“Inculcate and practice contentment and humanism, for the sake of the nation”: Justice N. Santosh Hegde
, Bengaluru: “I have worked in several institutions during my career, but once I became the Karnataka Lokayukta, I witnessed the suffering of people due to corruption and bribery at different levels of administration. Today, I speak on falling social values and its consequences because of that experience and I wish to bring such matters to the notice of the people, and in doing so I have visited 1672 educational institutions. ”, observed Justice N. Santosh Hegde, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India. He delivered the 5th lecture of the CPP Foundation Day Lecture Series , on the topic: ‘Decline in Social Values in the Society and its Consequences’, hosted by the Centre for Public Policy (CPP) at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).
Justice Hegde cited examples of specific cases where he witnessed corruption in administration from various forms of public services. “We cannot blame individuals because this fault lies with society. Earlier, there was social ostracization of criminals; and role of families, parents and moral science education were significant in shaping our minds. But today, the social fabric itself has changed. Unfortunately, today’s society respects only money and power, while honesty often takes a backseat.”
He reminded some of the major scams to have plagued our country for the past few decades and as to the huge amounts of public money that was siphoned off from administration. “Such people are not afraid of law. No one wants to bring about change and blame game becomes the order of the day. Where is democracy and how can true development happen in this kind of a situation? What is the way out of this to bring about peace and solidarity of the nation?”, he left the question open to the audience.
He also spoke about the mining report that he authored which was released in 2011, saying his recommendations were not implemented by successive governments. “The only way out of this rut of ever-increasing greed is inculcating a value of contentment. Be content with what you legitimately have. I know a lot of dedication and determination is required for this. But once it is accomplished, any amount of temptation can be countered.”
He pointed out that the other element that can heal the society is humanism, introduced by our elders for peace and solidarity. “If you acquire humanism in your lifetime, there is no greater glory.” He went on to advise, “Accept all religions as your own, even with their flaws and do not try to judge.”
“I urge you all to inculcate and practice contentment and humanism, for the sake of the next generation and for the sake of the nation. With these two values there can be absolute peace in society.”
His talk was followed by a Q&A session with the audience, during which he suggested that to fight when the system itself is choked, people within and outside the system should be willing to change. “The time has come to reduce the number of appeal forums and thereby speculative litigation, which will result in quicker decisions by the Judiciary.”
To another query about making policies more people-centric, he suggested, “Confine the Supreme Court for constitutional matters only. For policy matters a different forum should be created.
Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore, felicitated and thanked the Chief Guest. In his address, Prof. RT Krishnan congratulated the CPP, faculty members and PhD students for their contribution towards policy analysis, policy changes, publishing papers, and more. “I look forward to CPP for more output towards policy, which can go on to play a significant role in combating the decline in social values that we see today.”
Earlier in the evening, during the welcome address, Dr. Gopal Naik, Senior Fellow, Chairperson and Jal Jeevan Mission Chair Professor at the Centre for Public Policy, IIM Bangalore, spoke on the objectives of CPP and the centre’s impact in governance of the country, and more. Introducing the Chief Guest and talking about his accomplishments and awards, Dr. Naik said, “The cash prize money received from these awards amounting to more than a crore has been donated by Justice Hegde to various social service organizations.”
The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof. Anil B Suraj, faculty of Public Policy and Chairperson, N.S. Ramaswamy Pre-doctoral Fellowship as well as the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion at IIMB. He said, “It is clear from Justice Hegde’s talk that in many ways we need to revisit our roots and he can be our role model for the same.”
The past CPP Foundation Day lectures have been delivered by Steven Wilkinson, Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian Studies, and Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at Yale University; Tridip Suhrud, writer, translator and noted Gandhian scholar; KK Shailaja, former Minister for Health, Social Justice and Woman and Child Development, Government of Kerala, and Mrinal Pande, well-known journalist, author, television personality, and former Chair of Prasar Bharati.