Manjunath Shanmugam was just 27 when he died. The Indian Oil marketing manager was murdered in November 2005 after he had sealed two petrol pumps in Lakhimpur Kheri, UP, for three months for selling adulterated fuel. That act blew the lid off a massive racket that involved criminals, politicians and corrupt company officers. For his courage he paid the ultimate price. When Maj Gen (retd) V K Singh published India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of Research and Analysis Wing R&AW, he had no idea what lay ahead. In the book he revealed, among other things, the ‘petulant conduct’ of a senior official at being passed over for promotion. The official turned out to be the head of R&AW, whom Singh named in public. For his pains, his home was raided by the CBI and he was booked under the Official Secrets Act. For a career soldier with an exemplary record that was a particularly cruel irony.
Though far removed in career, birth, age and every sense, Manjunath and V K Singh did have something in common. They were whistleblowers. Both took on powerful adversaries and big risks when they decided to act rather than go with the flow. Perhaps it was a matter of conscience, or perhaps an acceptance of responsibility; they did the right thing as they saw it. Maybe it is as simple as that; you do the right thing when everyone around you has been suborned. Look at the story of Daniel Ellsberg of Pentagon Papers fame (or notoriety). Surrounded by the exercise in deceit called the Vietnam war, the Rand Corporation analyst decided to go public with classified documents telling the untold story. The resulting storm helped hasten the end of the war, and was the catalyst for the weird crew called the ‘White House plumbers’ who wreaked such havoc during the Nixon administration.
It takes courage to blow the whistle on wrongdoing. Even football referees have discovered that, but a corporate or government official risks an entire career. That is what makes Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks exposures so extraordinary. He has risked the wrath of a superpower by posting the truth for all to see. We can only hope a similarly intrepid soul will create an Indian equivalent. It is certain to be jammed all the time. After all, we have few equals in the corruption game. Meanwhile, let us raise a glass in salute to the men and women of conscience. And may their tribe increase.