Monday 21 November 2011

Is it Corruption or simply a way of life?


A mindlessly signed snobbish cheque worth Rs. 2,00,000 that goes in the name of a person who can “do things”, give way to nepotism or be it anything that calls for “work” might seem like a major bribe scandal but indeed is a low scale version of Corruption that prevails in the country.

There existed a psychological truth, The Conscience, within every man that often barricaded a wrong-doing and gave us a power to decide for ourselves to what is right and what is wrong. But the transformation of the human state of mind has poured a vast amount of selfishness that has barricaded the conscience itself. Going to Over the Table from Under it has not been condemned; in fact it has given people with high flown ego’s and bank balances a reason to impress the audience who are sailing in the same boat.

Corruption is so pervasive that we are no longer indignant when we hear something about it or read it in the papers. The papers always manage to give a corruption related story some space but now we tend to ignore them because we have become so used to it. Corruption has become a norm both for higher and lower ranks. The only difference is the scale. The question that now comes forth is that can we survive without corruption?

The answer that 90% of the people would give will be ‘No’, the remaining 10% are the ones who still have the courage to think that they can bring out a difference or the world can still change, the only problem is that they are reluctant to initiate the change on a significant scale, they want to survive as well. This reluctance to curb corruption has created a climate in which it has the freedom to spread uncontrollably, while those on the top look on complacently.

A few years back money had value, not that now it doesn’t but earlier it was far more than just monetary, it had feelings attached to it with a purpose. But now how many times does a bell ring in our head when we offer a 50 buck note just to get a table for two in a five star restaurant? How many times do we think before giving a crisp 100 Rupee note to a policeman to save 400? Or how many times does a temple Pundit think while he gives you the best Prasad and an exclusive meeting with the almighty when you offer him a little extra?Clearly it has become a way of life when taking out money from our pockets has become habitual at every point of time when we need ‘attention’.
Many societies view corruption as a cancer which is to be fought with relentless determination. But has this just been reduced to a saying? Who doesn’t want to live in a corruption free environment? Thousands have claimed to make our country corruption free but have they even peeped into what do they talk about? Neither

Social reformers, Politicians, Business Tycoons, Social Activists they all have something common to say but it gets limited to a one day coverage in a news channel and is forgotten the next 364 days. They don’t realize that they are creating a corrupt image for themselves someway or the other.

Spiritual Leaders are another set of species who have joined the bandwagon with innumerable speeches teaching the same old ethical and moral values tailored to create a huge following with blind-faith. But what is the end result? Has anything changed?

The government is already notorious and forms the first among billions when corruption is named. The various reforms, a thousand new set of rules and guidelines, all are made and delegated to the authorities and the never-ending wait begins for them to start doing something. It has not been scripted by one man alone but the beginning of such a disease saw no end and might not even see it in the years to come.

The population has become used to the era of corrupt state of minds; they feel free to bask in the confused world of corruption where no one knows to when it began or how it began. An amount of money that can change a poor life is being used to change a life that requires none.
Self-satisfaction is a lust whose greed can not end. When it’s said that ‘A lie gives way to innumerable set of lies’, it also tells us that a sin committed gives a doorway to a thousand more sins”.

The scenario is such that today people with important positions automatically get tagged with corrupt words even if they form the 0.1% of the decent lot, rest don’t hear them simply because they don’t want to. It’s not their fault, the circumstances have become such that everybody has to adopt a corrupt mind.

In the West, a bribe of this scale would qualify as a major corruption scandal. These scandals usually attract a lot of attention, triggering various investigations. Not only is the individual crime directly addressed, but Western countries take a close look at whether there was a systemic failure in the way government institutions regulate, punish and deter malfeasance.
Corruption is so pervasive that it has long been viewed as a banality of Russian life. We are no longer indignant when we hear about corruption because we have gotten so used to it. It has become the norm both for higher ups and for those of lower rank. The only difference is the scale.
The government’s new corruption survey is merely another way for the authorities to be seen to be doing something, without taking resolute steps to root out the problem.
Corruption is seen in many societies as a cancer to be fought with relentless determination.

This reluctance to curb corruption has created a climate in which it can spread uncontrollably, while those at the top look on complacently.

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