What exactly is Corruption ?
As quoted by Burke, "Corrupt influence is itself the perennial spring of all prodigality, and of all disorder; it loads us more than millions of debt; takes away vigor from our arms, wisdom from our councils, and every shadow of authority and credit from the most venerable parts of our constitution."
Recollecting the sayings of the former President Abdul Kalam, Corruption begins in the Home. The epithet of corruption includes bribery, dishonesty, insults, immoral activities and bad habit etc. It is the fiend that could destroy the life, family and society. As far as the good law of any country is concerned Corruption has no place in a respectable society, because Law is totally against it. However, Corruption seems to be above the law. To act upon the wicked people has become a herculean task . Many feel that no force is available to eradicate corruption.
So where does Corruption begin from?
All of us have the tendency to think that corruption is committed only by bureaucrats or politicians. But it starts from the home where we dwell in with parents and siblings. Obviously we know that home is the institution headed by the parents. In every home, father and mother should make God first and teach the children that the fear of the Lord God is the beginning of wisdom. A well-ordered and well-disciplined family begets well-ordered and well-disciplined children. A successful and happy home must have a foundation of faith in God and in true religion. Religion is needed in the home. Only this can protect and prevent the grievous wrongs which so often disillusions and flusters the peaceful life.
Take the case of the birth of the Dowry system. It first began with providing the newly married bride some support, to herself and her children, if the husband was to die, for any reason, in the marital home. It slowly got promoted to the status of misusing, boasting and keeping up with the Jonesses amongst people and castes. Had this been nipped in the bud stage, the prevalent scene would not have been existing today, like the cases of Dowry harassment and dowry deaths that we hear and read in the news. When will people learn to stop giving dowry and also to stop accepting and demanding the same? Is this not a dignified form of Corruption?
As with many developing nations, corruption is widespread in India. One of the major problems and obstacles to development that many developing countries face is corruption by greedy, power-hungry politicians, which is widespread in certain parts of the world. Some people in India strongly believe that the root of corruption lies at the higher levels, and that the major conspirators have to be punished first. Everyone will agree that we are one of the most corrupt nations on Earth. There is corruption in every dimension of human endeavour.
Corruption is rampant in the judicial system of India. Judicial corruption in India is attributable to factors such as "delays in the disposal of cases, shortage of judges and complex procedures, all of which are aggravated by the existence of new laws". The police often torture innocent people until a 'confession' is obtained to save influential and wealthy offenders. And of the wealthy and influential who are apprehended by the legal authority are left on a compassionate sentence or a bail, which for them does not lower their esteem in any way. They are really incorrigible to the core. These people should be drowned in the Pacific Ocean.
In India, the corruption has also crept into religious institutions.(e.g. Tirupathi Darshans),where the film stars and the elite class of people, including the Politicians get a VIP treatment to view and take darshan of the Gods at close proximity, in short they have even bought the Gods!!! But the common man is frisked in a manner in which every one is made to feel like a suspected terrorist, out to do something drastic. Why?.
One of the main causes of corruption has been the relatively low pay scale. All professionals in most government offices are been lowly paid. And so to compensate for their measly incomes they begin taking money and favors unofficially. And the trend continues till date, and has spread rampantly affecting every common man. So, what do we get to see? A huge line of red tapeism, bribery, and every possible immoral activity under the table and over the table.
Corruption and bribery are the two evils of society. Corruption is watered by the bribes one pays. And people are not ready to give up paying bribes, simply because it speeds up their work. They do not want to waste time and effort crawling from one department to another to get the work done. For them paying is like taking the escalator or elevator up, rather than the steps. It is a vicious circle that one is trapped in.
Whistleblowers play a major role in the fight against corruption. India even today does not have a law to protect whistleblowers. The Common man is not ready to come forward to help the law in nabbing the culprits, for fear of his life and that of the family and his loved ones.The latest Administrative Reforms Commission also has suggested to encourage whistleblowing and to protect whistleblowers. But that appears to be only on paper, in black and white.
Individuals of integrity, are those who will never listen to any plea against conscience. Self-respect is one of the most important of the common qualities of men/women of integrity. They are content with what their qualifications are, and very well know that their honest work can fetch them good oppotunities in life. And if their present state does not meet their ambition, they will strive to improve in a legitimate way. They love themselves, their families and their mother land. They do not exhibit such cheap behaviour as throwing trash in their neighbour's plot, elbowing others to beat the queue, jump the traffic signal etc. Instead they are calm and composed in public, follow rules and desire harmony in society. They are all law-abiding citizens. While some of them oppose corruption publicly, others are content to be clean themselves and leave the others' behaviour to their own conscience.
Corruption can be eradicated when the punishment laid by the law is very severe. Officers involved in corruption must not be given any job anywhere, in order to put a full stop for their earnings. Their faces must be revealed to the public, like the pickpockets identities shown in the railway station, bus station, police station, etc. So that, on seeing this, other persons will not indulge themselves in corruption. Only when a unselfish leader comes to power, corruption will come to an end, as the culprits are seeking help from the selfish political leaders....
We were taught in school, that there are three persons one must never deceive: Firstly our physician, then our confessor, and last comes our lawyer. But in today's world of high level corruption, I begin to wonder as to whom can we practically trust in the course of our lives?
Please Don’t get me wrong. Lawyers, who are supposed to uphold law, have ended being the perfect channel for corruption as if there is no monitoring or initiatives on the part of bodies like bar associations. They are supposed to be setting an example and are role models for today's youngsters in maintaining discipline and honesty in every sphere in life. The common man puts his entire trust on the law and when he is back-stabbed by these very same lawyers, what must he do? When an ordinary citizen of any country breaks the law, he is punished severely, but when an advocate breaks the rules, goes against all the promises that he took when he takes an oath on becoming an advocate, the question arises," Is he truly honest in his profession, is he dedicated and committed to his profession with utmost loyalty and sincerity?
They could put up notice boards to file complaints or give telephone number for passing on information against corrupt lawyers. There is not a single case of a lawyer being suspended for practice on account of such complaints or any effort made to get such corrupt practices enquired into independently. Although cases about delays and even prevalence of corruption in judiciary have been reported, media has never reported giving specific examples of corruption by lawyers.
We in India have seen enough and more about wide spread and rampant corruption. We see it in daily headlines and TV news, day in and day out. And given that we are also a very righteous people, rampant corruption was at first obnoxious. Then it became a handle of ridicule. Later, it turned on our feeling of helplessness. In recent times, we began to ignore it as we go about our daily life, as if somehow, we must learn to survive and even succeed in spite of it. The deep seated feeling is one of utter helplessness; overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem. What can I, as an individual do? Why should I be the first goat to be sent to the slaughter house? I am a simple Citizen of India, helpless and resigned to this cancer afflicting us all. No one is ready to accept accountability for his actions, knowing very well that he is doing something wrong.
So, how does one eradicate corruption?
My best solution is that this should be left to the legal fraternity, who are really honest and unselfish in every sense of the word. Even after this if the members of the legal fraternity are found to be corrupt and caught red-handed, then every possible effort must be made to strip the lawyer of his license to practise anytime during his lifetime and he should be prosecuted with heavy penalty so that he will think twice before embarking on such actions in future. The law needs to be made more stringent. The common man needs to be made aware of his rights and where he can apply the same. Strict laws have to be enforced which does not make any differentiation between the rich and the poor, the Politicians and the common man. Law is Law and that point should be drilled into every person's head.
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