The Heavy Onus of Honesty

(Originally published in The Daily Star, 1998)

The bread of labour is sweet, and poverty resulting from honest earning is a rare pride. This kind of pride does not harm others and is also not harmful to society; rather, it makes it easier for a person with a good conscience to shed greed. Honesty is an impregnable shield that withstands the onslaught of material gains and worldly temptations. It is a weapon that blunts the instinct to acquire wealth through corruption. Contentment can be achieved through self-discipline and inculcating honesty as a way of life.

Much can be said about honesty, for it is an issue that should govern every action of a man or woman in life. Every person—rich or poor, of high or low position—should adopt honesty in discharging their duties to others. It is honesty that makes one brave. It provides that unique strength that makes both life and death meaningful and honourable. The other name of honesty is to be dutiful towards one’s job—whether public or private. It is an unending process because honesty is not a matter to be practiced in piecemeal.

In every sphere of our national life, dishonesty reigns supreme. Dishonesty breeds corruption. Corruption has now gripped our bureaucracy, starting from a peon to the secretary and minister. The judiciary is also not immune from corruption. Nothing moves unless kickbacks are paid. Very few have commitment to the people and society. Most of the bureaucrats abuse their official power for personal gains at the cost of the state.

On February 13, 1998, I attended the Annual General Meeting that was to be followed by a dinner of the BCS (Taxation) Service Association. I had no prior knowledge about the function and sumptuous dinner. But I must thank the officials of the association who rightly chose a person like Mr. Abdul Hannan, Chairman of the Board of Revenue and IRD, as the Chief Guest. His presence gave grace, meaning, and weight to the occasion. The brief speech delivered by him was a piece of valuable sermon and a solution to all the maladies we are suffering from. His speech was without ornamentation and rhetoric, which we often experience while listening to the speech of Chief Guests in social and official functions.

Mr. Hannan is well known as an honest officer throughout his service career. Ironically, this very honest officer was once arrested for corruption and was in jail for eleven days. What a travesty of the process of law and justice! His imprisonment never deterred his determination to cling to honesty as the most important guiding factor of his life, both in and out of government office. He never compromised with corruption and remained undaunted in leading an honest life. He has been rightly rewarded for his honest service to the government and has reached the highest echelon of his career.

In his speech, he said that he would not get an opportunity to speak before such a huge gathering in his office again because of his impending retirement. Throughout his service, he said, he was flabbergasted and bothered by illegal “Tadbirs” (unfair requests) from vested quarters. He entreated upon the Tax Officials to not entertain such bad tadbirs from any quarter. He also explained the importance of the types of good tadbirs that should be considered and granted, such as the quick processing of pensions, sanction of medical leave and disposal of disciplinary cases.

He claimed that 95% of government officials were corrupt and lamented that he had to work with them per force even while cautioning them that they should remain alert about their children, who would comprise the next generation. If they, he warned, would go corrupt, the nation would be ruined beyond repair.

In this connection, he recalled an incident from his childhood that inspired him and guided his adult life. He mentioned the teachings and lifestyle of great people like Prophet Mohammed (SM), Hazrat Ali, Hazrat Hasan, and Hossain. He narrated that his parents were not people of great religious faith, but his mother gave him a book to read that was entitled Pak Panjatan, which contained the life stories of the saints mentioned earlier. Their lives and ideals greatly influenced him to lead a simple and honest life. He also cited the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi as a reference.

I listened to him with rapt attention, and I quite agreed with him as many others would do. But I feel that he missed one point—to mention specifically that our public servants often forget that they are to serve the public and that they are recruited for that purpose only. The Government servants, he continued, should not waste a single moment in disposing of routine cases. Cases on policy matters could be delayed for reasonable periods for obvious reasons. It sounded logical and proper to me.

A few days ago, a Bangladeshi gentleman told me about his experience in a government office in the USA. He had to go to the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC for certain information regarding his business. He was surprised to see that in no time two very high officials appeared before him to render all support and assistance. This should be the right attitude of any public servant.

We cannot claim ourselves to be human beings by compromising human values. What could be a finer human value than imbibing in oneself the value of honesty, which includes truthfulness, sincerity, and commitment towards one’s private and public duties? Private duties, in my opinion, include duties towards family, while public duties are those that involve society and the nation.

One should be more particular about discharging their duties towards the public because they are paid by the Government from the public exchequer. Therefore, the public are the legitimate recipients of their services. The service rendered by a government servant is no gratis or favor in any way. Our government servants, whether they are clerks or secretaries, think and shamelessly demonstrate higher actions in a manner that runs counter to the meaning of duty.

In our country there is little scope to get a legitimate request completed legally as a matter of right. When such a request is completed by a government official in exchange for a bribe, it is considered mercy. Departments like judiciary and education are also now cited as the most corrupt departments. The symbol of a blinded woman with a scale in her hand no longer carries the profound meaning it used to.

Mr. Hannan definitely deserves special mention for his honest and sincere service. I have known him since 1973. While writing this article, I came to know that Mr. Hannan had suddenly decided to relinquish his duties 47 days before his contractual service for one year with the government.

In his speech, he had mentioned that he would be doing social work after his contractual service expired on April 3, 1998. I do not know if there was any compelling situation that prompted him to take such a hasty decision. He never expressed anything like that in his speech.

I shall conclude by saying that the onus of honesty is heavy and hence difficult. May Allah give him strength to shoulder the burden as gracefully as before.