The Demon Called CORRUPTION

“In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implementing it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future. When we neither punish nor reproach evil dose… we are ripping the foundations of justice from beneath new generation.”  – Anon

WHAT IT IS (as if nobody knows !!):
CORRUPTION is a behaviour, which deviates from the normal duties of a public role regarding personal, close or private clique, violating rules against the exercise of certain type of influence; behaviours such as bribery (use of reward to prevent the judgment of a person in position of trust); nepotism (bestowing of a patronage by reason of an ascriptive relationship rather than merit) and misappropriation (illegal appropriation of public resource for private uses).
 

Corruption is perceived to be the biggest problem facing the country today. Sixty-two years of existence as an independent nation and fifty nine years of working of the Constitution have resulted in one common experience of all the Indian citizens. They cannot go to any public organisation or office today to get the services which they are supposed to get without either paying bribe or bringing influence by way of recommendation or reference from VIPs. The cancerous spread of corruption in India’s public life has become a matter of grave concern for its citizens and threatens its political, administrative and economic fabric. There is no evil, which is as pervasive today as corruption. Be it the society or culture, politics or economy, corruption is making its vitiating presence felt in all walks of this nation’s life.
The monster of corruption has engulfed almost every walk of life and enjoys complete social respectability. The notion that there is nothing wrong in giving and taking bribe is becoming a part of the national psyche. This is perhaps the most disturbing aspect. There is a general feeling of scepticism and cynicism against anything connected with the government. A newspaper clip that I’ve come by justifies the statement – “However, don’t go by their website www.***.org as most of the links don’t work and it doesn’t tell how big the institute actually is. The site is a classic example of how government funded things doesn’t necessarily work. It is hardly updated and you should get in touch with the college directly if you want to study there.” (The Telegraph, Dec 28th, 2006)
 
Every individual has become extremely self-centred over the years. Everybody thinks thus: “Nothing but my own interest matters to me and I shall have my interests served at any cost.” The root cause of corruption is possessiveness or the acquisitive instinct. Experience shows that man values his possessions even more than his life, because in the former he sees the means for perpetuation and survival through his descendant even after his body is reduced to ashes. The political system always dominates the entire social scene; and hence those who wield political power are generally able to control all the different social subsystem and manipulate them to their own advantage.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE…
• Corruption is a two-way street. For every bribe taker, there is bribe giver. While the debate on corruption in the country has focussed on the demand side of the corruption, i.e., in public servants and politicians who demand bribes, there has to be strategic players targeting the supply side of corruption, i.e., around the business community which bribes the public servants and the politicians.
• To establish an objective pecking order of the level of corruption as perceived by the public like Transparency International, NGO’s and professional bodies in the country must be encouraged to grade all organisations, under the purview of the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC), to draw an action plan with the right priorities in the tackling of corruption.
• Attempts to establish or achieve a kind of egalitarian society; however, if egalitarianism is to endure, ii has to be based not on the possession of the maximum of material goods whether by few or by all, but on voluntary enlightened renunciation – denying oneself what cannot be enjoyed only at the expense of others.
• The acquisitive instinct inherent in man should or could be transmuted by the adoption of the ideal or trusteeship by those who have of the benefit of all those who have not, so that instead of leading to exploitation and conflict it would become the means and incentive to the amelioration and progress of society. On the whole, anti-corruption package should consist of reform of the political process, restructuring and reorienting the government machinery, empowerment of the citizens and last but not least, creating sustained public pressure for change.