Corruption

Crruption must be one of the most talked about and discussed subjects, at least in India of 'Haves'. The people of standing in society talk about it no end in order to control it but it goes on increasing exponentially. Stringent laws exist, the powerful enforcing agencies exist, a massive judiciary exists, and yet it goes on increasing. The reason is simple. The powerful ones don't mean what they say and don't say what they mean, and probably they are powerful because they do so. Corruption is also something everyone loves to talk about hardly understanding it. Then it is something almost everyone indulges in or has to indulge in. Those in position of power because they are in power and others because they are not in power (they have to keep or make those in power happy for their survival).



It becomes quite amusing when epitomes of corruption - the real powerful ones- from whom corruption flows, publicly claim in context of scams that 'no one will be spared' or demand that 'no one should be spared.' Very often top politicians, media-moguls, judges or bureaucrats are exposed as having been out and out corrupt. Spare a thought. For years when they were enjoying power, how much they would have been instrumental in shielding and promoting the corrupt and corruption. More importantly, if they were so crrupt, who allowed them to rise to the top position? How did they rise to that position? We very conveniently tend to forget that we only are responsible in electing and empowering our political masters whom we later on call names for their corruption and incompetence. We are entrapped in a vicious circle.



It is a fact that in India the year 2010 has been a year of scams. Commonly by corruption people mean bribery. But corruption also means moral deterioration. It is this dictionary meaning of corruption that renders almost all of us corrupt even without having taken or given bribe. In fact, many of us never ever having indulged in bribe could be more corrupt than the people indulging in bribery. How often we do things out of consideration for our well being, out of fear, under influence of superiors, to pass on or reciprocate favours, to suit our nears and dears ~ things we would have done differently had we been acting with a pure conscience and without any of above or any other influence? To cite a few examples that come readily to my mind- marketing a third rate product knowing very well that it will harm the interest of the target customer, to abandon old parents or relatives, to butter the boss when he is being blatantly unjust to a colleague of yours, to be immune to wretched beggars and starving children around you, to tell lies in public and in private and above all not to mean what you say or not to say what you mean. If we pause to think, we would realise that such corruption, indulged in by almost all of us, is much more injurious to society than mere giving or taking of bribe, and is the foundation for scams. And yet there is nothing in law against this worse form of corruption.

While we find ourselves engulfed by all pervasive corruption, the good men/women doing nothing are equally, if not more, are to blame than the bad ones indulging in bribery. The corruption is now so deep rooted in our society that it is a part and parcel of our lives. The daily expose' of multi hundred/thousand crore scams and discussions and talk about these is nothing more than national pass-time. People who matter are not interested in corrections. If they were, things won't have deteriorated as these have. Even when not motivated by bribes, people only do what they have to. Media brings up the scams to keep itself going and its responsibility ends with informing the public. The big names from different walks of life appear on channels- some talk sense, some take pride in talking utter bull-shit - and their job gets over. Politicians across party lines do everything keeping one eye on party-fund and other on vote-bank. Judiciary remains victim of legal procedures and delays. Bureaucrats take pride in not seeing beyond their noses. Side by side the Swiss bank accounts continue to get fatter.

The daily exposes of scams are like discovery of 'kalas' in 'kamasutra' by Vatasyayan, the intercourse being an inevitable human activity. Existing systems can't even dent existing level of corruption, leave alone uproot it. Only revolutionary changes can have desired check.