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What are the basic principles of public life? Illustrate any three of these with suitable examples.

A democracy’s essential tenet is that all those in positions of power derive it from the people; in other words, all public servants serve as trustees for the people. Public officials now have a significant impact on people’s lives due to the development of the role of government. Since the public and the officials are in a trusteeship relationship, the power granted to them must be used for the benefit of the populace or in the “public interest.”

The Nolan Committee provided one of the most thorough definitions of what public life principles are, outlining the following seven values: leadership, selflessness, objectivity, openness, accountability, and integrity.

Leadership: Holders of public office should promote and support the principles of public life by leadership and example.

For eg. Lal Bahadur Shastri used to fast every Monday to save grains for poor people of the country and he gave a call for the nation to follow it. Thus exhibiting a true example of how leaders should lead from the front.

Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms of public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other benefits for themselves, their family or their friends.

For eg. Tukaram Omble of Maharashtra police tackled Kasab one of the terrorists of Mumbai attack so that he couldn’t attack his fellow servicemen. Thus showing exemplary courage and the highest degree of selflessness by giving away his life for the cause of his nation.

Gita also in one of its shloka- karmanye vadhikaraste ma phaleshu kadachana reiterates the principle of selflessness which means one should only focus on our actions and should not worry about the result.

Accountability: Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate to their office.

For eg. Vikram Sarabhai accepted the failure of ISRO first mission without actually putting it on the mission head (APJ Abdul Kalam). Thus taking full accountability for the failure of his team.

Thus, it may be said that public life ideals are crucial for every democracy. Guidelines for public conduct derived from such ideas may be essential in building trust between the general public and public servants. As a result, anyone who has the honour of directing the course of the populace must not only be moral but also be seen to uphold these rules of public behaviour.