Today, November 26, is Constitution Day, when we honour the adoption of the Indian Constitution which was drafted by the Indian Constituent Assembly. And on this day, let us reflect on how the learned stalwarts of the Constituent Assembly would have felt seeing the way the spirit of this great Constitution is being “honoured”.
The recent clarion call “Na khaunga, na khane doonga” is a euphemism for “I will not take bribes nor let others take them as well”. It is indeed a good thought and a good call.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
However, the fact that bribes is a buzzword linked to jobs and employment is an admission of failure to have corruption-free governance, rather than an occasion to celebrate valour.
Let us start by asking a practical question. If a police officer has given a bribe to get a post in a sensitive money-making jurisdiction and takes bribes to make up for what he has paid, will he honestly look at a complaint of bribery against any other government servant made by the public?
The equity of our uniformed force isn’t quite the highest as borne out by this. We have a situation when the Hyderabad police commissioner held a press conference stating that when they try and come to Goa to arrest drug suppliers and peddlers accused in cases in their state, they get little to no cooperation from the Goa police. This is the biggest shame ever.
Here we are wanting good people to enter the government and look forward to the best years of their lives serving the State. But look at the irony. We have an example of an honest state civil service officer, the only one who acted against noise pollution, rave, and drug parties, who was shunted out (albeit after an unrelated incident) and then kept away from a similar posting in another jurisdiction (where he could have been an asset) and dumped into an insignificant posting out of sync with his zeal and skill sets. Will such officers ever have faith in the system they serve?
The learned forefathers of the Constitution have laid the foundation stone of an India built on the seven principles of our Constitution. With absolute respect to our elected representatives, a question does arise as to how many of them, across party lines, would be able to narrate the seven principles. They are: popular sovereignty, limited government, separation of powers, federalism, checks and balances, republicanism, and individual rights.
Added to that are ten constitutional values. And they are human dignity, equality, advancement of human rights and freedom, non-racialism and non-sexism, the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy, social justice, equity, and respect.
Again, it will be in the fitness of things that all those wanting to represent the people, undertake their journey of political service only after these principles and values of the Constitution are ingrained in them.
When an MLA takes an oath to uphold the Constitution, it is these principles and values that the MLA promises to uphold. Of all the values, there are these that are of specific importance in the context of having a bribe-free governance, in all matters including selection for jobs.
Firstly, this is not only about the bribery phenomenon that comes into play for job seekers. It covers every aspect of the system and reflects in the shocking experience of people when they have to interact with arms of the system that are supposed to give good governance. And let us underline that this is not about Goa. This is applicable to every state in the country.
The core values for a just and clean system out of the ten constitutional values are the supremacy of the Constitution, the rule of law, democracy, and social justice. And it is the onus of those who have been given the privilege to serve the people through the festival of democracy called elections, to uphold these principles.
A bribe-free society will be created when people DO NOT have to go to the police to ever complain about any officer asking for bribes.
Therefore, a bribe-free society will not be created if people who have appointed a government have to rush to complain to the police about those in government taking bribes and complaints. A bribe-free society will be created when people do not have to go to the police station to ever complain about any government official taking bribes
Moreover, to go to and file a complaint of bribery to the police, one must be confident of the integrity of the grassroots police force.
If a system of governance in a country or in its federal units is corrupt, then like white ants, corruption enters every hole and corner of the administration. The white ants of corruption do not see if it is a department head, a collector or a police inspector asking for a bribe. It is a system under which bribery has become a part, ingrained in those running the system. The tumour lies here, and this is where it needs to be treated and finished.
It is good to speak of upholding the values of the Constitution, on this Constitution Day (Nov 26), but when it means nothing, in the conduct and manner in which the system runs, is there any point?
The very fact that we have a police body called the Anti-Corruption Bureau and an autonomous institution called Lok Ayukta is an admission that the system is corruption driven.
But when the Lok Ayukta is not given teeth and its several recommendations on key corruption cases are not even considered, then the system is designed to protect corruption and not eradicate it. How many recommendations of the Lok Ayukta have been acted upon, FIRs filed and investigations carried out?
In the words of, Satyapal Malik, the former Goa Governor, when he was later Meghalaya Governor, “There was corruption in everything the Goa government did. I was removed for my allegation of corruption against the Goa government. I am a Lohiaite, I can’t tolerate corruption.” He said this in an interview with India Today TV, in October 2021, a little over a year ago.
At the heart of corruption is not crime but the erosion or absence of values. And corruption is not about money but about values. As an example, look at Japan’s football fans in Qatar who have won the admiration and respect of the rest of the world for cleaning up the stadium after every game, even if Japan is not playing. This is a value-based system at work, which does not allow bad or poor value systems to flow in.
Therefore, do not give a police complaint as a solution for preventing job-related corruption. Give a clean, value-based system.
Corruption does not necessarily mean the exchange of currency to get work done unfairly, it also means getting employment under the system not on merit, but by sidestepping meritorious applicants. Employment letters are used as insurance for votes to those who are on the ruling side, irrespective of the party.
Above all, corruption is a winner when votes are bought and sold, giving the voter no moral right to uphold the Constitution.
And finally, let us look inwards. When political corruption reaches the voter, the words like Democracy and Constitution ring hollow. A bought mandate makes people slaves of the purchaser of the mandate and not a worshipper of the Constitution.
Corruption is there in the menu and sits at the high table of governance. It has to be first removed from there.
