Today I went for my personal interview for recruitment in AIESEC. There were many questions asked but the most important question was, "If we give you an unethical task, will you do it to satisfy us"? The answers went like this.. Me: "No" Interviewer: "Why" Me: "Ethics come first." Interviewer: "What if we get disappointed?" Me: "I feel its more important to satisfy myself with the work I am doing before satisfying others. Something unethical is unethical and I won't do it."

So, as you can see, it went cool. But it was not so cool till I met a senior citizen who worked in a government bank as a cashier. It was my very first drive on the low floor buses that travel around the city, the kind old man made space for me to sit down and be comfortable. He seemed to be around around late 50's, and was chewing tobacco. His brown-rimmed glasses shone in the dusky afternoon sun falling on him by passing the canvased (scratched) windows of the bus. One could very well make out that he was a tobacco addict by observing his grotesque set of teeth. He was bald with a little white hair dyed brown at the lower end. A common office going man he was, dressed simply. I am way to perspicacious, for an observer, so bear with me.

I was glad he the lady next to him left and he was kind enough to offer me the seat, because those power breaks weren't doing any good to me, I ,somehow, kept myself from falling down flat on my face. I thanked him for his generosity, as I really was expecting some civil human to leave a seat for the (falling)lady. However his appearance was, his ethics were civil. So after settling down on the seat I asked him "Where will be your stop?" He said, "Near GPO (Government Post Office)..." He told me that he worked in some government bank near it, so he'll walk to the bank from the stop. He asked me which college did I study in, so I told him Isabella Thoburn College, pursuing Bachelor of Commerce, that's another thing that I don't know myself why am I really pursuing it.

Then he started telling me about the opportunities that I might avail in this field "Bank ka form bharo beta..." he told me..." minimum 30,000 se salary hai". I was just getting along the flow and agreeing to whatever stuff he told me, as I still am clueless about job or salary. Then he started explaining me the situation with government banks, where the salary of common clerks wasn't more than Rs. 24000 but their earning was huge. Seems strange, right? "Upari tankhwa" - was the termed coined by the gentleman. We all know he was talking about the money he bribed from the clients. "Bina extra paise ke government banko mein kaam hi nahi hota. 3 ladkiyon ki shaadi karaayi hai, ghar renovate karwaya hai, car khareedi hain aur woh bhi 2, ek business ke liye aur ek ghar ke liye.... Yehi fayda hota hai governent bank mein kaam karne ka".

I know by this time you all must have imagined Anna Hazare's fast campaigns against corruption, right? Well, corruption is there at the roots of every corner of the country, and for your information fast has become the moral source of blackmail for the people of our country. Our government is unduly pressurized for the lives of "more important" mortals, while the lesser mortals have been fasting for around 10 years, if you know about the Assamese girl, Irom Sharmila. So corruption is something ubiquitous in the country having 1/6th population of the world and one man, calling himself a Gandhian cannot possibly deride, or even eliminate it by his 12-day dormant fast. Here, we need our youth in action. This little incident is the clear epitome of widespread common corruption in our country, which is in fact, not "corruption" if it fulfills the basics of a man with a family of four, or more. It tempts people to give up integrity and extorting extra money from its clients.Is it ethical? It's more of an open-end question. A person may have principles and ethics different than from us, and sometimes they might seem unfair. But when it comes to needs and desires, human beings, they blend their "ethics" in accordance to comfort and convenience, without actually finding out a better, different way. I am naive (and audacious enough to admit the same). But I am sure there's nothing blocking our way except some fear lurking back, deep down minds?

The question is "To do or not to do". Sometimes in life we face harsh situations, that force us do to almost anything that comes to our rescue. Sometimes the ethics and principles we hold on to, seem useless and our needs supersede our norms. We also find different people with different norms and ethics of their own. Are we to judge them according to their norms? It pushed me in a muse, and left me contemplating for hours. The conclusion lies in your hands. 
 
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