There is a proverb in Kannada language, which loosely translated into English reads something like this. “If you drink a glass of milk in the open but under a palm tree, people watching you are going to assume it is toddy that you are drinking”. It’s all about perception, even if you are doing the right thing but unfortunately in the wrong place, people are going to perceive you with all wrongdoings. Therefore while directing our energies in doing the right thing on the personal front, we must make sure we take time to also work on making the place right too. At the moment crooked politicians have deteriorated Goa and for that matter entire India to such an extent that it has become a hopelessly wrong place. So even if something good is being done in the country, it will be overshadowed by the bad.
The recent Karnataka elections brought out the worst characteristics of the people of Karnataka. Yes the people of Karnataka should take the blame for electing crooks, willing to give and take bribes for positions they don’t deserve. This negates the great efforts by the individuals of Karnataka in creating world class IT companies in the state. People are going to perceive political bribing with everybody in Karnataka and it will have a spillover effect on the IT sector too. Allegations like bribing are surely going to hurt the hardworking and decent people who have toiled so hard to put Bangalore on the IT map of the world.
But why should international companies believe, they are dealing with smart and sincere companies in Karnataka if the entire population is ready to elect a Chief Minister to represent them, who is more than willing to bribe people on phone to save his job? Here is a proverb in English this time by Edmund Burke “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Good men like Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, G. R. Gopinath, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Prakash Padukone, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and many great people that have excelled in their fields and brought laurels to the state of Karnataka but choose to remain silent, without realizing that politicians are busy changing the perception of their place which they cultivated over the years through their relentless efforts with sincerity and hard work.
To be fair, many Infosys founders after their stint in the company have pledged their personal wealth, got involved into philanthropy, even dabbled into politics and free of cost bureaucracy all in the service to the nation, but all these efforts really mean nothing if we keep the strings in the hands of crooked politicians. Nandan Nilekani for example has worked on the Aadhaar Project, across party lines, going to the extent to boldly defending the project, but has it occurred to him to question the intention of his bosses as to what exactly is their ultimate goal in collecting data on people. It’s easy to trust his boss Narayana Murthy and blindly follow him, but working for politicians is a completely different ballgame. There is a possibility politicians could be using his good name to seek legitimacy for the project that looks genuine in the beginning, but could end up being sinister for democracy. In that case Nandan’s effort could have a diametrically opposite effect to his intentions, if data collected is used for harassing or stalking citizens. Next time the government approaches Nandan he should be asking himself, if it makes sense to be personally honest and yet decide to work for the corrupt by getting carried away with talk on national interest.
The jolt Karnataka has received will eventually wake the good men of the state, hopefully break their silence and force them to go on the offence to make sure the naïve citizens of the state start paying attention to them. Unfortunately such a scenario is not possible in Goa, at least not in the near future, because politicians with their crooked methods have created such lofty perception about them and the work they do, that majority Goans have not only fallen for it big time, but are also convinced that politicians are their ultimate saviors. It will need some convincing and relentless teaching to change that perception.
Most Goans realise that politicians are crooks and yet fall for the same bait that is on offer every time elections are announced. How do politicians manage to change the perception about them in their favour? To a certain extent we the people are partially responsible for the situation. We have not only kept them on a pedestal but have allowed them to infiltrate paid entertainment programs, cultural events, sport matches, basically every sundry event that has the potential to attract crowds. The audience is then made to listen to the political blabbering that goes on unlimited, thereby etching a great image of the politician in the mind of the listeners despite his crooked and corrupt credentials.
Propping up a politician’s image is not done as openly so as to expose their game, but is carried out in a very subtle manner with the help of a stooge the politician places in every strategic location of his constituency. While most government business can be carried out without the intervention of a politician, the informal sidekick will direct the public in his circle of influence to go through the politician even for routine matters, thereby projecting the politician as an important person in the scheme of things.
Goans better understand the tricks politicians play on the people, because if we continue the same way then don’t be surprised if everybody perceives us as corrupt and crook. We cannot call ourselves decent, honest and sincere even if there are some still left, because we will soon be eclipsed by the corrupt. Our character is reflected in the people we choose to represent us. We cannot be branded only as toddy drinkers.
(The author is a business consultant)
