Ramblings of an Insomniac

Manjunathan.....a Satyendra Dubey of IIML

B S Manjunathan, an alumnus of IIM Lucknow, was brutally murdered in a petrol bunk in UP. He was working for IOC and was on his duty at the time of his murder. The petrol bunk he was in was closed previously on the grounds of adulteration of petrol, as was declared by Manjunathan. On getting tip offs that it was re-opened, he reached the place to investigate the matter, only to get murdered.
This case similar to the murder of Satyendra Dubey , an IIT Kanpur alumnus, in Bihar. Manjunathan was murdered because he was doing his duty as per the IOC rules, while Dubey was killed because he was a whistle-blower in the Golden Quadrilateral project. Both of them stood up for their values and integrity.

What can anyone do about this?

The role of the media: For one, the media can do a lot about it. Media is so powerful that it can bring down governments or make a pauper into a page 3 celebrity. It should bring into its focus incidents like this and make the world know about it. The more the number of people who know about it, the more the possibility of someone doing something about it.

The role of the government: What can the government do if it itself is involved in it? Surprising? Bunk licenses are given by the government. Hence it is no wonder that this is a case where the bunk license was obtained with the concerned government official having a good share of his bribe. It now becomes mandatory for this person to stay quiet (if not support) the bunk's cause.
An increased transparency in government dealings with private dealers would be one step towards eradication of corruption.

The role of ourselves: So what can we, as helpless, powerless or voiceless we are, do? It is actually the reverse. We, as enterprising young bright minds of the country can do anything. Instead of satisfying ourselves with cushy corporate portfolios, we should lend a hand towards eradication of corruption, hence help in the progress of the country. Think in this direction and the path will automatically open up. There will be numerous instances in one's life where we actually add up to the corruption (if not at the receiving end, at the giving end). I am not asking for another "Indian", but only not to encourage corruption.

I feel we should always try to uphold our values, whatever the situation may be. If we have to sacrifice something in the process, we should be ready to do that. As a car cannot run far on adulterated petrol, so cannot a country develop on corrupt people.

posted by Vamsee @ 12:00 AM