Well, some of us are. But, go back in time and recollect if you encountered that moment when -
- you wanted to bribe the traffic policeman to not take your vehicle away, or you opted for a lesser payment without receipt
- you purchased a property and the real estate agent took you to the property office and you by passed the line and got your work done in a jiffy
- you hired a passport agent who had his mysterious ways of making things happen in the passport office which left you knowing well why he was charging so high
- you booked 8 hours of time in your office when you actually worked for 7
- you lied to your parents about completing your homework so you could run out to play
Corruption is not just about misusing power for personal gains. It's about honesty and integrity.
Is to corrupt more vile than being corrupt? It's the usual chicken-egg problem. Is this problem solvable just by a top-down approach by introducing legislation, or is there something more fundamental that must change?
A change within us.
Can we completely embrace this change.? This revolution. Can we change our own selves?
exactly how i feel about the issue!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chintan. It's not about the Lokpal any more. India has come out against corruption. India has come out against itself. The Frankenstein that it has become.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I'd list your last two bullet points under the title "corruption". They may go as a parallel item with corruption under "dishonesty" though... But not all dishonest behavior is corruption.
ReplyDeleteWith the 8 hours but only working 7, if you do it yourself, I don't see that as corruption. If your boss makes you do that and then give them the money for the last hour, or lose your job, that would be...
As for #2, the agent didn't get us to bypass the line when we were at the property office, the bribe offered let us wait our turn in the line. Without it, we just wouldn't have gotten into the line at all...
I suppose my first encounter with this sort of thing was when I took a vacation to India in 1999. I had to register at the FRRO in the police station. My friend, Radhika, took me there, we got the paperwork, then went around to Xerox everything we needed and prepare it. On our return the clerk gave some bureaucratic reasons why the papers couldn't be filed that day. Radhika openly gave him ₹50, he put it in his pocket and processed the papers...
Here in the United States things are different, of course. Lower level gov't people can't be bribed like that. Only the upper levels can be bribed, and only for amounts of money us middle-class people can't really imagine... Politicians are always getting into trouble for accepting "gifts" or "well, that massaging lounger chair was only on loan to me for the last ten years..."
Then there's the truly top of the pyramid... Like when Bush won his second election. He was charging $200,000 for tickets to his inauguration balls. $200,000 for dinner and dancing? Where the president is only going to show up for ten minutes? Yeah, right... More like $200,000 for influence with his office (and the big donors, influence with Dick Cheney's office, the real power...)
Aniruddha I wanted to get my electricity meter replaced. Endless rounds to the Electricity Board office, applications submitted - I tried for four years! We approached an agency to get things sorted and guess what! We were advised to pay a bribe!
ReplyDeleteIt's not something we do out of free will, not something we enjoy. Everyone thinks demanding a bribe is their right.
Kevin - that is the way we view corruption most of the time. But in my opinion corruption goes beyond that.
ReplyDeletePurba - Thanks for your comments. Yes. That is how we all see it. And to this a top down approach initially is necessary. A fear of the law needs to be imbibed in us. Whether or not this approach succeeds, only time will tell. Or in the spirit of 'jugaad' corruption will find another way!