Ethical Governance and Society: Judicial and Constitutional Concerns
| Author | Kamleshwar Nath |
| Published date | 01 July 2013 |
| Date | 01 July 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0019556120130302 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
ETHICAL
GOVERNANCE AND SOCIETY:
JUDICIAL
AND CONSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS
KAMLESHWAR NATH
To
know
or
appreciate what is right
or
wrong and to conduct
oneself only in the direction
of
right (and abjure wrong) is the
demand
of
ethics. Truth', 'Justness', Honesty', 'Non-violence',
'Self-control', 'Humanism',
'Equality'
and
the like are
principles
of
morality which make life worth living; their
antonyms are immoral and devilish. Society can be sustained
only
on
principles
of
morality;
immoral
behaviour
is
destructive
of
social
order.
A government.which cannot inspire
people to right conduct, which treats citizens unequally and
unfairly violates the basic principles
of
good governance and
generates criminality-political
and
social-breeds
corruption
and hostile discrimination; it is not fit to stay in power.
VARIOUSLY DEFINED, 'Man' is a social animal, a featherless 'biped'.
So, essentially, man is an animal! Great Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib wrote:
Bas ki dushwar hai har kaam ka asan hona; Aadmi ko bhi muyassar nahin
insan hona (Truly, every task is not easy to accomplish; so also it is difficult
for man to be human.) Darwin formulated the law
of
survival
of
the fittest.
Hence by nature, power is fountainhead
of
authority. But, power corrupts;
absolute power corrupts absolutely! Corruption gives birth to all kinds
of
evils in society: Usurpation
of
others' wealth, acquisitiveness at others'
cost, crime at personal level, invasions and wars at international level. It
has therefore been the effort
of
society through ages to 'civilise' man.
The ancient lsho-Upanishad? postulated: lshavawasam idam sarvam,
ed-kinchya jagatyam Jagat; Teyna tyakteyna bhunjitha, ma gridha kasya
siddhinam. (God pervades in every being, there is nothing without Him on
Earth; hence appropriate worldly things with simultaneous sacrifice
(charity), do not usurp other's possessions) Yajurveda prayed: Sarvay
bhawantu sukhinah, sarvay santu niramayah; Sarvay bhadrani pashyantu,
ma kashchid dukh bhagbhawet (May everyone remain happy and free from
ailment; let everyone contemplate on the good
of
others, no one may suffer
sorrow.)
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