Satark Bharat, Samriddh Bharat

 “Satark Bharat, Samriddh Bharat as theme puts the impetus on the thought that the development and progress of the nation take place when individuals and organizations are vigilant in safeguarding integrity as a core value. The first question is why we need to be vigilant to safeguard integrity as a core value and how it can affect the nation's development. During childhood times, I used to think about why Indian people accepted the caste system if it promoted such discrimination. Later on, during my college time, I came across various sources which strongly suggested that the caste system was never a tool for discrimination based on birth but rather a system of social stratification intended to help people find the opportunities best suited to them, which made sense given the fact that the caste system is so widespread in Bharat. The only plausible explanation is that later on, the integrity of the idea behind the caste system was destroyed, and a rigid discriminatory system based on birth replaced it to give it a form it is today because we were not “vigilant” to safeguard those ideas. This statement aims not to defend the autocracies done in the name of the caste system but to bring to light how a system meant for citizens' well-being can become a national disaster. It is a classic example of the importance of the role of organizations and individuals in preserving the integrity and how it can have a wide scale impact on the nation.  

 

Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam once said, "Nation development depends on what its people think." The first step towards a vigilant nation starts with its people. The reason behind this is that the government in a democracy is the face of its citizens. If citizens imbibe the idea of being vigilant with regard to their integrity, the government will naturally come to value these things. The first step towards this is awareness among people about the importance of the idea. Once there was a discussion with my friend about corruption, and he openly stated that everybody does it, and he sees no benefit in not doing it. He was completely convinced of these ideas until the stories of how corrupt systems worldwide came to a brutal end in the long term were mentioned. It led me to the realization that people are never aware that they are a cog in the wheel called society and that a malfunctioning cog will lead to the demise of the whole wheel and along with it the vehicle called the nation. From my experience, the media have a significant impact on people's minds and should be leveraged for the task. One of the significant steps towards a vigilant organization is transparency. Vineet Nayyar, CEO of HCL technologies, introduced a policy called “Employee First, Customer second,” which evolved into a new set of ethical standards that helped fuel the growth of HCL. The primary reason behind this policy's success is the promotion of transparency and accountability among the employees, which further led to increased confidence and employee participation at the individual level. This is a classic example of how a vigilant organization can fuel the growth of a nation. HCL technologies understanding the need to promote integrity in the treatment of employees created an environment of trust among them, which in turn fueled its growth. Organizations need to promote a similar culture of accountability and transparency such that each individual is accountable for safeguarding integrity as a core value with vigilance. My personal experience comes with my previous employment with John Deere, which always believed integrity to be one of its four core values and promoted heavy safeguards to protect it. It is one of the primary reasons behind its survival for a whopping 183 years and it being one of the fortune 500 companies. There are also recent examples of organizations like Kingfisher who, on account of their non-vigilance, led to their demise by few individuals like Vijay Mallaya.

 

A significant role to play in the roadmap to vigilant organizations is introducing technology to promote transparency and accountability. One of the best examples is the licensing procedure for motor vehicles. Recently while getting a learning license, I applied for it online through my sarathi website by the Indian government. Everything from the documents to photo can be uploaded online and is verified by the officials at the Transport Office. Even the learning license test was online. The system, as I observed, has very little impetus for corruption and provided a quick, easy, and transparent process for the issues of a license, unlike earlier times. Technology can be leveraged to promote transparency and accountability in any process inside the organization, which in turn leads vigilant individuals that uphold the integrity in the system. Another major partner is the media, which should promote stories, especially in movies (preferably real-life) about the organization and people exemplifying vigilance around integrity like Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam (still waiting for a good movie on him). Recently social media started having a massive impact on people. This powerful tool can be leveraged by using various methods like campaigns, pages, etc. to promote a vigilant nation. The major drawback is the misinformation spread through these platforms, which need to be tackled by providing proper information.

 

Death is imminent for all of us, but the nation will and should stay long after us. The torchbearers of tomorrow are the students and children and need to be prepared for a vigilant tomorrow. One of the essential skills that should be taught is critical thinking, i.e., the ability to act after considering all the information gathered till now. For a vigilant individual of tomorrow, they should have a sense of discrimination between right and wrong and an ability to predict the consequences of their action. The older generation should ensure that good examples are set for the younger ones to follow. Another skill that needs to be taught to them is self-awareness, i.e., the ability to judge their actions and consequences. The curriculum and the teachers should ensure such environments in the school. On the ending note, I will like to add that the collection of people created organizations, and collections of organizations create a nation. Vigilant Bharat means every organization should be vigilant, which in turn means that every individual needs to be vigilant.