In the Udyoga Parva of the Mahabharata, King Dhritarashtra cannot sleep. He says to Vidura: “Tell me what may be done by a person that is sleepless and burning with anxieties.” And then: “Advise me wisely, O Vidura.”
Vidura’s long answer follows. He gives it because the king asked for it.
In the Yuddha Kanda of the Valmiki Ramayana, Vibhishana advises his brother Ravana, in the presence of the ministers, to return Sita to Rama. Ravana is enraged and dismisses him. The text says that Ravana “sent away Vibhishana, who had spoken honestly.”
Vibhishana goes over to Rama. He explains: “Reviled by him and humiliated as a slave, I, leaving my sons and my wife, have come to take refuge with Rama.”
Early in the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna is confused about his duty. He turns to Krishna: shishyas te ‘ham shadhi mam tvam prapannam. “I am Your disciple, and am surrendered to You. Please instruct me for certain what is best for me.”
The verse is chapter 2, verse 7.
Idippaarai illaadha emaraa mannan keduppaar ilaanum kedum. A king without people who rebuke him will be ruined, even with no enemies to ruin him. This is couplet 448 of the Thirukkural, the classical Tamil book of ethics.
In his note on the couplet before it, the commentator Parimelazhagar describes such counselors as people who come close and speak up when they see wrongdoing.
On May 12, 2008, the Supreme Court of India ruled in Dev Dutt v. Union of India that “every entry in the ACR of a public servant must be communicated to him within a reasonable period.” This applied “whether it is a poor, fair, average, good or very good entry.” The bench was Justices H.K. Sema and Markandey Katju.
The ACR is the Annual Confidential Report on an officer. The court held that “non-communication of an entry is arbitrary.”
Field Marshal Philip Chetwode spoke at the inauguration of the Indian Military Academy in December 1932. His words are known at the academy as the Chetwode Motto. Two of its lines read: “The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next. Your own ease, comfort and safety come last, always and every time.”
The Arthashastra, the ancient treatise on statecraft attributed to Kautilya, has a chapter on the king’s council meetings. It states: “The subject matter of a council shall be entirely secret.” It also states: “Whoever discloses counsels shall be torn to pieces.”