Khemka v. Government of India
I wrote about Khemka, IAS careers, the politics of power, and of ill-gotten riches, last year - Open Letter for Ashok Khemka, and for all of India
I had no doubts then, that Khemka would become a pariah within his fellow IAS cadre, and a political target of the most 'powerful' in India. Khemka's "indictment" by a panel of political sycophants and career climbing-spineless-bureaucrats & self-serving elected officials, should NOT be a surprise to anyone - after all, isn't that norm across India: "Toe the line, or Else" ? Yes, intimidation is alive and well in India too.
While Khemka's twenty plus year crusade, against corruption, has to be a deeply personal choice, he is not your typical whistleblower. Khemka, trust me folks, will take this fight to the Indian Supreme Court, and he will win if he is 'allowed' to reach that August venue.
In my mind's eye, Ashok Khemka is a National Hero - in the mould of others, who have come before him and changed the country, by sheer force of their will, their integrity and fortitude.
Arvind Kejriwal's (AAP political party, India, and another IIT alum) offer to Khemka, to run for office on the AAP platform is welcome, but I'm sure the realists (and the stoic) amongst us recognize, that it takes a whole village to raise the metaphorical baby that is India.
The global network of pan-IIT alumni (not just KGP) must now take up anti-corruption lobbying and campaign fundraising, that will support and enable awesome guys like Arvind Kejriwal, Khemka, et al, to run a truly national campaign. The resources exist - IIT alums are everywhere, including around the world, and we all share the mutual bond of respect for meritocracy (not sycophancy), of integrity of character, and other values we were trained for during the most formative 4 (or 5) years of our lives. It is no more than a matter of the pan-IIT board having the courage of conviction, to become politically engaged too, and, to rally around the most just, and imperative, causes there can be.
I feel, that in their hearts, each IIT alum aches for systemic political change for the better. But, change is seldom accomplished without some personal sacrifice. Just as a wise person once said (paraphrased) "All change is because of unreasonable people, for reasonable people compromise too often", and Mahatma Gandhi once said "Be the Change You want to see in the world", it is time for us - the global body of IIT alumni - to step up and step forward.
I believe even reasonable people must turn into unreasonable hard-heads, when they are morally justified in their view of the world, and when faced with questions that query their very soul. We all have a "Dog in this Fight". It is time for the "Cream of the Nation" to not just rise to its economic top, but to also bury the "Scum of the Nation" - the political flotsam of moral turpitude that rules and lords, over India with impunity - with shameless disregard for its Constitution, its Statutes and Civil code.
I doubt the stakes could be any higher. It is about the very future of India. That baby is crying for a different village.
