The corruption is a hot topic these days. Everyone is talking about corruption. And we all know that corruption has become like a termite eating our whole nation. But what is its cure?
Lets first see what all are the possibilities we have. First, people say that everyone should cast vote. As we choose corrupt individuals to represent ourselves, so we don’t have right to point fingers. Now, this seems a great solution in theory. But in reality, we don’t have a choice while voting. Because everyone is corrupt. If all of us commit to not voting corrupt, I think whole country would fill up Form-6 and no one would ever get selected! So voting wouldn't work.
Next solution people have is to punish the corrupt strictly, so that it creates a fear in people’s mind and they would not indulge in corruption. Suppose that Raja, Kalmadi and others are given life sentence. Would it make a difference? I don’t think so. Even after Dhananjay was hanged, rapes didn't stopped. In fact, 11 rapes happened in UP in just 3 days! This is clearly because of lack of moral conscience and lack of proper education. Similar is the case with corruption. Merely punishing the corrupt would not do.
Then there is a strong Lokpal. This certainly would have an impact, if the bill is passed. But would it make a difference? Suppose a strong anti-corruption bill is passed. But what if people don't stop bribing officials? Who would report the incident? Maybe we can say for sure that first anti corruption committee is non-corrupt. But what about the subsequent committees? What if the lokpal himself is corrupt?
Main problem with us is our attitude. We have got used to these stuffs. And the best part is, we point fingers, and sometimes whole hand, without ever introspecting ourselves. We talked about Anna's movement. I can bet that majority of people that gathered there were themselves corrupt in one way or another. We are great at shouting slogans, but when it comes to ourselves, we want shortcuts. We don't want queues, so pay bribe. We don't want to be fined, so pay bribe. We don't want to wait for formalities, so pay bribe, etc.
I would like to share an example here. One of my friends talked too much about country. About wanting to do something for the society and his inability to do so. About fighting corruption, donating blood, being a responsible citizen, and so on. But, this same gentleman got a fake receipt from my PG so that he could get Rs 3000 from his company. Tomorrow, he would be upset by reading news about corruption, poverty etc and would blame everyone except himself! Maybe he'll be in the front row of an anti-corruption campaign, but more often than not, its just because of getting name & fame. This is just one example. I am sure you might also know such people. And this is exactly where the problem lies.
People think that mass civil movements would make a change. But these movements can only change Governments, unless we change ourselves. I am not saying that punish each and every individual, I know it is not feasible. Nor am I against stringent punishment for the corrupt. All I am saying is that each one of us should change himself and this change would reflect in the society as a whole. So while on the one hand a strong bill is needed, this is not enough without a social reform. And Social reform can only be brought up when every individual stands up against corruption and ensure that he/she is not corrupt. Best thing would be to add this to school curriculum. Teach every child of India that corruption is bad.
MK Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want the world to be." Maybe, we cannot change Government, bureaucrats, police officers, etc, but we can at least change ourselves. And this is what makes all the difference. Be an example for your friends, your community, and maybe they would change as well. Then only this battle against corruption could be won.
Jai Hind!
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