2018 Case Study – 3

Ethical dilemmas refer to a tricky situation wherein the individual is forced to choose between to contradicting set of correct course of actions.
The ethical dilemmas in the case are: 

• Fighting the apartheid regime being part of the regime. As a civil servant I need to aid and advice the regime in the administration and implement the policies based on their vision. The implementation of the apartheid regime will be part of my tasks which I need to resist but well within the manner and institutional mechanisms provided in the institutional arrangement.
• Gap between the vision and the ground reality. A sense of dilution would set in due to constant interruptions in the form of practices of corruption, nepotism, and communalism.
• Myself being an outsider I have to fight against the treatment to outsiders as second degree citizens. But the service rules proscribe me from making any statements or taking actions against the regime in the state.
• Situation of choosing between serving people as a civil servant or fighting the evils. A focus on one would lead to lack of sufficient efforts towards the other.

Resolving the ethical dilemmas: 

• Understanding of the phenomenon of the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir and a gentleman agreement of Instrument of accession of Kashmir with India which provides some special rights to the insiders.
• The use of the institutional mechanisms to persuade the regime to not to reduce the outsiders as second class citizens. As this would lead to pressure from the outsiders for withdrawal of special status to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Realigning the goal of serving the people with fighting social evils like corruption and nepotism. Because a just, fair and free society is a necessity for the development to be sustainable and inclusive.
• Building good nexus among the people to eliminate the differences at the ground level and achieving of nexus in the mind of the people so there would be popular support against differentiation.

As an administrator one needs to have a multidimensional approach. It must be understood that the things at the ground level are not in black and white but in grey. The administrator rather than acting in cocoon to achieve different objectives they need to achieve synergy between various objectives for the well being and development of the society as whole.

Topics: GS-IV: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude Case Studies