The Dirty Picture

Let’s admit it. If we can procure a driving license without taking the pain of going to the transport authority office, collecting the form, filling it up, writing a written test and then finally a driving test, we don’t mind (nay, we are more than willing!) paying a small amount of money to the ‘agent’ who gets the things done.

The corruption has spread its tentacles everywhere, right from a common man’s mind to the mightiest office in the country.  Some of these sleaze stories are embarrassing, some annoying, some sickening and yet some unbelievable.

While millions of poor people in Jammu and Kashmir shiver in chilling cold inside their roofless shelters, tons and tons of timber lies undistributed in government depots across the State. Thousands of villagers who lost their habitation due to the thriving coal industry in Jharkhand are deprived of electricity and are living in eternal darkness. (The ‘Coal Capital’ of India, Jharkhand, is one of the highest producers of coal in the country).  People are fighting ‘puppet’ panchayats in rural Chhattisgarh while VIP convicts are ‘enjoying’ their lives behind the huge walls of Chanchalguda prison in Hyderabad.

There is corruption everywhere, every office, every department, every scheme, every district, every state and every government. And the worst still, it seems there is corruption in every man’s mind! In such a scenario how can somebody spearhead any fiery movement against corruption in such a vast democracy like India? 

Anna Hazare tried it. Kejriwals, Bhushans, Bedis and even Baba Ramdev joined the bandwagon. Millions of people across the country came out in the open supporting India Against Corruption (IAC).  But where are they standing now? “This is not the way corruption should be fought. See, Arvind Kejriwal vows to fight corruption and threatens to expose all those who earned huge wealth through illegal means.  At the same time, he accepts huge corporate funding for his political activities. Tomorrow if any of these corporates involve in corruption, how can he expose them with whose money he runs the party?” asks Dosapati Ramu, a young social activist and state general secretary of the youth wing of Lok Satta, a political outfit that is basically formed to fight the malady.

The moral of the story is, fighting corruption in the government may create a buzz and some headlines but, will finally fizzle out with no takers. That explains things. Corruption is not a huge demon that hides in the government. It is omnipresent.  If you try to find it and then blow the whistle, the result may be even fatal.  Remember the story of social activist Niyamat Ansari who was brutally killed for exposing huge financial disorder in the NREGA scheme in Jharkhand? The civil society was shocked to hear the story of how Ansari was picked up from his house by a contractor’s henchman and beaten to death last year. And the government agencies and the police did nothing to get the dead man justice.  This is not a singular incident. 

A 38-year-old businesswoman Shehla Masood was shot dead in Bhopal for using Right to Information Act (RIA) to expose local corruption after she kept losing on government contracts. The murder, till today, is unsolved. She was one among at least 12 whistleblowers killed in India since January 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The report also says at least 40 people were assaulted after seeking information under the law. RTI Act enacted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh six years ago has 529,000 requests filed this year up to March, according to a report.

Yes, RTI is most power rule to fight corruption today in India, but it is dangerous.  Then what is the option? If one has to understand the root cause of corruption, one has to sit and introspect. It is a circle, a vicious one for that matter, that starts from a common individual and ends in himself.  

He pays bribe to an agent for getting his passport, who, in turn, pays bribe to an official in regional passport office, who had to grease the palm of politicians for getting the job, and the politician pays bribe to the common man for getting him elected, whoa!

“People should treat corrupt leaders and officials like untouchables. The crooks should realize that they are regarded worse than septic tanks.  We should also educate youngsters to find out the source of money their parents bring home. If they ever bring any ill-gotten money, family members should treat them with contempt,” Ramu says adding that the entire wealth of a corrupt official should be seized by the authorities making him feel that not even his relatives or children will get any share even if he be convicted for graft.

According to Wikipedia, corruption in India is a major issue and it adversely affects economy. It quotes a 2005 study conducted by Transparency International in India that found more than 62% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices successfully. In its 2008 study, Transparency International reports about 40% of Indians had first-hand experience of paying bribes or using a contact to get a job done in public office.

It may be remembered that In 2011 India was ranked 95th out of 178 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. Criminalisation of politics and the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats in India make things worse. These unholy alliances breed a lot of corruption. Awarding of contracts, tendering processes, setting up of industrial units and such activities make corruption more prevalent in the country.  And the government, which is supposed to root out this evil, is formed by a major chunk of corrupt politicians!

According to official statistics, as of December 2008 alone, 120 out of India's 523 Parliament members were facing criminal charges. The recent scandals that rocked the country involve lakhs of crores of money! Take the biggest of the recent scams be it the 2G spectrum scam, the 2010 Commonwealth Games scam, the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Coal Mining Scam, mining scandal in Karnataka and cash for vote scam, one gets the shock of one’s life to see that those who involved in these skullduggery are high-profile politicians, including Central and state ministers and even chief ministers!

Come elections and all leaders are on ground zero toiling to get votes. They use their ill-gotten wealth to bribe the common men and then get back to power again! And they again form the government and then amass huge wealth in the dark world of corruption. Seeing this and being encouraged by political leaders, the bureaucracy too is lured by the dirty demon called corruption and the morbid saga continues.

www.ipaidabribe.com a website run by Janaagraha Centre for Democracy and Citizenship, an NGO based in Bangalore gets thousands of posts from individuals who are made to give or accept bribe.  More than 20,000 people from 489 cities across the country have already shared their ‘bribing experience’ on the site.

There is only one remedy. Every citizen should first be free of corrupt practices and intentions. Then should take the decision never to give or take bribe and treat those who involve in sleazy practices should get no social dignity. Any politicians with shady background should never be voted into power. When the government is too full of sincere and honest leaders whose only agenda is upholding the principles of the country ensuring a better society, no corrupt practice will prevail any segment. And of course, if the dirty demon raises his ugly head, then it will be battered into pulp, for sure!