Invoking Mahatma Gandhi in the context of Resurgence of Interest on Ethics

The fourth report of the second Administrative Reforms Commission released in 2007 is titled as Ethics in Governance. The cover page of the report  has  an image of Mahatma Gandhi and a quote from his writings,  "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." In the very first page of the report there is another quote "“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves. ” Then it states,  "The Mahatma’s vision of a strong and prosperous India - Purna Swaraj - can never become a reality if we do not address the issue of the stranglehold of corruption on our polity, economy and society in general." It is interesting that in 2007 ethics in the context of governance was invoked through a specific report of Administrative Reforms Commission in twenty first century India which celebrates higher rate of economic growth and is marked by relatively better index of life expectancy and other human development indicators  in relation to what India had in 1947. At a time when India is acclaimed as one of the fastest growing economies  in the world it is worthwhile to recall Gandhi's endorsement of the idea that generation of commerce without morality  is a sin. No wonder that Mahatma Gandhi stressed on Satya(Truth), Ahimsa(non-violence), Non-possession, non-stealing and brahmacharya (disciplining and control of libido) for developing moral and ethical outlook in life. He in fact gave a moral purpose and ethical dimension to our freedom struggle because of which our struggle for independence became very unique in history of humanity.

A professor of management studies while speaking in a programme in Delhi in December, 2013 revealed that prior to 2008 in the most of the management institutes and business schools the responsibility to teach ethics used to be assigned to one of the poorest teachers who had no proficiency to deal with other core subjects.  He then added that following the financial crisis in US in the year 2008 and its devastating consequences on the world economy there has been resurgence of interest on ethics and values to address the challenges caused by an architecture of economic development at the center of which remain neo-liberal policies.  The commission established in the United States to look into the reasons behind the financial crisis observed in its monumental report that massive breach of ethics and accountability led to the financial crisis.  A perceptive writer Adam James who in his article ‘Business Schools and the Slump’ in the Guardian newspaper of London wrote that the absence of ethics in mainstream management syllabus during the time of Thatcher and Regan led to the inculcation of ideas among management students that greed was good and multiplication of money by any means was an acceptable frame of doing business.  The collapse of several well-established banks and financial institutions opened the eyes of top notch professors of management schools that lack of ethics led to financial crisis which was interpreted as a crisis arising out of loss of ethical outlook.  It is, therefore, fascinating to note that across the world now there is resurgence of interest in ethics to restore balance and sanity to our economy and society. 

It is not that for the first time such attention is being focused on ethics in the context of rising expansion of economic activities in the world.  While discussing Adam Smith and his contributions by referring to his monumental book ‘An enquiry into the Wealth of Nations’ we tend to forget his another classic ‘Theory of Moral Sentiments’ which underlined the importance of ethics and morality in our life.  It is, therefore, extremely important to juxtapose ethics and economics while stressing on growth and development which are driven by material and economic factors.  It is rather curious to note that the financial crisis which originated in US in 2008 awakened consciousness that there is no gulf between ethics and economics.  And, therefore, across the world now there is renewed emphasis on ethics to promote economic development and sustain it by making it vibrant and at the same time anchoring it on enduring moral and ethical values. 

That is why in the post-financial crisis period most of the modules on management and business syllabus are making ethics an integral part of the course curricula.  This change has taken place in the western world which bore the brunt of financial crisis.  Dr. Stefano Harney, director of global learning at the school of business learning Queen Mary, University of London criticized approach which neglected corporate social responsibility and business ethics in the management syllabus.  He advocated for placing ethics in every aspect of management syllabus and wrote “This means placing responsibility and ethics inside modules that might seem most technical, like financial management and accounting, or e-marketing, not letting such principles be fenced off in a separate module.  The global supply chain manager who does not monitor labour standards is unqualified for her job, and the human resource manager who is not honest with employees about the workload implications of new organizational structures fails to meet the minimum standards of his job.”  

It is this kind of resurgence of interest on ethics which augurs well for an inclusive economic growth which would be pursued by all those who have the knowledge and resources to take our economy to a new plain of success.  It is educative to note that in India in the context of the rise of the corporate sector following the large-scale economic reforms of 1990s widespread concerns have been expressed due to exponential increase in corporate frauds and corruption.  As our impressive economic growth is now being taken forward more by the corporate and private sector and as the architecture of our economy has decisively shifted from a public sector driven mixed economy to a more market driven economy, it is important that we need to stress on ethics and morality to get rid of rising level of corruption.  It is in this context that the fourth report of the Administrative Reforms Commission on Ethics and Governance published in 2007, a year before the financial crisis of 2008, assumes critical significance.  It is probably for the first time that a specific report of our Administrative Reforms Commission dealt with ethics in the context of our governance in a measure way.  In this report, it has been recommended that failure on the part of the corporate sector to prevent corruption would be treated as a cognizable offence and accordingly it has suggested that the Indian Penal Code may be suitably amended to deal with corruption in the private sector.  The report also has several chapters on ethics vis-à-vis civil servants, legislatures, regulators, Ministers and politics and public life. 

This kind of understanding of ethics from the larger perspective of life is noteworthy for our time which is marked by rising level of material standards and falling levels of morality.  Prime Minister of our country Dr. Manmohan Singh who is hailed as the chief architect of economic reforms of 1990s while addressing the CII Annual General Body Meeting on 24th May, 2007 gave a ten point social charter to business to make it harmonious with the grand ideal of trusteeship expounded by the father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi.  Out of those ten points there was one point on corruption.  While elaborating it he said, “… fight corruption at all levels. The cancer of corruption is eating into the vitals of our body politic. For every recipient of a bribe there is a benefactor and beneficiary. Corruption need not be the grease that oils the wheels of progress. There are many successful companies today that have refused to yield to this temptation. I commend them. Others must follow. Businessmen who enter politics should erect a Chinese wall between their political activities and their businesses. CII should develop Codes of Conduct for their members with respect to business practices and for control of corruption.” 

It is instructive to note that at the highest level of our nation articulations against corruption particularly in the context of business were made in 2007 itself.  And it is in the same year that the fourth report of the Administrative Reforms Commission focused attention on ethics and governance.  All these are indicative of the yearning at the apex level of public life to firmly deal with corruption which has a debilitating impact on the ethical dimensions of life.  The increasing emphasis on ethics in the second decade of 21st century is a heartening trend.  It is worthwhile to recall that while fighting for our independence Mahatma Gandhi had famously stated that he derived his politics from ethics and he found himself in politics because we was wedded to ethics.  In other words, he never saw any gulf between politics and ethics.  Rather his politics flowed from ethics.  The churning that is taking place in our politics and public life is a step for restoring ethics and morality in the affairs of our nation.  The rise of new political formations with a passion to uphold ethics indict the pathological corruption adversely affecting and paralyzing the lives of our people and our economic progress. 

Mahatma Gandhi not only bridged the gap between politics and ethics he also saw no separation between ethics and economics.  In 1936 he famously wrote that true economics will promote ethics and economic development worth the name will uphold ethics.  At a time when there is rising level of interest on ethics on account of series of crisis caused by reckless pursuit of greed it is important to rediscover Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas to regain our moral standing. 

In our country the public sector enterprises are now signing integrity pacts among themselves to promote a culture of ethical business.  This is a very heartening trend.  It is also important to note that the new guidelines on corporate social responsibility issued by the department of public enterprises stress on ethics.  These guidelines clearly prescribe that CSR activities cannot be undertaken just to save tax or to give a good image to the public sector enterprises.  Rather it stipulates that ethics must inform every activity of the public sector enterprise and out of it will flow the corporate social responsibility.   

It is rather noteworthy that in the developed economies of the world there is a resurgence of interest on ethics.  There is an interesting report entitled ‘Ethics codes in Finnish business’ in which it is clearly stated that ethics and morality cannot be derived from social sciences or management disciplines; rather ethics and morality can be derived from philosophy and spirituality.  In today’s world there is a rising interest on spirituality which is beyond ritualism and which is much more than religion.  The rising interest on ethics and the rising interest on spirituality is a welcome sign of our time.  It is by deeply researching on philosophy and spirituality that we can fortify our ethical outlook.  Swami Vivekananda had written in 19th century that ethical principles flow from philosophical and spiritual sources.  Therefore, the fascination for ethics would necessarily lead to re- exploration of our spiritual knowledge.  The first Prime Minister of our country and the architect of modern India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote an insightful piece entitled ‘Basic Approach’ in which he argued for application of modern methods and new sources of energy for our onward progress.  However, he noted the following:

“We have to break through this barrier by profiting by the new sources of power and modern techniques. But, in doing so, we should not forget the basic human element and the fact that our objective is individual improvement and the lessening of inequalities; and we must not forget the ethical and spiritual aspects of life which are ultimately the basis of culture and civilization and which have given some meaning to life.”  

So the resurgence of interest on ethics, it is hoped, will make life more meaningful. 

The author served as Officer on Special Duty and Press Secretary to President of India late Shri K R Narayanan and had a tenure as Director in Prime Minister's Office and Joint Secretary in Rajya Sabha Secretariat.