Truth is dangerous

Satyendra Kumar Dubey could have chosen to keep quiet, like the majority of young professionals of this country. He could have continued doi...

Satyendra Kumar Dubey could have chosen to keep quiet, like the majority of young professionals of this country. He could have continued doing his job as a deputy general manager in the Centre8217;s National Highway Authority of India NHAI and shut his eyes to the variegated ways in which a prestigious project 8212; the Golden Quadrilateral, the prime minister8217;s pet project, no less 8212; was being compromised by numerous criminal acts, including the fudging of Detail Project Reports, the forging of documents on procurements, the extension of tacit support by NHAI authorities to big contractors and the like. Dubey opted to do the right thing by alerting the PMO to these developments because he believed the project was of 8220;unparalleled importance to the nation8221;. He paid with his life for having done so.

The shoddy fashion in which the PMO chose to handle an issue that clearly endangered the life of the man who made the revelations 8212; an aspect that Dubey had himself foreseen and highlighted in his letter to the authorities 8212; the apathetic manner in which the PMO has subsequently chosen to respond to it, and the cluelessness displayed by Union Minister of Surface Transport B.C. Khanduri about the consequences, together constitute a damning indictment of a system that has neither the stomach for self-correction, nor the mechanisms with which to achieve it. The right to confidentiality of those in positions of vulnerability, or who play the role of whistle blowers, is taken extremely seriously in many democracies the world over. For instance, under completely different circumstances, the British government found itself in deep trouble for allegedly 8220;outing8221; the name of Iraq weapons expert David Kelly as the source of the BBC report on the so-called sexing up of the government8217;s Iraq dossier.

Dubey8217;s tragic death must bring back into focus the need for a law specifically designed to protect such individuals, along the lines that the Constitution Review Committee had recommended. If the country is serious about launching a frontal attack on wrongdoing at every level, it will have to seriously think through how it plans to achieve it. Empowering and protecting individuals in sensitive posts to stand up against the malfeasance that permeates their working environment is a crucial aspect of this project. We have adopted the words 8220;Satyameva Jayate8221; as a guiding principle. But if truth has to triumph, we must first ensure that it does not kill.