Corruption – “A bane to the society” – Reality bite”

"Power attracts the corruptible. Absolute power attracts the absolutely corruptible."
- Frank Herbert

Corruption is the most hideous face of democracy. It is a form of behavior which deviates
from principles, honesty, traditions & law. It shows lack of integrity among people. It is an
epidemic which is rampant in the entire world. Corruption in India is an outcome of the closely
blend link between the politicians & the white collared criminals. As Francis Beaumont and John
Fletcher say, “Corruption is a tree, whose branches are of an immeasurable length: they
spread everywhere; and the dew that drops from thence hath infected some chairs and stools
of authority”. Corruption is the suicide of democracy. It is prevalent in every level of society.
Right from the admission of a child to a school, and up till international deals, corruption is
omnipresent & corrupt people who hold the authority have become the omnipotent!

Talking about global corruption, according to a survey by Corruption Perceptions Index,

an NGO based in Berlin, the least corrupt countries are Denmark & Sweden. On the contrary,
Somalia is the most corrupt country, ranking last in the list of 180 countries. India has shown
some worse signs by drifting to 85th spot from 72nd. USA ranks 18th and UK stands in the 16th
position. Bihar is the most corrupt state in India, and Kerala is the least corrupt. Karnataka
stands in the center of the list.

Corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency. Things that water this
poisonous plant of corruption are many and are very complex. Over population, low wages of
government employees, domestic problems, poverty, monopoly of higher authorities, inefficient
management etc. can be supplied as causes for corruption. But, they should not be justified as the
reasons for corruption.

Various measures have been taken by the government to curb corruption. The Right to
Information Act is one such measure. Right to Information Act (2005) mandates timely response
to citizen requests for government information. It is an initiative taken by Department of
Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions to provide
gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate
Authorities, PIOs etc. Lokayukta has been setup by Karnataka state government to check abuse
of power.

Being a resident of Mysore, for the past 19 years, I’ve had innumerous experiences
related to corruption. Right from paying “something” to the constable for not wearing helmet or
in getting the driving license done, almost all of us would’ve had similar experiences. But at this
juncture, I would like to relate a very unique experience of corruption.

As we all know, similar to all cities, even in Mysore there is a governing body, which
takes care of allotment of sites and other related tasks. A very huge authority rests within the
body. This body is very famous for its strict & efficient commissioners, also, equally infamous
for the corruption which it inhibits. In general, common people regard that it is a nightmare in
getting your work done in this office.

The office is a very huge building, built up like a maze, and stands on a very prominent
road of our city, named after a very famous lady warrior. By now, u would have guessed about
which office I am writing about. The main block bears a board “Middlemen not allowed”.
Luckily, this instills a little amount of confidence and peace in our mind. As you enter inside,
you find people moving around, and trying to talk to you. Yes, they are our worst fears, the
“middlemen” or the brokers as commonly called. The very presence of such people shows the
deeply rooted corruption in the system.

The middlemen smother you in such a way that you’ll be mesmerized to believe that
unless you get the work done through the broker, it’ll take ages to complete. In communion with
them, the non-cooperative officials, expecting “something”, “under the table”, will obviously
wouldn’t help you. Finally you’ll be entrapped by the middlemen, and unknowingly, helplessly
will be watering the poisonous plant of corruption.

As they say, every cloud has a silver lining, even here; there was a person who tried to
stand above the rest. He is Mr. X, who is an engineer. I’m rather shocked than being happy to see
an honest man in the corrupt world. The incident follows like this. We had to locate & measure
our site in a locality far away from the city. We were pretty much worried on whom to approach
and how to get things done in this corrupt system. Similar encounters of others, and our previous
experiences, all used to pile up in my mind, giving a regular headache. Finally, one day we
decided to meet the concerned authority.

As usual, the office opened for public interaction at 3 p.m. we met the concerned
engineer, who was Mr. X, and discussed the issue with him. To my amazement, he directly
agreed and fixed a date which was a week ahead. Still, I couldn’t believe my ears. I repeatedly
kept asking him whether he will come, and he kept obliging. Every day I used to call him up and
kept reminding him about the appointment, and was also trying to find out in different ways,
whether he needed the “something” or not. Finally, the day came and I was still in disbelief that
everything was going right. I had a hunch that something might misfire. But, Mr. X came to the
spot, right on time, with a map of the area and a measuring tape. Within no time we located and
measured the piece of land; and he left as soon as the work was done, without even expecting
few words of gratitude from us. It was like a dream come true for us, a moment of rejoice.

People like Mr. X, who strive to stand above the rest, are the real heroes of the nation. It
shows that a system can be resurrected by itself, if the part of the system itself thrives for it.

“Give me some sunshine” is a famous song from the movie “3 idiots”. The singer recites
a line, “khud papa ne hame rishwat dena sikhaaya”. This is a very a significant example to show
how much corruption has got down into us, and has become a routine. We have started breaking
rules for our own convenience. A common view is that people, who could not suffice their needs
out of their salary, resort to accept bribes, and hence if they stop expecting it, things might
straighten up. But, corruption is not simple as that. Maybe, corruption started when “authority”
was invented, and then the power corrupted the person. So, the evil of corruption is not a simple
one, where the blame can planted on a person and things can be called right.

Searching for the root cause of corruption in a grown up system, is like, trying to find out
whether the egg came first or the hen. Even this doesn’t mean that the problem has no solution.
Initially, the highest authority official has to take up the pains of resurrecting his department, and
eventually things might become alright. It is very difficult to expect dynamic changes and results
in such an intricate situation, which is caused by one, and supported by several. So, people must
collectively stop obliging to the corrupt and hence stop watering the plant of corruption.
Eventually, the plant will wither and die. Our ex-President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has rightly
said that “If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly
feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the
mother and the teacher”.