Discipline is an extremely essential part of human life to co-exist with the other members of society. While self-discipline is the individual control of self, social discipline is how well a person fits into society. Discipline is not only an integral part of individual behaviour that leads to social conduct but also a most important factor for any civilized society. Therefore, human life without discipline would be a catastrophe.
When a person learns to adhere to a specific code of conduct, he realises the significance of following a pattern in life. Successful people understand this phenomenon and enjoy it and are proud of being a disciplined member of the community. In contrast, an undisciplined person can lead a depressive lifestyle which can end as a failure. Discipline gives direction to a person to lead a harmonious and law abiding life in the community. 
Social control derived from discipline is a fundamental part of the survival of society. Its enforcement is possible only if the members of the said society believe in the concept in full. Disciplined individuals provide an effective system of socialisation to make them faithful to the concept of social control. This leads the way for a society to be controlled as a group and be law abiding, simultaneously. The group which does not have self-discipline in its individuals becomes a menace to society and futile to mankind.
Most often, parents and teachers try to inculcate discipline in a child early in life. This can be explained as training provided to a child to be in harmony with others in society, without being a nuisance. Children are trained to obey rules through a set of guidelines to control their negative behaviour. This helps children to control themselves better.
Discipline, required in all areas of life, can be explained as a training which will develop one’s moral character and help to produce a particular type of behaviour.
Training helps the individual to correct him or herself and help improve the overall moral conditions. Basic elements such as respecting elders and siblings, to work with others with empathy and have better relationships are being instilled in children at a young age. This happens in almost every civilised society in the world.
On the other hand, the function of the law is to regulate the behaviour of citizens in a country. If the law is to be effective, most of the citizenry should obey the law, most of the time.
This is a dire requirement that leads to the effective functioning of a society. Obtaining successful compliance is not an easy task, as humans by nature, tend to resist restrictions imposed by authorities. Hence, this barrier must be broken. The concept that the legal system is equal to everybody in the country must be indoctrinated while taking human motivation into consideration, concurrently.
The legal system in any country is the foundation of a civilised society and it should operate to ensure the well-being of its people. The aim of the concept of rule of law is to build a civilised society. As such, a democratic government should never interfere with the legal system. Our government shall always be dedicated to protecting the law of the country and shall not leave room to challenge it.
Secure country
While I was writing this article, a news alert appeared divulging the great news that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a presidential task force to build a secure country and a disciplined, virtuous and lawful society. This is a move which the entire nation expected from the rulers for the past many years and which has been overdue for long years.
The general opinion in the past, for decades, was that anti-social criminals are being guarded through political influence of some kind. The appointing of this task force is not only executing an election pledge but also another great and appreciative move to a peace loving civil society. The membership consisting of a majority of war heroes is a good sign as none of them would ever be manipulated by negative forces. We can assure that the entire nation, irrespective of individual political views, will deeply appreciate this decision.
In both developed and developing countries alike, some mild laws are often ignored by the public. However, even these mild laws can easily be enacted if society in general is more disciplined. On the other hand the authorities can impose and implement the laws by using the legal power vested in them at specific situations. However, the popular belief among the legal authorities is that the better option is to exert punitive power for better results.
In the ninth chapter of his vision statement, Vistas of Prosperity, President Gotabaya Rajapaka pledges a ‘righteous, disciplined and law abiding society’. This is the vision of a great leader of a nation carried throughout the history of mankind. Sri Lankans have historically proven that they are a virtuous, generous and charitable society.
Disciplined citizens
As a fine demonstration about how disciplined the country’s citizens are, was displayed in the recent pandemic situation. The public amply proved that they are a controlled and law abiding unit by obeying the regulations imposed by the health authorities and law enforcement agencies. The entire population of the country irrespective of race, religion or any other differences rallied round to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
They showed patience and composure by confining themselves to their homes for more than two months undergoing great difficulties in the process.
This highly commendable just act immensely helped the health authorities to control the spread of the virus. The world has seen how undisciplined people in most of the other countries blatantly violated instructions. Disregarding the lockdowns, many of them came to the streets and went about without giving a second thought to the damage that such acts can cause.
Unlike in Sri Lanka, even China which comparatively has restrained the situation reasonably well was compelled to use power through force to control the communities. Sri Lankans were much more considerate and passionate about the gravity of the situation and did not need force to control. This is an exceptional exhibition of social discipline for the President and the Government to ascertain the behaviour of the average citizen. Concurrently, this also displays, beyond a doubt, that the presence of a strong leadership, makes people obey rules willingly. However, according to police sources, there were a negligible number of offenders who were either misinformed civilians or criminals involved in nefarious acts.
Social discipline is one of the most valuable tools for a fair and law-abiding society. It offers a chance of being successful to the whole nation. Therefore, the authorities should take more appropriate and constructive steps to develop social discipline of citizens as a priority. Upholding social discipline will lead to a happy, peaceful and law abiding citizenry as pledged by the leadership.