DailyPost 756
FAIR PLAY
Due process of law, due diligence, rule of law, level playing field, flat world are the outward manifestations of fair play or a sense of fair play, which is supposed to be ingrained in our character, in the modern, civilized & democratic world. It is the cornerstone of a world based on both equity & equal opportunity. Fair play as a feeling, concept and thought process is the undercurrent on which the modern civilizational edifice is made operational. Modern day’s supposedly failsafe systems, fail to deliver because of the lack of this glue. The world gets unstuck.
We all go through our life’s processes in this country very rarely to experience fairness in it’s full bloom or on conspicuous display. If it happens it’s a great feeling, one would love to cherish it for a life time. A process has many touch points / actions, if any one of those lacks transparency, the whole process does not pass the touchstone of fair play.
A process created by minds having conviction in fair play will display fairness in its operation. People who operate such a process should have equal conviction in fair play /fair system, so that they don’t compromise the principles, on which it was created. A system created on fair play being abused has become the order of the day, to the extent that fair play does not deserve to be a topic of discussion. On the contrary, usurping what is due to somebody else, is a favorite topic of discussion all over. More often than not, it is celebrated.
A mass inculcation of fair play certainly has the potential to transform our governance, society and polity. This would depend on the importance we give to developing a sense of fair play in our homes & in our schools. Instead what the toddlers & kids see is an ugly display of favoritism. They are made to believe that fair play means nothing in this world. Life belongs to the mercenaries who can perform as marauders. Duplicity is what one ends up learning; keep talking big about fair play or making equal opportunity a reality and be it’s biggest enemy camouflaged.
FAIR PLAY CAN BE THE MAGIC DNA OF DEMOCRACTIC GOVERNANCE.
Sanjay Sahay