharat Vatvani’s efforts towards care and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness.  The role of a public servant is multi-fold: 1. Public servants are supposed to be committed to the constitutional ideal of equality and justice. Rich and poor have to be treated alike.  2. Public servants must show commitment to the highest principles of ethics. E.g.: the Nolan Committee report on public life lists: Selflessness, Openness, Honesty, Leadership, Objectivity, Integrity and Accountability as principles of public life.  3. Public Servants must also ensure balance of efficient and productive outcomes with an incessant commitment to transparency and honesty in all public dealings. Corruption must never be justified for efficiency gains. 4. Public servant is often the link between the ...

Public life is governed by ethical principles that ensure commitment to the goals of public service. The 2nd ARC report on Personnel Administration, as well as the NOLAN committee report highlight various principles of public life.  1. Integrity: Integrity refers to the incessant commitment to consistency in thought, speech and action. People like Satyendra Dubey, Manjunath Shanmugam, E. Shreedharan have shown integrity in public life 2. Leadership: Leadership refers to the quality of individuals in effectively leading a team. Leaders of the Indian national movement including Gandhi, Nehru and Ambedkar are the finest examples.  3. Selflessness: Selflessness refers to the ethical ideal of putting the interest of people, particularly the poorest Antyodaya before oneself. It demands sacrifices and compassion. Baba Amte’s compassion for patients, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi’s efforts for child welfare were for example driven by selflessness.  The basic principles of publ...

Morality is the guide to individual conduct, of the good and the bad. It shapes the notion of right and wrong at the personal level. Socrates in the above statement highlights the problems of morality being rooted in emotional values, which can result in arbitrariness.  Issues of morality rooted in emotional values: 1. The principle of objectivity is compromised.  2. Emotions can change and differ from person to person. Therefore, the essence of morality will get undermined. For example, emotions of anger can justify mob lynching.  3. Morality based on relative emotional values justifies practices which are ethically unjustified. E.g.: Suicide in Tamil Nadu or acceptance of suicide by Samurais in Japan.  4. Morality based on emotional values can go against constitutional morality for example the Sabarimala debate.  5. Emotions are transient, temporary and dependent on subjectivity and therefore not the best means for shaping morality.  Relative moral values...

Gandhiji made the above statement highlighting the noble ideal of selfless service and sacrifice which was an imperative to free India from the chains of colonial rule. It highlights the continuum of self and society, where we find meaning and purpose in life when we commit ourselves to serving others.  ● Like Socrates once said, a life unexamined is not worth living, it becomes an imperative to connect with our voice of conscience and reflect upon our life’s purpose. This can help us identify and pursue our real callings in life.  ● Ashok became the great king he was when he reformed himself and his state. In the service and welfare of people, he finds his nobility and became a legend in history. ● Leaders of the 18th century socio-religious reform movements like Henry Vivian Derozio, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Vidyasagar, Jyotirao Phule found their life’s purpose and became great by dedicating themselves to the cause of the deprived and disadvantaged.  ● Mother Teresa was a yo...