“The World will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything” - Albert Einstein

 

The term ‘Whistle blower’ originates from a German word ‘whistle’ which means to expose wrongdoing in the hope of bringing it to a halt. Whistleblowing refers to the act of reporting such wrongdoings and frauds within an institution, an organization or even a government, to the appropriate authority in order to keep such wrongdoings under check.

Whistleblowing is an action aimed at drawing the attention of relevant authorities to instances of unethical practices in any place. Any person who exposes malpractices in such a place is termed as a whistle-blower.

As societies and industries evolve, the need for transparency and accountability becomes more pressing. In today’s interconnected world, where corporate and governmental influence extends far beyond borders, the act of whistleblowing has taken on new significance. It is no longer merely a matter of morality or personal ethics. It has become an essential tool for promoting justice, fairness, and ethical behavior.

Majority of us wish to live and work in environments that uphold ethics and integrity, but reality often proves complicated. Very often, individuals commit wrongs in order to fulfill their greed and selfish motives at the cost of public interest. Additionally, those who see such individuals committing wrongs often fail to report the same owing either to their personal value systems, or due to social pressure or a threat to their job security or maybe a threat even to their life.

Many countries, including India, have their own equivalent of a whistleblower protection act. Good companies, good institutions as well as those which come under the ambit of certain norms are required to have a whistle-blowing policy coupled with vigil mechanisms in place. These mechanisms are aimed to prevent victimization of individuals who report their concerns.

Despite the adequate number of laws in India with regards to whistle blowing, there are a number of other complexities which hinder the smooth functioning of this framework. Additionally, a number of companies and government departments, under their whistle blower mechanism impose an obligation on employees to disclose wrongdoings but many times take no corrective measure once the disclosure is made. 

One does remember reading about the case of the head of security at a famous listed company in India. This head of security wrote to his company seniors that they had wrongly set up a unit in a particular location in order to avoid paying taxes. When the senior management did not respond, the concerned gentleman approached SEBI, the regulator. Apparently, the company used their clout to settle the matter by way of bribery. Sadly, this head of security had serious problems in trying to find employment thereafter. In many cases, companies and institutions do try to cover up the deficiencies to prevent degradation of their brand image or their reputation, even if they have to sack responsible employees for this reason.

While whistleblowing is a great thought and idea, corporate wrongdoing thrives across the world, including in India. Whistleblowers face a deadly gamble. Harassment, violence, even murder – are many times the price to be paid for a future of transparency. Global cases like Boeing's whistleblower deaths in the US expose the chilling reality for those who wish to speak the truth. Also, it is basic human nature. When someone raises a complaint about wrongdoing, human tendency is to spend a lot of time and energy to find out who complained, so that revenge could be extracted. This always poses a huge risk to the whistleblower. Do we know of cases of whistleblowers being themselves blown away by the more powerful? Yes, we do know.

Like many countries, India too has made significant progress in recent years in providing legal protections for corporate whistleblowers through the Companies Act 2013, SEBI regulations and the Whistleblowers Protection Act 2014, but the fight is far from over. Leaks happen, retaliation persists, and the system often fails to shield those who speak up. Stories of Satyendra Dubey, Manjunath Shanmugam, Satish Shetty, and others are reminders of the sacrifices whistleblowers made by losing their lives

As we honor whistleblowers, let’s remember that speaking truth to power takes extraordinary courage - and demands an equally extraordinary measure of protection and support from society to promote clean business and government in the world's largest democracy. We owe the whistleblowers a huge debt for their service and sacrifice.

Sometimes, one reflects - should the better part of integrity be to know when the personal risk of whistleblowing outweighs the potential benefit? Why would people risk their lives, their families, their jobs? Is walking away supposed to be an abandonment of values? Or does walking away safeguard them for future battles?

As a human race, our generation needs to work towards fostering workplaces and governments where transparency is a shared value, not just a huge personal risk. Until that becomes the norm, many may find it essential to balance courage with prudence. To protect their mental well-being and to ensure that the really good ones are able to effect positive change even in the future.

When truth has a way of emerging only after power fades,

it is not conviction—it is convenience.

Silence in privilege, and noise in rejection,

is not principle—it’s manipulation.