CORRUPTION: INDIA-2010

India, a land of diversity. Amongst the population, one finds variation of color, caste, religion, eating habits, living & politics. For a common man, very existence is riddled with success only after he has greased some palm or the other. Corruption, has almost become second nature to ones’ livelihood in India.

Right from the time a child is born in a Govt. run hospital, the Parents finally take home their newly born loved one only after the ‘ayah’ / nursing assistant, the documents issuer etc have been given their gratifications. One is not guaranteed a comfortable & smooth stay for the duration, in the health centre, unless adequate bribe has been paid. The very supply of essentials is not forth coming, if the concerned official has not been provided for.

As the child grows up in years, to be eligible to start to learn the three R and to learn to dot the i, the Parents again have to cross the hurdle of DONATION, non payment of which does not assure admittance to the temple of learning. This is prevalent in the higher education stage too. There have been cases, under investigation, of institutes where seats reserved for foreign students have been ‘sold’ to local candidates. Some Teachers are known to demand ‘gratification’ to assure good grades. There are students who have been identified to coercer teachers / invigilators to succumb at the point of threat to look away to facilitate copying in examinations. Depressing, but mercifully most of such cases are spotted and deservingly punished. In spite of such cases, education in the Country is of high quality.

We in the country have a high population of qualifying graduates passing out each year. Unfortunately, jobs are not very many to come by. This assures an ever prospering market for the touts to exploit and officials in the right departments to ensure constant in flow of requisite sums in bribe. Contractors, have built-in the tender quotations, the anticipated sum, which is required to ensure smooth passage of the contract and timely payment thereafter on completion. Quality of the produced work suffers and the Public is at a loss.

The above is the case in almost all walks of life. Most in the Public domain reluctantly have to accept the situation, as protest does not result in immediate remedy and the whistle blower usually ends up murdered. If lucky, looses out to an almost isolated and neglected existence.

Whom do we blame for this state of affairs? The ‘leaders’, some who have to their credit, stigma in the eyes of law, pending. Then there are those who at the helm of affairs find themselves, targeted by media, rightly often. Media in India enjoys full democratic freedom and mostly proved to be unbiased. Investigative journalism is of very high standards in India and often wins accolades, the world over. It’s to the credit of the media, that a ‘big’ scandal concerning Common Wealth Games to be held in Delhi was exposed and the ‘rot’ stemmed. Still, the ‘corruption’ in construction is of such magnitude that almost all that was to be constructed could not be completed till near the beginning of Games. This deprived the ‘home’ advantage for our selected players & athletes. I am sure; the world is amused looking to our performance and our ‘honesty’ in work.

If the Common Wealth Games go through and without any problems it would be due to Gods Grace and certainly Him having put in extra hours to shower BLESSINGS.

All our ills are not entirely attributable to the apathy on the part of the Govt. A large percentage of our sorry state is the contribution of the Public at large. We are not respecters of laid down rule & regulations. We lack in civic sense. We have amongst us who feel elated in breaking and flouting all norms of decent public behavior. We spit any place; we do not hesitate to urinate in the open. We take pride in destroying and defacing public and private property and get away as the law does not bother to implicate any one, or does not have the will to do so as the power behind is usually a person with clout, either in local govt. or at Delhi. We have decisions taken by committees filled by members who never declare conflict of interest, as it suits them to not to do so. Thus, you will find an airline owner as member of committee to formulate rules pertaining to airline operations. Similarly, there are many such examples

One can list many instances to prove rampant corruption in India. But, keeping in mind the size of the population the total number of such undesired persona are few, yet sizeable enough, to pollute the Nation. The future seemingly looks good, as there is an awakening amongst the population, especially the youth, to endeavor to change the scenario at National level. Many, as part of Groups, NGOs’ Institutions and similar such organization are looking out to educate the masses. They are making people aware of correct and good living. Correct approach to ensure hygienic conditions in and around their living space, their working space etc. Awareness of environment & clean atmosphere is fast making the public to avoid urinating and defecating in the open. Help understand the importance of elections and to cast their vote correctly. Soon, the results will show change, for the good

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