The world watched in surprise as nearly 700 million people in India were left in the dark following the country’s worst power crisis. This was indeed an embarrassment for an emerging power like India. For two full days there was a blackout. Immediately, many people in the west, including media commentators, were raising questions about India as a business destination and its status of being a global power of the future. Off-course it is not too far to seek the reason for this blackout caused in large part by a massive theft of electricity. “Everyone overdraws from the grid”, said the Union Power Minister giving reason for the blackout. The problem is simply this: We are not honest. It is quite interesting that stealing electricity and corruption are rooted in the same place—dishonesty. The problem of electricity theft in India is so pervasive, including Nagaland, that 15 to 30 percent of power is lost due to this. All this actually has an adverse impact on our economic health. This is also a dampener for investors who are not willing to put money in power projects with so much of lawlessness. All this leaves us with very little hope of improving our economy and the quality of life for our citizens. So the recent power outage that all of us are experiencing is a reflection of the moral blackout in our present corrupt system. Money is not always the problem but its misuse is. Whether funds for development of the power sector or revenue generated, this has not been properly utilized. The deteriorating state of our power infrastructure is clear proof of the rot that has set in through corruption and dishonesty.
We need to start realizing that corruption and dishonesty is hurting the common good. It is said that in Greece, official lies about government overspending triggered the euro crisis in 2009, pushing much of Europe into a recession. A few years back this column had also commented on how the collapse of the world economy was in fact as a result of the moral abyss within capitalism. So you see a culture of indifference, greed, the lack of accountability and dishonesty is at the heart of the problem. We need to strengthen our moral resolve because at the end of the day wrongs or for that matter accountability is about personal action. Let us learn from the Japanese who are known to be a nation with virtue. Japan’s culture of honesty is well known and helps people around the world to realize the vital link between Japan’s past economic success and the honesty quotient . Coming back to the power theft, we need to acknowledge it while at the same time taking steps to stop this habit. Perhaps the penalty for power theft needs to be raised so that it becomes a high risk, high cost thing for people who indulge in such practice. Then perhaps we need to make use of available technology to try and minimize loss or theft. At the end of the day though, power theft is associated with high levels of corruption not just in India but in other countries as well and this could perhaps explain the electricity outages. The recent blackout should be a moral lesson that no matter what honesty is the best policy that can bring light to our souls and illuminate our lives.
