Ethics in Public Life

Most of our knowledge about the ethics of ancient India has come from the religious writings of the Vedas, Upanishads, Jainism, and Buddhism. Some years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart raised a question, "What does ethics mean?" He received various answers, some saying ethics has to do with the feelings of a person; others saying it depended on ones religious beliefs and some answers related ethics to complying with laws and regulations in a society. The meaning of "ethics" is hard to pin down. Ethics in public life in simple and holistic terms can be phrased as educating and sensitizing people about the need for efficiency and transparency in society. When we talk about the administrative structure in India or corruption in politics, organizations, shops, colleges we talk about people. It is the citizens of India who needs to inject ethics back into the society. Bureaucracy - system of government, red tapeism and all kinds of official procedures involved breed corruption of all forms. Transparency is the key. We cant kill the big monster of corruption on paper. Students face corruption in gaining admissions, in issuing of passports and many other circumstances. Equity and corruption are inversely proportional and so are ethical behaviour and corruption. Greater the equity in all forms in the society, lesser will be the need of corruption. Several steps have been taken by the Indian government to promote transparency and create vigilance, like introducing online system of affiliation, online registration, access to online list of candidates, and online compliant lodging system, 247 helpline systems and RTI. Open discussion with public representatives and media and monitoring progress of AntiCorruption Unit are some measures to be taken so that Corruption preventive agencies can in the real sense help the public services. The corporate sector, which forms integral part of our society needs to realize the value of Corporate Ethics and e-Governance. Upholding the interests of society is in the best interest of not only the society but also the corporates themselves as per the famous Gandhian Philosophy. Business cannot succeed in a society that fails. It would be a sad development if Indian Society and the corporate sector in particular were to blindly follow the record of what well-known scientist Paul Ehrlich refers to as mal-developed societies. Ethics in public life need to be strengthened and emphasized upon. Ethics matters in all the varied dimensions of public life, from social welfare to maintaining law and order and also in collecting taxes. When it comes to Ethics in governmental affairs should corruption in politics be dealt with more severely? With great power comes great responsibility they say, so what kinds of ethical standards are appropriate for those in greater power, in government or business? In case of environmentalism what obligations do we have towards the environment? In case of population control is it ethical for a collective group to take steps to control population growth?

Average age of an Indian is just 25.8 years. The young blood should be encouraged to work and take decisions in ethical manner. Students in Schools and colleges need to understand the importance of ethics in public life. Programmes and seminars are recommended in schools and colleges which can help develop the appropriate mind set among the students to fight corruption. As Citizens of India we need to know the importance of shared responsibility and accountability. Satisfaction and Harmony cannot exist in a society that fails due to unethical practices. We need to harness the immense power of ethics to bring harmony in our society and make the world a better place to live in.