Of Knee-Jerk Reactions, Compliances, and Social Responsibility
In typical fashion, the Government Machinery has rushed to close the stable door after the horse has bolted!
The Pune Porsche incident has brought about a knee-jerk reaction where the Government wants to ensure that all pubs have CCTV cameras installed at each bar, to ensure that underage people are not served alcohol, and the Excise Department is notified “in real time” (!!) if the bar is open after closing hours. How exactly the Excise Department intends to monitor thousands of CCTV feeds at their Offices and promptly dispatch Excise Inspectors simultaneously to multiple defaulting establishments is a bit of a mystery.
In the case of the Ghatkopar illegal hoarding case, the knee-reaction was to clamp down on all hoardings across Mumbai city and ascertain their legality.
The knee-jerk reaction after the fire in the gaming zone at Gujarat was to go after all gaming zone in the state and check fire and safety “compliance”.
It is amazing how “Compliance” becomes a buzzword as soon as a serious incident occurs. Normally, authorities turn a blind eye as long as the wheels are kept nicely greased. Then lives are lost, and Government bodies across the nation are in fire-fighting (no pun intended) mode, As soon as media hype dies down, things go back to business as usual.
After every such incident, there is (justifiably) debate on Compliances and Corruption, but I think the bigger malaise that needs to be addressed here is that of the lack of Social Responsibility!
We are all quick to point out how various agencies are corrupt and how they swing into action only after a major catastrophe, but what about us? Where is our Social Responsibility?
Allow me to explain:
We often see large Conglomerates and Multinationals work very hard on their Compliances so that they don’t get on the wrong side of the Law, as they have a lot to lose. However, a lot of smaller entities – for eg Advertising Hoarding businesses, Gaming Parlours, or even rich Businessman who play fast and loose with the Law, think that the chances of something catastrophic happening due to their circumvention of the Law is so negligible that they can afford to play the odds.
The truth is, that in the name of capitalism, too many have begun to prioritize Economics over Ethics, and Self over Society. They circumvent the Law and bribe to avoid safety compliances. but are quick to blame the “System” for its failures.
Food for thought:
Maybe we, as a Society, need to re-look at the larger picture. Sure, there may be deep concerns as far as the Administration or the Government are concerned, but in my opinion, there are even deeper concerns with the way Society is headed. Maybe we need to prioritize Propriety over Profit, and Community over Self. Let is each try and influence a couple of our friends or family to be a little bit more responsible, and a little less selfish, maybe?