The day Nikhil passed his 10th standard exam with flying colors he also graduated from his bicycle to a
brand new motorcycle. Next step was to get the driving license. A trip to the local RTO was all that was
needed to fulfill his long cherished dream of driving his own bike. Poor kid was in for a rude shock!!
In spite of passing the test satisfactorily no one seemed to be in a hurry to give him his license.
He could not figure it out at first. Then the realization dawned on him – what was needed was a little weight
added to the necessary paperwork so that it won’t fly out of the window or get lost in the clutter on the table
of the officers!! By the time he was done through adding weights on all tables starting from the bottom all the
way to the top, his pocket was as light as a feather.
He came home cursing the all-pervading corruption and blaming the government for not doing anything.
Nikhil could be anyone - you, me, your friend, my friend and in general most of us. Yes, you, me and most of us
are part of this corrupt system. Even if we are honest when it comes to doing our own jobs, we are still among the
culprits if we are not fighting against corruption that we come across thus allowing it to spread unchecked.
Of course, one could argue that Nikhil did not have much of a choice – pay up to secure his license quickly or wait
to get it whenever the authorities chose to give it to him. Fighting with the authorities to give the license in time
without paying at all was out of the question. Right? Wrong. I agree that there was no point in Nikhil fighting alone.
But when there is a group of people involved, I doubt if the corrupt officials will stand any chance against them. So
what’s to be done?
Steps:
Fight It Out
First and most important of all – refuse to follow the rule “If you can’t beat them, join them”. Fight when you
can as an individual.
Let’s say if your bus conductor offers you a without ticket ride or a ride with a used ticket by taking less money
from you, will you not be tempted to save a rupee or two? Be honest to yourself. We all will be tempted but then we
have to be firm and refuse to succumb to the temptation. Please don’t justify this act by saying that it is a very
small offence because it is not. It will start at you and soon slowball into something bigger and far more serious.
You don’t believe me, do you? Check it out for yourself.
Your bribe to conductor(few paisas)
|
ticket collector (few rupees)
|
his superiors (few tens)
|
his superiors (few hundreds)
|
his superiors (few thousands)
|
his superiors (few lakhs)
|
...
|
...
|
minister (few crores) ------------- BIG SCANDAL
We all read about such scandals in papers without realizing that somewhere one of us was responsible for kick-starting
it unknowingly. This chain of events can be broken if and only if we -You, me and everyone else - put our foot down and decide
not to pay bribes – for anything anywhere, no matter what happens. We cannot be 100% perfect but let’s give it our best shot. Let's keep improving.
Group Therapy
Of course, you will have to enlist the help of your Citizen Group if waging a lonely battle against corruption is not
feasible or practical or could be dangerous. Never underestimate the power of a group of people!! If you find that bribe
is being demanded for a particular work at a certain place, you must report it to the members of your citizen’s group.
One or two people from the group can then go to that place pretending to get the same work done and to verify your story.
They should form a detailed report of the same keeping the members’ names anonymous, if possible, so as to avoid any
harassment or pressure on them. There should be two people on each citizen’s group to look into legal matters so as to
avoid any loopholes. When they are confident that they have a case, they should tip off the anti-corruption unit.
We strongly urge every Citizen Group to involve local lawyers, cops and any other residents who are connected with the
police force and the media as its members. These members will be a great help in such matters.
The members of the Citizen Group should conduct surprise visits to government offices posing as common people wanting
to get the work done. Such visits will always keep the officials on their toes. They would not know whether these
people have a real business or are just faking it out. And so they would refrain from demanding bribes.
Screaming Headlines
A follow-up of such cases should be published in local newspapers so that more and more people are aware of what is going
on and the pressure on the investigating officers is maintained. If your Citizen Group
is maintaining a web site of its own, put it up online.
Remember:
We have to strike at the roots of this deadly poisonous tree of corruption – that will happen only if every common
man fights back.
Merely talking about corrupt politicians and system is not going to solve the problem.
Every individual – including you and me - has the potential of being as corrupt as the corrupt politicians. We have
to say “NO”.
We don’t have a right to expect others to be clean and honest unless we ourselves are clean and honest. Be a starting
point.
Don’t say “what difference can I make”. If you can be responsible for starting corruption, you can be equally
responsible for stopping it. Trust us on this one. Set the wheel into motion.
Better living conditions in most developed countries can be attributed to their lower corruption rates. Even a
10% reduction in corruption will go a long way in improving things for India.
And most important of all,
Corruption will grow unchecked if you don’t do anything about it. Make a hue and cry to nip it in the bud.
