What should we do to inspire Indians to be honest in public life?

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‘Honesty is the best policy’ is the most common saying that we come across when we are only in first standard and are beginning to study language. Unfortunately, the irony is that the saying that we first read as a child, we try to remain aloof from it for the most of our life. Honesty is something which is imbibed in the society, so if the society in general is honest, then, individuals automatically become honest in particular. Thus, our focus should be to bring honesty in the society. Most of the times it has been seen that Indians remain highly honest in their private life, with their family and friends, but when it comes to public life then the meter of honesty dips. To become a prosperous, wealthy, happy nation the citizens need to inculcate honesty in their everyday behaviour.
Moral studies- Science, Social Science, Maths, Language is taught in schools, but along with them there’s a need to also include the subject of moral studies in school curriculum. Because habits do not develop all of a sudden, they grow slowly. Childhood is the time when children are most susceptible to change, they can be moulded in any way in that age. So, if we began to insert the habit of honesty in children from such a tender age, then surely, we will get better citizens in future.
Reward technique- This is a technique that can be used to inspire Indians to be honest. In this method, anyone who has shown honesty in daily life be it of any magnitude, to be rewarded at district, state or national level. Even if a person returns a lost purse found on road to its owner, then, on rewarding that person in any way could generate inspiration among others to be honest.
Entertainment industry- The only aim of entertainment industry be it films, OTT platforms, music, daily serials or any other is not only to earn money but also to play a responsible part in improving the moral culture of a nation. After tremendous decrease in the prices of data and easy availability of internet services, a lot of population spends time in mobile, laptop, etc. watching films, series, etc. and they try to connect themselves with reel life. Thus, if reel life brings forward positive things, then, the young generation will also be prompted to move in right direction in real life.
Home culture- ‘Charity begins at home’ is a common saying. If goodness and honesty prevail at home, children also grow up to be honest. Sometimes, business dealings or official work or official discussions are done at home, though children may not be sitting immediate next to us at that time, but they are very vigilant and
hears and analyses what’s going on, hence, it’s the responsibility of parents to remain free and fair in their official dealings so that their children get the best out of them.
Punishment- As mentioned earlier, rewarding is a method to inspire people to be honest. Using similar analogy and applying reverse technique can also be beneficial which means by giving proper punishment as per law to dishonest persons, we can generate honesty among the rest of the population. A very prevalent common but negative saying is ‘A person is honest only until s/he gets the chance to be corrupt’. Such a thinking needs to be changed, and giving punishment to dishonest persons can play a major role in this paradigm shift.
Inspiring citizens to be honest is not an overnight process, it’s a never-ending process which begins from birth and continues throughout one’s lifetime. The combined role of both the government and the people is necessary to increase honesty in the society. Until and unless a person him/herself don’t wish to be honest, no one can force him/her to be honest. It’s an inbuilt quality, a little genetic and more developed by society. Thus, all the above-mentioned points need to be kept in mind to inspire Indians to be honest in public life.

-Twinkle

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