Code-of-conduct...!

Assembly elections for Maharashtra are declared on 15th Oct 2014 and ‘Code of Conduct’ became the new buzz word for not only the political people but for media and others as well. I always wondered why Code of Conduct is applicable for a certain period. Doesn’t it mean that you can enjoy misconduct at other times, otherwise…? Or does it mean that it is implicit that it is not possible to behave morally and ethically for anybody in general and for politicians in particular for all the time, forever…? May be it could also mean that the period of code of conduct is nothing but an unofficial and understood holiday for politicians as they are not supposed to ‘do any work’ to promote themselves. Again isn’t it intrinsic to this theory that no politician would ever do or even think of doing anything altruistic that is absolutely and purely of public interest and general good?

I don’t understand this stuff, may be, but what I cannot forget that I have heard about my Grandfather…

In early sixties, when elections as well as domestic politics in India were in presumably somewhat toddler stage, there was this candidate from a small district of Maharashtra. While campaigning for his candidature for MLA position from this constituency, he came to visit my Grandfather to seek his support and, not to mention, all the votes he can influence. My Grandfather, a religiously Gandhian till his last breath, was a School Teacher with an image of a mentor and spiritual guide of the territory, had lot of value for the politician, at least during the period of code-of-conduct! It was crucial for the politician to seek his blessing and support to come out victorious in that election. After the customary rituals of offering his regards (by touching the feet) to my Grandfather, he went on narrating all his political deeds and plans to make heaven of his constituency should he win.

My Grandfather conscientiously listened to the rather talkative and ‘promising’ leader for a while and on the first opportunity he got to speak up his mind, asked in a most unpretentious tone… 

‘What do you do, Mister…?’ 

‘This is what I do, Sir…’ came a little perplexed reply from the contestant… ‘Politics…!?!’ 

‘That is alright, I got it and it’s a good thing you are doing. But what is your profession? What do you do for living…?’ slammed my Grandfather.

The chatty politician was as speechless as… you know what (or whom)! Suddenly he was at the loss of words as well as short of fresh air and started feeling uncomfortable. The air around my Grandfather was a little fresher for his respiration, it seemed! Concluding on his pleading note to vote for him, he hurriedly made an exit never to come back to my Grandfather’s doorstep.

The underlying principle of this incident (not a story… mind you!) was as clear as then as it should be now and forever. Politics is neither a profession nor a business that you look forward to some lucrative rewards from. It is a social service and only people who have this intrinsic zeal and commitment to ‘be good and do good’ should step into it without any… absolutely zero… material expectation from it. If the society at large comprehend and practice this, I don’t think there would be any need of Code-of-conduct, particularly in the political arena. And, however it may sound, this is not a wishful thinking but a phenomenon of total unlearning, deconditioning and Complete Social Reform… CSR as I see it…!

By the way, there are many Code-of-conducts across the categories and classifications of undertakings; is there any Universal Social Code of Conduct applicable to each member of Human Population (no other species is as ‘evolved’ to feel need of any kind of code, I believe) throughout the planet…? And if not, should there be…?!?

Think it, Take Care, Be Aware and Stay tuned...!