POLITICS WITHOUT

PRINCIPLES
(UHU005 Project Report)

MAY 2020

Submitted to: Simpi Malhotra

Submitted by:
Kunwarjit Singh 101602068
Mansanjam Singh Sra 101602077
Mukul 101602084

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 Acknowledgement

We would like to express our gratitude towards our research supervisor, Ms. Simpi
Malhotra for her guidance and her dedication towards our project. It was due to her
inspiring words, criticism and invaluable comments that we were able to see our
project to completion. We will always be grateful and forever indebted to her for her
constant advice and for devoting her valuable time towards our project.
We would also like to thank all the faculty members in the Human Sciences
Department at the Institute. It instills us with a sense of pride to be a student at a
great institute such as Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala.
We also want to take the opportunity to thank everyone who took part in our survey
as without their contributions, we would never have been able to complete the
project.
Finally, we want to thank our family and friends, for their constant support and
motivation, and thank the Almighty for his blessings.

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 Table of Contents

I. Acknowledgement………………………………………………………….2

II. Abstract……………………………………………………………………..4

III. Introduction………………………………………………………………...5

IV. Statement of the Problem………………………………………………….9

V. Methodology of Study……………………………………………………..10

VI. Analysis…………………………………………………………………… 11

VII. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………17

VIII. References………………………………………………………………...18

IX. Questionnaire…………………………………………………………….19

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 Abstract

This study aims to bring to light the increasingly unprincipled politics being
practiced all over the world in recent times and the threat that it presents, not only to
the general public, but to global peace and safety in general. It is no secret that the
quest for power is what gives rise to such unethical practices to make their ways into
politics and this study will present us an opportunity to understand this notion of
profound desire to achieve power, so as to attain certain endeavours, influence and
dominance while completely or partially neglecting all moral and ethical values,
universal truths and violating code of conduct to achieve those targets. We will also
try to highlight the circumstances and decisions that result in politics turning
unprincipled as we analyze in depth numerous examples of such practices that
history presents us with. We will also look at the various ways and means by which
unprincipled politics is being practiced by corrupt leaders and governments all over
the world and what the consequences of such politics are, especially on the wellbeing
of the general public, international relations and domestic state of affairs. Finally,
we hope that this study can help raise awareness about such immoral practices that
decide the fate of their nations amongst the people, so that they can demand their
rights through the correct approach and hopefully elect better leaders that can help
their nations to rise above doom and progress into glory. There is a collective effort
that is needed to improve the working of our governments and it is never too late to
start working towards doing good and put a stop to unfair, unjust and unprincipled
politics.

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 III. Introduction
Introduction:

Mahatma Gandhi listed seven social sins in his weekly paper, Young India on October 22, 1925.
Those seven sins were wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without
character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, religion without sacrifice and
politics without principles. While every one of these wrongdoings are the scourge of the current
day society over nine decades down the line, it is not hard to identify the deadliest of these.
The seventh sin is, Politics Without Principles. We can all agree upon the understanding that
governmental decisions are in charge of everything. In spite of the fact that there might be several
definitions of politics, they all definitively relate to one common suggestion, that is, politics is
ultimately about power. The power to administer, power to oversee, power to order. Essentially, if
this power is unscrupulous what follows will turn out as disarray and chaos. This is what made the
difference between the word of Gods and Demons, Rama and Ravana, tyrants and democrats,
autocrats and pioneers. Tragically the current society is seeing a great deal of unprincipled politics.
Gandhi said, that ultimately this would prompt savagery and debauchery. Politics the battle for
force and gaining the power make decisions for the masses. As per Gandhi, principles were the
expression of flawlessness without which it would not be conceivable to have a true to form ruler.
Tragically, as the society and civilization move forward, the politics is turning out to be
increasingly corrupt. The wheel is turning in reverse subsequently coming around to a full circle,
as we witness the developing pattern towards corrupt and unjust politics, which seem solely about
padding power in one's own hands. It's just as clear as the saying goes, power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely. Democracies ought to be about abdicrats, the nonconformists who trust
in offering powers to others. Be that as it may, the cutting-edge majority democracies today are
tossing an ever-increasing number of autocrats.
The major issue is the means by which such leaders are fruitful in their corrupt endeavours. In the
short run, they almost always succeed. But a well-known book by Archie Brown, The Myth of the
Strong Leader, disregards this conviction, that has on numerous occasions ended up being
incorrect. As indicated by the creator's conflict, the focal misguided judgment that he embarks to
uncover is the idea that strong leaders who attempt to amass power in their own hands by ruling
their associates and bring together dynamic are successful. The board hypotheses quite often have
suggested against this sort of administration. What happens is that the immense power controlled
by an individual leader, clears path for significant mistakes in the best-case scenario, and fiasco
and monstrous carnage at the very least. What Brown appears to underline is that the very idea of
a strong leader is not entirely clear. Generally strong leaders are those pioneers who develop a
charisma. But what need to be comprehended, is that that charisma itself is a transient quality.
Hence it can be said that it is the followers that bestow the charisma on the leaders, though the
individual appears to encapsulate the characteristics they are searching for. In any case, it must be
understood that at last the validity, the credibility is significant and charisma in this manner is
exaggerated. What's more, is that credibility originates from principled stand, in any case.

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How Unprincipled politics takes effect:

1. Use of hate speeches:

Indifference and lack of interest cultivate hate speeches. It mirrors a crucial bigotry to being
different (ethnically, religiously, racially, sexually, politically, and so forth.). In actuality,
the individuals who use hate speech want to fortify their personality against other identities.
Here the threat is that hate speech transforms into detest deeds and brutality. Then again,
the Internet is a "turbo accelerator" of despised discourse, due to its conspicuous wide
access as well as in view of its namelessness which licenses opportunity without
responsibility.

2. Breaking of model code of conduct:

Factional rivalry and the awards of winning the political challenge make motivating forces
for parties and their supporters to look for political power by dodging, bending or defying
the rules and the code of conduct of elections, or taking part in exercises that are disturbing
from a moral viewpoint.

3. Defamation of political adversaries:

Otherwise called oral or spoken criticism, defamation is the lawful term for the
demonstration of hurting an individual or a party’s notoriety by letting one or more than
one people know something that is false and harming about that individual or party.
Defamation can be the reason for a lawsuit and is viewed as a civil wrong.

4. Unhealthy television debates:

Television debates give lethargic voters the illusion that they know right from wrong, that
they’ve done their homework, much like a student assigned a classic novel can trick himself
into believing it's sufficient to only watch the film.

5. Spread of fake news:

Fake news is composed and distributed usually with the purpose to delude so as to harm
an organization, element, or individual, and additionally gain monetarily or strategically,
frequently utilizing dramatist, untrustworthy, or extravagantly fabricated headlines to build
readership.

6. Use of money and muscle power:

There is an extremely clear nexus among crime and politics in India that is being energized
by two arrangements of components. To begin with, as elections have proven costlier,
parties are frantic to distinguish competitors with profound pockets. This has driven them
to grasp well off people with often questionable notorieties. Second, voters have their own
motivations to help applicants with faulty pasts. Where government can't satisfy its

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 fundamental obligations and social divisions are overflowing, voters look for asylum in
strongmen who can convey what the state can't. This nexus isn't really unique to India; it
appears in vote-based systems over the globe, from the Philippines to Pakistan. What
makes India stand apart is: a) the size of the issue and b) the total obscuring of the line
between the "politician" and the "criminal".

7. Polarization of the society:

Polarization roots itself with equal determination in various sorts of social identities,
including ones worked around religion, ethnicity, and belief system. Given the fact that a
move in the direction of personality politics is a ground-breaking pattern across the vote-
based democracies the seeds of still more extensive and more profound polarization are
proceeding to spread. Additional worldwide patterns are filling the inescapable ascent of
polarization, similar to the rise of social media and its propensity to amplify outrageous
sociopolitical views and to make it simpler for residents to live inside isolated data bubbles.
The negative impacts of extreme polarization are frequently significant, not only for the
working of center political establishments, but also for the society for the most part.

Consequences of Unprincipled Politics:

1. Democracies turn into dictatorships:

More often than not, democracies work best when there is a steady economy and a
population that is united together. At the point when the economy stops providing enough
employment to the populace, or when the nation's general political atmosphere starts to
turn disruptive, the odds of a tyranny being built up soar, thus paving ways for
dictatorships.

2. Courts do not serve justice:

Agitating investigation into the psychology of courtroom decisions has demonstrated that
our own experiences, oblivious inclinations about race, sex and appearance, and even the
hour of day assume a more significant job in outcomes than the actual law. Botches in the
criminal equity framework are more typical than we like to think, and that our own
predispositions assume a shockingly solid role that lead to the irrational and unreasonable
ways that judges, legal hearers, lawyers and others in the legal system settle on choices
about who is sent to jail, and who walks free.

3. Violation of human rights and human needs:

To abuse the most essential human rights is to deny people their key moral entitlements. It
is, one might say, to regard them as though they are not exactly human and undeserving of
regard and poise. Examples are acts normally regarded "wrongdoings against mankind,"
including genocide, torment, servitude, rape, implemented sterilization or clinical

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 experimentation, and intentional starvation. Since these arrangements are now and again
actualized by governments, constraining the unreasonable intensity of the state is a
significant piece of worldwide law. Basic laws that deny the different "wrongdoings
against mankind" is the guideline of nondiscrimination and the thought that certain
essential rights apply universally.

4. Rich become richer; poor get poorer:

It has been contended that financial disparity constantly means political imbalance, which
further exasperates the issue. Indeed, even in situations where an expansion in monetary
imbalance makes no one financially less fortunate, an expanded disparity of assets is
disadvantageous, as expanded financial disparity can prompt a power shift because of an
expanded imbalance in the capacity to participate in democratic processes.

5. Violation of morality and ethics:

The ethical quality – or immorality – of politics is an inevitable issue for logicians,
politicians and regular citizens. It is especially topical in the midst of sensational political
advancements that put under extreme strain moral imperatives on individual and collective
decision and action. Today, we are confronting a variety of pressing issues in both national
and international politics, which bring up troublesome moral issues. At the same time, our
trust in political pioneers who are endowed with formulating and executing answers for
these issues is painfully tried by their words and activities. Under these conditions, the
issue of the connection among politics and ethical quality takes on exceptional earnestness.

Historical Instances of Unprincipled Politics:

• The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962: unrest between the US and the Soviet Union during the
period of cold war almost turned into a full-fledged nuclear war.
• Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Unthinkable loss of life, such was the wreckage
left behind by WW2.
• Indo-Pak tension: Political unrest in the regions has resulted in multiple conflicts and
military stand offs post-independence, including the Kashmir conflict, wars of ‘47, ‘65,
’71 and the Kargil war of ‘99.
• Colonisation of the world by the likes of the British Empire.
• Great Leap Forward, 1958: The collectivization of China forced by Mao Zedong, in
which tens of millions died.
• The emperor of Khwarezm insults Genghis Khan: Tired of diplomacy, Genghis Khan
repaid the insult by sending 300,000 Mongol horsemen storming across the Khwarezmid
Empire, essentially wiping it off the map.
• Nazi Germany, the Vietnam War, the French Revolution, the US prohibition are
some other instances that paint a dreadful picture of political injustice and misuse of
power

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 IV. Statement of the Problem
Emphasizing on the case of India-world's largest democracy, we saw the rise of a new government
to power in the recent elections. Be that as it may, in spite of the wonderful election festival, we
saw the phenomenal utilization of hate speeches, breaking of Model set of principles, maligning
of political foes, unhealthy TV discussions, spread of phony news, utilization of cash and muscle
power. The battle to control has prompted a more profound polarization of the general public.
These unfortunate activities made us think of Mahatma Gandhi's seven social sins. In his
compositions, Mahatma talks about how inordinate power politics can prompt brutality and break
the social texture of the general public.
Politics which is regularly characterized as the craftsmanship or study of Government is eventually
about procuring power, the ability to administer, oversee, order and serve the individuals.
Furthermore, as the buzzword goes "power taints, and supreme power undermines totally",
significance of Gandhiji's Politics without principle bodes well like never before.
The eclipsing of ethical quality by power should be fixed. Cultivating the way of life of
trustworthiness is the need of great importance. At long last we might want to revert back to what
Mahatma says on principles "A principle is a principle and for no situation would it be able to be
watered down in light of our inadequacy to live it by and by. We need to endeavor to accomplish
it, and the endeavoring ought to be cognizant, conscious and hard."
Concluding the statement, only one fact comes to mind, that is, Politics is at the helm of everything
so naturally it is about power and what follows unprincipled power is only chaos, violence and
injustice.

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 V. Methodology of the Study

This part of the study characterizes the procedure of information assortment. With regards to
information assortment, there are two techniques generally utilized to gather information, primary
(essential) and secondary (optional) strategy. Primary strategy incorporates perception technique,
interview/poll technique, and contextual investigation or case study method. Secondary technique
is the strategy wherein effectively gathered information is used to analyze the context further to
look for new information.
The current investigation depends on blend of both subjective and quantitative information. The
subjective information is gathered through the questioning of general public and gathering their
thoughts and opinions about the topic. The sample is thus collected from people belonging to
various age groups, ethnic beliefs, professions and diversities. We intend to understand the general
public opinion on unprincipled politics and any pertinent information thus related to it.

(a)Sampling: The target group is not focused on any particular group of people, rather it focuses
more on gathering general views of the society regarding the political practices followed around
the globe. The essential target is to identify whether the majority of the masses acknowledge the
mis practices, corruption and violations on multiple levels that are involved in international politics
today, and whether there are some viable measures that can be taken to bring them under scrutiny
and control.

(b)Sample size: Determining the size of test that is required for this specific bit of research. For
this exploration, a sample size of about 100 is considered for the questionnaire. Responses to the
questionnaire are thus recorded and analyzed in-depth, with the results presented in simple and
easy to comprehend ways.

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 VI. Analysis of the Collected Data

The study was conducted by gathering responses from concerned citizens primarily pertaining to
their views and opinions about the topic of the study. The aim was to collect as many different
viewpoints as possible so that a largely diverse, detailed and descriptive study could be carried out
from the information received. During the short interval of conducting the survey, we were able to
gather sufficient responses so as to be able to proceed with our analysis.

The above chart shows that majority of our respondents are young adults/ adults, belonging to the
20-29 years age group. The remaining belong to the youth aged 10-19 years and adults belonging
to the 40-49 years age group.

From the above chart we can understand the public opinion on the desire for power. While most
people equally agree with the view that power is desired to assert influence (40.9 %) or satisfy
personal quest/ agenda’s (42.4%), some also concur with the statement that to is desired to make
decisions for a larger group (16.7 %).

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The above chart highlights that majority of the people (40.9%) view principles as important for
maintaining a moral and ethical code of conduct. The rest of the opinions are equally divided into
the opinions that they maintain the integrity of a system (28.8%) and act as a benchmark for
required behavior during reasoning (30.3%).

From the above chart, it is clear that people are almost equally divided on the consequences that
result due to the practice of unprincipled politics. Hence, we can conclude that all of these
consequences are equally imperative and disruptive, and thus there is no single perception to the
ill effects of unprincipled politics. Hence all of these consequences can be considered viable and
true to the fact.

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The above chart shows that most people view democracies as either almost always unprincipled
(33.3%) or consider that the corrupt and unjust politics are a result of the practices adopted by the
ruling party (34.8 %). Some people consider that the general state of a country is the deciding
factor on how it is being run (24.2 %). It is to be noted that a few of the people (7.6%) also have
reasons to believe that democracies are not unprincipled, perhaps that is why they are known as
“democracies”.

From the above chart, we can interpret that a vast majority of the people either agree or strongly
agree (72.7%) with the statement that majority of the world’s problems have resulted from the
practice of unprincipled politics. There are however, a few people (12.1%) who disagree or
strongly disagree to the above statement and some who represent a neutral viewpoint (15.2%).
This had made us realize that maybe there are certain underlying facts and issues aside from
politics that need to be addressed in order to reduce the extent of some of the problems.

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The above chart compares the publics views on why unprincipled politics exists in the first place
and what are the circumstances that lead to the rise of it. We can see that a major portion of the
public (40.9%) agrees with the reasoning that personal agendas are at the center of it. Others concur
with the statement that there is no supervision or regulation on the power in the hands of the
politicians (24.2%). The rest of the people are divided between the opinions that public negligence
(19.7%) or unclear policies of the government (15.2%) are the cause of unprincipled politics.

It is easy to interpret from the above chart that the public has a lot of different opinions that bring
forward the means through which unprincipled politics is brought into effect. While most people
(45.5%) agree that use of money and muscle power is the leading reason, a lot of people (30.3%)
also agree to the statement that polarization of the society is the ultimate deciding aspect. The
remaining group are divided into a number of other opinions like defamation of political
adversaries (7.6%), breaking code of conduct (10.6 %). A very few people (3%) consider all of
the above-mentioned factors equally important, while some individuals agree to differ
completely to any of these opinions and have presented a few educated, reasonable and
intellectual reasons of their own. We would like to single out one of the responses that caught

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our eye, which says, “It is a combination of all the above mentioned and many more factors
which cannot be singled out”. One of the respondents also points out that it is easier to polarize
people than to rather actually work for them.

From the above chart, we can see that a major portion of the public (63.6%) consider that all of
the above listed statements are the direct consequences of unprincipled politics. Others have a
divided opinion between violation of human rights (13.6%), injustice in courts (9.1 %) and
emergence of dictatorships (9.1%). Some individual views also suggest that it results in a overall
breakdown of the system and the rise of anarchy of sorts. A detailed reasoning explains that,
“Unprincipled politics does not necessarily lead to dictatorships, as in a dictatorship too, the despot
may have principles, which he himself considers just. The consequences of such politics are
therefore, deviation from the set agendas, and a sort of haywire decision-making. Both these
consequences can further spring up other negative consequences like lawlessness, feeling of
rebellion, disregard for authority, and ultimately anarchy. But since the most basic assumption of
theories of International Relations like Liberalism, Realism, and Neo-realism is that states are in a
constant state of anarchy, principled politics might not be a guarantee to elicit order amongst
states.”. Futher, there are very few people who do not consider any of the above statements as
consequences to unprincipled politics, and it remains to be seen if they are human at all.

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The above chart highlights the need of the hour. Most people (47%) agree that there is a profound
requirement educating the masses about such corrupt means of working and bring these practices
to light. Other pressing need is to elect appropriate leaders that know what they are doing and what
needs to be done, keeping the welfare and progress of the nation at the utmost priority, as per
22.7% of the people. The rest of the opinions incline towards eliminating corruption far much as
possible (18.2%) and demanding justice through revolutions (12.1%).

Lastly, the above chart relates to the role of international governing agencies in keeping
unprincipled politics under check. Most of the people (53%) consider that they are influential and
effective to some extent, while some (37.9%) think that they have not at all been helpful in
improving the state of politics and the practices thus followed around the globe. A few of the
people however agree to disagree with the above statement (9.1%), and applaud the agencies for
their fine governance.

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 VII. Conclusion

The in-depth analysis into this matter has presented a wholesome view of what the general public
thinks about such corrupt, unfair and unjust means of asserting power and influence through the
practice of such unprincipled politics. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Nearly all men can survive
adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”, indeed the true test of
character is how one handles powers and if this statement is anything to go by, we would like to
commemorate the characterless leaders of the world for a job well done. There is a stringent need
to put a stop to such malpractices as they will ultimately lead to disarray, chaos, violence,
decadence and doom. Governance should be about the people, governance should be about
progress, governance should be about equality, governance should be about freedom, but what it
absolutely should not be about is access to power, means of exploitation, unsavory antics and
injustice to society. These times call for a united front for it is a long and exhausting quest for
justice, something that has been far off the agenda of the government around the world. The world
needs better leaders, the world needs better citizens, especially in these times of political
manipulation, increasingly corrupt policies and an unprecedented number of unanswered inquiries
concerning world peace.

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 VIII. References

1. Politics and Morality, edited by Igor Primoratz (Center for Applied Philosophy and Public
Ethics, The University of Melbourne)
2. The Top 10: Worst Policy Decisions by John Rentoul ( www.independent.co.uk)
3. The Seven Social Sins (www.wikipedia.org)
4. Defamation and Freedom of Expression (Media Division, Directorate General of Human
Rights, Strasbourg, March 2003)
5. Democracies Divided, an Introduction by Thomas Carothers and Andrew O’Donohue.

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 IX. Questionnaire

The questionnaire has been attached here with the report.

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5/8/2020 Politics Without Principles

Politics Without Principles

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
This questionnaire will present us an opportunity to understand the notion of profound desire
to achieve power, so as to attain certain endeavours, influence and dominance while
completely or partially neglecting all moral and ethical values, universal truths and violating
code of conduct to achieve those targets.
Basically to get an in-depth glance at modern day politics.
All the data collected via the form, will solely be used for research purposes and will remain
undisclosed.
You may leave your email id with us if you want us to share the research with you once its
complete.
* Required

1. Name (please do not falsify information) *

2. Email id (please do not falsify information)(optional)

3. Age Group *

Mark only one oval.

10- 19 years

20-29 years

30-39 years

40-49 years

>50 years

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1QlQ7fCe5NDn5seIRgFZFqJnZckV4fViwFUZYAFSIW6M/edit 1/4
5/8/2020 Politics Without Principles

4. Why do people desire power? *

Mark only one oval.

to make decisions for a larger group

to assert influence over or dominate a group of people

to satisfy their personal quest for supremacy

5. Why are principles important? *

Mark only one oval.

they maintain the integrity of a system

to maintain a moral and ethical code of conduct

act as a benchmark for behavior to be required for a certain chain of reasoning

6. What if power becomes unprincipled? *

Mark only one oval.

leads to chaos and violence

justice is not served

disregard for harmony and equality

violation of human rights

7. Are democracies unprincipled too? *

Mark only one oval.

yes

no

depends on the state of the nation

depends on the ruling party

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8. Would you agree that major world issues like poverty, hunger, discrimination,
racism, etc. are a result of unprincipled politics? *

Mark only one oval.

Strongly disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly agree

9. Why do you think politics becomes unprincipled? *

Mark only one oval.

Personal agendas of the ruling party

No supervision or regulation on power

negligence of the public towards how their nation is being run

no clear ideas or goals set for the nation by the government

10. How do you think is unprincipled politics practiced? *

Mark only one oval.

use of money and muscle power

polarization of the society

defamation of political adversaries

breaking of model code of conduct (like neglecting guidelines of election

commission)

Other:

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5/8/2020 Politics Without Principles

11. What are the consequences of such politics? *

Mark only one oval.

democracies turn into dictatorships

courts do not serve justice

violation of human rights and needs

all of the above

Other:

12. What can we as citizens do to keep such politics in check? *

Mark only one oval.

demand justice and rights through revolutions and rallies

elect appropriate leaders

eliminate corruption from our end as far as we can

educate people and make them aware of unprincipled politics

13. Do you think the international governing agencies like the UN have helped keep
unprincipled politics in check? *

Mark only one oval.

yes

no

to some extent

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