The heinous incident at RG Kar Medical College that shook the collective conscience of the nation has three important dimensions. The first dimension is the very obvious one which in a short term has aroused a strong sense of despondency and dejection, followed by justified anger and outburst at the “system.” This is an essential dimension as it has the potential to pressurize the political and administrative system to deliver speedy justice, as these entities can afford to ignore mass sentiment only at their own peril. It also shows a sense of “right, wrong and betrayal of expectations” in society, and how much value the citizens place on basic principles like safety, accountability and good governance.

In fact, when deployed on a larger scale, this first dimension of public outrage can even dethrone a national government, as has been demonstrated in the recent turn of events in neighboring Bangladesh. The second dimension is how we can take lessons from this barbaric crime and ensure an improvement in the “system” so that we can hope to eradicate (or to at least minimize) future occurrences of this magnitude. The effectiveness of this dimension would depend on the maturity and moral sincerity of the political system to learn from the gaps and incorporate the right checks and balances.

An example could be to take stock of the safety measures across various government places like hospitals etc. not only in Kolkata but across districts and remote villages, and take effective steps to improve the same. The second would be to attempt to curb political influence in hospitals including the appointment to key positions of management and leadership, and give weightage to merit. Many more such process improvement steps can be considered as part of the second dimension.

However, here we hit a roadblock. Past experience suggests that in most cases the second dimension goes out of the radar as soon as the media (including social media) searchlight focuses on the next issue at hand. There is no mechanism to ensure the robust execution of the right processes which can reduce the occurrence of unacceptable and ghastly events. Society hops from one issue to another, being caught in the endless loop of the first dimension and venting its frustration again and again at the altar of political and administrative indifference. This brings us to the third dimension. This is the least “sexy” of all the other dimensions. People talk about it but mostly at a collective level and also when this dimension is directed at “others” at a macro level, instead of towards the self at the micro level.

However, this dimension ultimately significantly influences the social outcomes of the other two dimensions mentioned above. This dimension (or the lack or misuse of it) , when neglected in times of apparent tranquility and calm, wreaks havoc through such incidents as the RG Kar tragedy and the helpless outburst of society at its inability to prevent such recurrences again and again. This dimension is about how we are nurturing ethics, morality and values in the different strata of our existence, percolating down to the level of the individual.

We need to take a hard look at our systems (including the educational and family systems) to see how we have nurtured such values both in our institutions as well as in our daily lives. This is the dimension that will perhaps give us more handle over our lives in distinguishing between right and wrong, and in ensuring that there is a quick and heavy price to be paid for being deliberately wrong. This may sound highly idealistic, but in reality may not be so. While the extensive process and measures through which this can be inculcated in the overall social and political mindset is beyond the scope of this article, it may be pertinent to mention that there are organizations that have been fairly successful in defining processes which bring about authenticity, accountability and integrity in the outcomes and actions of the people who are part of it.

However, there need to be more concerted efforts (almost to the point of being a mass movement) to make it an essential ingredient of existence at the national level. The third dimension is not an easy option because it is a long drawn and continuous effort, and there is no easy and quick way out. It would not appeal to the media and social media eyeballs.

Moreover, there is no “collective” element to it, in the sense that it may strongly challenge the individual to make certain intrinsic and hard changes “inside out.” These core values and integrity are something that we have to indoctrinate our minds with, and take personal ownership. This third dimension is the bedrock on which a peaceful and integrated society can live and prosper, where the necessity of the first dimension (i.e public outrage and vigilance) will be substantially reduced and the second dimension (i.e process improvement measures) will be productive and spontaneous.

(The writer is a chartered accountant.)