Eradicating Corruption: A work in progress

 

Eradicating Corruption: A work in progress

 

 

What is corruption?
Corruption is a self-indulgent act meant for one’s own convenience. It is not just about giving or accepting bribes. Rather, corruption serves as an indicator of the whole society’s value system, a deeply flawed one in fact.
 

Corruption: A mark of an ignorant society

With the second-largest population of 1.2 billion people in the world, widespread illiteracy and poor economic infrastructure; no wonder corruption has become such a deeply embedded truth in India.

The foundation of corruption is built on people’s need for convenience and ease in day-to-day life. The political elite too are interest-oriented rather than nation-oriented.

Corruption festers in a society which suffers from a lack of moral values and sense of ideals. 

Practising the attitude of an ignorant person makes the society tolerant towards corruption bit by bit, over time.

 

What does this lead to for those who have nothing to offer?

A poor man doesn't get his share of food grains and sugar from Public Distribution System (PDS) as it goes to the open market. A poor man cannot have himself or his family treated in a government hospital due to corruption in maintenance of various departments. Medicines meant for the hospital find their way to open market too. The police does not lodge an FIR at the behest of a poor and helpless person and even if lodged, no action is taken.

This display of power and pelf multiplies the incidence of corruption and threatens the security and well-being of the citizens.

 

Sluggish Economic growth is a direct consequence of corruption

In spite of having the potential of a rising economic superpower, India suffers from various types of corruptions that play a big role in hampering its economic growth. Many government policies haven’t reached their full potential because they have, in one or the other way, been stricken by corruption involving the concerned officials. Corruption in the government has spread out to every public office like the branches of a tree. The roots of this tree of corruption are watered by the greed of those meant to serve the nation and also, by the lack of basic morality on the part of the citizens.  

 

Corruption isn’t just a transaction involving money, it is a gamble on the welfare of the nation too.

It is a well-known fact that most of the public welfare schemes fail to get the desired results as corruption, starting from the highest level, trickles down until there is nothing left for the poor and needy.

The most succinct example of this tragedy is the Mid-Day meal scheme. If it had been responsibly implemented, it could have incentivised millions of poor parents to send their children to school for free food and in the process, served to increase the literacy level of the rural population. But due to rampant corruption in the Public Distribution System, food meant for the poor ended up in the black market. Likewise, many schemes which were started with noble intentions have gone up in flames without bringing the desired changes and while the causes might be many, corruption remains one of the most crippling of them.

This lackadaisical attitude on the part of the government shows that political parties consider welfare a hot topic, one that is to be brought up only during the elections.

Removal of poverty and improving the living standards of all the people in the nation is the most basic duty of the government. It is a duty which the government has failed to perform since independence. Corrupt practises of politicians, bureaucrats and the common citizen has brought shame to the country in the international community as well.

The nation has been hit hard again and again by scams like Fodder scam, Coal Scam, 2G scam, Land scam, Adarsh society building scam, Commonwealth scam, the VVIP Chopper scam and many more.

 

Corruption of the rich

Unscrupulous people find creative ways to circumvent the law and exploit loopholes to the fullest in their need of clinging onto their wealth. They set up shell companies, exploit tax havens and put their black money in foreign banks. This money has the potential to turn around the decaying economic condition of the nation, which is regularly worsened by inflation, lack of growth and infrastructural development. A number of developmental projects fail to kick-off because of lack of adequate funds while crores may be spent on lavish living, wasteful expenditure and of course, sidestepping the law.

 

A shift in perspective

In the last couple of years, India has seen the most intense public outcry against corruption in the government system and public offices.

The diverse cultures and traditions of our ancestors had a mix of morality and a sense of honour in them. People should not forget the ideals of their ancestors, nor should they ignore the vision of democracy dreamt by the founding fathers of this nation.

 

Having the will and courage to not indulge in nor tolerate corruption is the first step to a guilt-free society. In the long run, the government is a scapegoat. In reality, corruption is a result of every free citizen, be it an engineer or a civil servant, partaking in this practise for their own benefit.

Refusing to accept or give bribes, while no doubt a correct course of action, is incomplete if people continue to turn a blind eye to corrupted transactions of others.

In the government, there is a need for electoral reforms to check the funding of the political parties during elections as well as to regularly check where the funds allocated for development programs are being put to use and who is in charge of handling them.

 

Change in ruling political parties in both the central government as well as the national capital have served as an alarm bell for other political parties that have been in power for a good 70 years since Independence and have been repeatedly called out for their corrupt practises. To them, this change is a warning of the common man’s rising awareness and the shift in ideologies.

No doubt, that corruption is the root cause of various types of woes in India but a ray of hope shines when those with the will to fight with honest intentions speak out against these prevalent malpractices. Seemingly impossible, corruption can be eradicated with the collective efforts of praising honesty and punishing deceit. It is a work in progress.