Value Internalisation What Makes The Difference?

That day, the morning newspaper had two stories on its inner pages. The one on the left; refers to a Taxiwalla and the other on the right to a very senior Engineer who served the state government of UP in a responsible capacity. These items very clearly indicated the approach to life and riches of two individuals who were not equally like during the period of their growing up. Take the first one, who manages to eke out a living in the city of dreams working hard to ensure kitchen fires burning. Normally, he would not be highly educated and driving may be the only skill acquired through informal sector. For him a sum of Rs Eighty thousand would certainly be a huge bounty. But look at him; he notice the envelope on the back seat, goes back to the place where the last occupants had got down, waits for them and; as he very rightly presumed; they come back in search of the lost treasure and are so relieved to find the waiting Taxi and its driver. Money reaches the real and right owners. For some, what is eighty thousand in Mumbai? What is so great about the return of the money? He only performed his duty? The other item refers to a well educated, professionally qualified Engineer who was responsible for the industrial development of UP and who, incidentally, also purchased a bungalow at the Prthiviraj Road in New Delhi. He also must have performed his official duties otherwise how could he have earned his promotions and powers to allocate hundreds of crores meant for the industrial development of UP where he was holding the highest post in his department? Rest assured he must have received serious lessons on morals, ethics, honesty, integrity, human values and the essence of democracy that expects public servants to serve their masters: the aam aadami! Now, The Enforcement Directorate people are claiming to have unearthed his sixty-six accounts that were used to convert the black money into white. Obviously, these skills acquisitions must be an outcome of either peer learning or pure individual innovative genius. There is no dearth of cases that pave the way for the adventurer to outsmart their predecessors, follow the entrenched practices and move on the path of amassing wealth. Recall the total siphoning of the funds earmarked for the nutrition of the children of the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy by very senior bureaucrats. But why go to another state when the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) money in UP went to everyone who mattered except the rural poor! ED claims use of ‘disproportionate assets’ in the purchase of Bungalow at the Prthiviraj Road New Delhi.

When it comes to disproportionate assets—DA—how could one forget the CBI? Everyone wants every case against ‘someone else’ to be handed over to CBI. However, it is impossible to locate anyone who knows about the CBI and has no complaints against it. Parties in opposition invariably declare CBI a tool in the clutches of the government of the day. In the recent past, the CBI has, after intensive investigations and hard work, found that there is no case of ‘disproportionate assets’ against either Netaji Mulayam Singh Yadav or Bahen Mayawati. All their earnings are pure and legitimate. Earlier, Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi were also given a clean chit; all their assets were collected through genuine hard work and inheritance. These instances firmly establish that whatever the oppositionwallahs may publicise, most of our political leaders could proudly claim: “It’s all white over there”. Maybe, after a prolonged period, in the Prthiviraj Road bungalow episode, it would be firmly established that there is nothing like disproportionate assets or anything ‘black’ about this purchase. Some mischievous persons do claim that black has the capacity to turn the ‘remaining black’ into white!

A scam of few hundred or few thousand crore no longer attracts people’s attention, only peripheral attention of the media or even the people of India. Same could be the fate of the instance cited above. Those who analyse the prevailing scenario without prejudices and ideological compulsions often rue the inadequacies of the system of education which rolls out degrees, diplomas and certificates proclaiming educational attainments but fails to impart the essence of education: internalisation of moral, ethical and humanistic values. It, however, emerges from the second instance how significant is internalisation of humanistic and moral values by the individual during the process of his education in formal system. Not only this, it also enjoins upon one and all to realise how significant the role of the family in the process of education is. If the education system integrates some of the elements of the eternal practices of value transfer from the society, it may save itself from embarrassing situations that now arise with alarming frequency.

In these times of ever-spreading mutual distrust and the years of unprecedented scams, I salute the Taxiwalla who internalised human values, overcame greed and proved to be a genuine human being.

By JS Rajput