Ramesh Pandita
Of late, a growing trend has evolved among the top bureaucrats of the county to write their professional memoirs towards the fag end of their careers. Writing political or professional memoirs is good, as long as the same is written within the ethical confines of one’s profession, but the moment ethical limits are breached, all such writings are bound to be questioned for their actual intent. Thereon, if such compendiums divulge information of national interest, which may be considered as sensitive and vital for the country’s security and integrity, needs to be viewed seriously. The question arises, how far it is ethical to make public all those secrets, which can endanger the security and integrity of the country. These bureaucrats bury the secrets of national & public interest in their chests during their entire service period, but fail to carry them to their graves and to offload the burden, they vomit these secrets, which otherwise are supposed to die an unknown death. The harsh truth is, a secret is no longer a secret if it is lost and a secret is not a secret if it isn’t lost, either way, the secret is doomed to meet its dead end by falling under the public domain. While as, there may be secrets, which may have never got revealed, can be simply termed as the events which passed by, but may have surely left a black hole behind.
The political revelations made K Natwar Singh in his book ‘One Life Is Not Enough’ and the Sanjay Baru in ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ are more about intrusion into the privacy of others. Such contemporary writers need to understand this fact that gone are the days when people used to find interest in peeping into the lives of others. Of late, A.S Daulat, the former R&AW chief of India has joined the league with his book ‘Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years’.
The revelations made by the former top spy of India’s external intelligence agency R&AW to a private television channel about his book on the Jammu & Kashmir has set the contours for two major national political parties to engage into the war of words. The former top spy has made some bloodcurdling revelations about the functioning of the government machinery at the top, which appears to be least bound by professional ethics and the rule of the book. The revelations made by the former chief will surely develop some unrest among political circles across the country at least for the next couple of weeks, but that won’t end the story here.
How far the ethics of any profession allow a person, that same be adhered to & strictly followed, while meeting their ends and be violated after fulfilling the purpose? By making such revelations, the former RAW chief has raised some serious questions about his own professional integrity & has only helped to turn guns towards self. The revelations made somewhere questions his own allegiance to his profession, his worth of heading the most sensitive department or an agency and the ethics with which he may have carried out his professional commitments. Thereon, How far it is ethical to scale the new highs in one’s professional career & reaping the rewards for keeping the cards close to chest and no sooner these secrets become effete to serve any good to an individual, the same are made public. Is it not that post retirement, these bureaucrats are equally bound by their professional ethics to inhume all such secrets for which they were suitably rewarded during their service periods, be it with illuminated careers or by reaping the best of life.
Geezer-hood writings by Natwar Singh and Sanjay Baru, though unethical, may not have endangered the larger interests, but the revelations made by the former top spy, especially about the ways an intelligence agency operates and functions, compounds to breach of professional ethics by divulging the information of national interest. What is more serious about the memoir of Mr. Daulat is that despite being well aware of the fact that information is the only activity around which all intelligence agencies across the globe operate and thereon not valuing the importance of divulging any such vital information to the public, which can have serious repercussions, speaks that Mr. Daulat was Mal-Employed, not fit for the job assigned. By spilling the beans over those issues, which have taken place decades back by all means can be termed as Mr. Daulat greatest disservice to the nation.
Professional ethics generally leave such a lasting impression on the mind, body & soul of a person, that one not just imbibes such ethics in letter and spirit in one’s personal and professional life, but also tries to pass on those ethics to his/her young ones in the form of legacy. Contrary to imbibing the professional ethics of an agency which Mr. Daulat headed as a top spy of the country, of which he otherwise, should remain indebted to, has taken those ethics for a ride & belittled the importance & functioning of the agency.
The only thing which emerges from these geezer-hood writings is that all such bureaucrats somewhere believe that they have got nothing to lose, as such never bother about the consequences their actions may bore. Needless to say, that revealing all such concealed secrets, apart from endangering the security and integrity of the country can harm the public interest to a much higher degree for which such secrets are generally obliterated. All such writings clearly reflect the mindset and the opportunism of all such geezer-hood writers that, even the best in the business may turn out to be aimed to secure their personal ends the most.
(The author is Assistant Librarian, BGSB University, Rajouri J&K)
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