Elections will come and go, and our great democracy will run on, but at the social level — and not unrelated to politics and economics — some issues need to be tackled head on. One of them is: Are we a nation of hypocrites? Or, to put it more gently, are we as a people, more accepting of the gulf between public posturing and private morality? Do we profess something, and even make it public policy, while in private know that it is all a sham? And, worse, have we forgotten the difference between the two, what we say we believe in, and what we practice in real life? During the freedom movement, under the towering influence of Mahatma Gandhi, there was genuine acceptance of the need for simplicity in public life. Gandhiji popularised Khadi, and that became the livery of public leaders.
But soon thereafter, while the livery, complete with Gandhi cap, remained for public consumption, private lifestyles, fuelled by shameless corruption, were marked by wealth, conspicuous consumption, and ostentatious living. Secure in their façade of Khadi, our political role models lived the good life — big bungalows, an army of minions, and every conceivable luxury. The tragedy is that they did, and continue to do so, oblivious to the deceit involved.
The Central and state governments run Khadi production corporations, without serious thought to value addition and commercialisation of a genuinely fine product. In the shabby government outlets for Khadi, political workers are the first buy.