Hear the whistle blow

Ratna Raman

Whistle-blower is  a ‘compound’ (anything with more than one element in it) word, made up of two nouns. The noun whistle (from Old English and Germanic; hwistle) is a  shrill sound, made by living species, such as birds and humans, through the teeth and pursed mouth.   Whistling requires instinct or prolonged training. Male sparrows can whistle or sing; female sparrows cannot. Occasionally, the wind  whistles around  trees and water, announcing stormy weather.

Whistling is no longer a male prerogative and has now been  officially flagged off by Smriti Irani  as yet another unisex activity. The  high-pitched sound travels further than an ordinary shout and remains   an efficient way of drawing the attention of human or beast. Earlier, a whistle was also referred to as a call. 

The expression “to wet one's whistle” indicates  quenching satisfying thirst with a drink. Once whistles were treasured toys, made in bone, wood, tin, clay and silver. The late 19th century saw the large-scale manufacture of brass whistles in many shapes. 

The whistling of the train has been immortalised by Bob Dylan, among others, in the lines: “You can hear  the whistle blow” (Five Hundred Miles). 

The expression "you can whistle for it" indicates the near impossibility of a demand being met. The act of whistling in itself is an indication of  high spirits. Wolf whistles coarsely size up women and represent wolves  in an unfair light because wolves howl, not whistle. 

The activity of “blowing the whistle” conveys a host of meanings.  Children play with whistles, At sporting events, whistles are blown to signal the start of game, half time and end of play and to call out unfair play. 

The expression “blow the whistle on someone” is idiomatic. This can of course happens during a match, when the referee stops play,   awards a penalty to the injured team or suspends a player for foul play. 

A “whistle-blower” is a person who draws public attention to unfair practices in public or private institutions.  Whistle-blowers make public disclosures to the authorities or to newspapers, drawing attention to the unethical practices by a person or a group.

Of late, instances of whistle-blowing have been on the increase in social media. The whistle-blowers in Wiki leaks for instance made classified documents available on the internet drawing public attention to well camouflaged  secrets.

Earlier, whistle-blowers revealed corruption and misappropriation of funds.  In recent times, whistle-blowing on issues relating to the sexual harassment of women has taken social media by storm. The ‘Me Too’ campaign  gathered momentum by “calling out” (disclosing names) predatory men.  

All acts that bring information about covert or unethical activity into the limelight, qualify as whistle-blowing.  Whistle blowers exhibit tremendous courage when they “take a call” (decision) to  make knowledge public.   The Whistle-Blowers Protection Act (2011) was enacted by our Parliament. Listing agreements make it mandatory for all listed companies (India's economic mainstays) to have a  whistle-blowing policy in place as part of reported corporate governance. Such understanding   needs to be introduced in spirit in all cultural and educational institutions. Whistle-blowers have a “fraught calling” (difficult vocation). Pedagogies (theories) of due process must acknowledge such work.