There has been a lot
of talk about the celebrities getting preferential treatment in the central
jails. There are arguments pouring in from the public that these celebrities
should be treated in the prison like any other prisoner.
Surely law works
same for everybody but does law enforcers (i.e. Police) keep their neutrality?
It's the open kept secret that they do not. So what is the way out?
The system is
designed in such a way that it breeds corruption. If a celebrity wants
different treatment like better food, better prison cell, etc, he has to give
bribe to all kinds of officers.
It is hard to stop
this system and individual initiatives of some honest officers aren't
sufficient enough. So what systematic shift is required to change this system
which breeds corruption?
Here I present an
innovative idea.
• Golden rule -- "Ghee sidhi unglise
naa nikle, to ungali tedhi kar leni chahiye."
Instead of using the
principle of equality, why not use the principle of justice. The principle of
"Justice as
fairness" suggests - "If one person gets it, everybody else should also get
it."
• If the celebrity wants the better quality
of food, he can have it on one condition -- whatever quality of food he eats,
everybody else will eat the same food, provided he funds for that entire food.
• If he wants clean water for himself, he
has to only install few water purifiers in the prison so that everybody has an
access to clean drinking water.
• Same goes for bed, gymnasium equipment,
etc
Such investment is
not even penny for these celebrities and they will happily do it.
If we apply this
principle, govt will not have to spend so much money on prison infrastructure
development. Also, he isn’t getting any preferential treatment, as everybody is
enjoying the same privilege. It's always better that everybody gets something rather nobody gets anything.
• As we are legitimizing this with proper
guidelines and oversight agencies, corruption to get these facilities through
prison officers will get reduced.
Professor Michael
Sandel in his book -- "What money can't buy: Moral limits of markets"
gives an example of prison cell upgrade by paying money. If you are sentenced
to a jail term in Santa Barbara, California, and don't like the standard accommodation,
you can buy a prison cell upgrade for about $90 per night.
Problem with above
system is, it creates classes among prisoners and does not pass the test of
moral compass, as only wealthy are getting preferential treatment. But the method which I suggested is more
egalitarian and does not cross the moral compass of equality of treatment. It
also creates a win-win situation for all. It can help to reduce corruption too.
Suggestions welcome.
Peace.
-Digvijay Sanjay Patil.
References:
https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZjuVbw1lK4lq4liqMCNl7I/What-money-should-not-buy.html
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