You are a young civil servant posted in a tribal dominated district, which is notorious for illegal mining done by mafia. They exercise their power over poor tribal of the region by bribing the local tribal musclemen who have political aspirations. The consequent easy money and luxury have ensured that these musclemen work in the interest of these mafia. They use these ‘tribal’ musclemen as a ‘front’ to plant ‘constructed’ news in the media to create confusion or to gain sympathy of the civil society activists and the public at large. It is a strategy to thwart any concrete action of the government for eliminating the menace of illegal activities in that area. You quickly understood these designs after assuming the office. You came to know that some employees in your own office are in nexus with the mafia. When you initiated stringent action against the mafia they turned hostile. They prompted few tribal musclemen to file a fake FIR against you under the stringent provisions of the ‘Prevention of Atrocities Against SC and ST Act’. They also convinced the unsuspecting poor tribal that the state was ‘again’ launching atrocities against them. These poor tribal were eventually tutored to write a complaint to the National and State Commission for ST, a copy of which was leaked to the media. This could easily become a very hot issue for the opposition parties in the state as the Assembly Elections were due only six months later. Unfortunately all this can have grave consequences for your career. Bring out and discuss the ethical issues involved in the above case. What steps will you take in pursuance of the most appropriate closure of this case? 10 marks

Mentor’s comment- In the introduction briefly explain the case study. In the body, explain the basic ethical issue involved in exploitation of tribal and their resources. Explain the major ethical issues involved. Write actions with ethical reasoning underlying it. Conclude with way forward.