The Corrupt Indians
Transparency International (TI) is a German based international agency founded by Peter Eigen that rates nations based on the Corruption Perceptions Index. India is now ranked 84th out of a possible 180 countries. We do not need a poll or a German agency to tell us that corruption is one of the biggest problems facing the country today.
Our daily lives would become extremely difficult if we are not willing to pay bribes to get things done. On the bright side my home state of Kerala has be ranked as the least corrupt state in the nation. This necessarily is not a good thing. People in the state have to follow the proper procedure most of the time and this takes enormous amount of time and as a result nothing gets done. Simple civil cases for example can last over 20 years.
The question is what can be done to prevent or reduce corruption? Yoga “guru” Baba Ramdev said recently that capital punishment should be awarded to corrupt individuals. He said “fast track courts should be constituted in the country for the trial of corrupt persons. Such courts should decide the case in three months and award capital punishment to those indulge in it”. If we follow the “guru’s” advice most of us will be in death row.
We should know what corruption is before we can begin tackling it. When we in India talk about corruption we tend to discuss political corruption. Political corruption is nothing but using government powers for illegal private gain by politicians and government officials. This includes bribery and extortion. Middle class India is extremely unhappy with Indian politicians as a whole. This is largely a result of the political corruption that exists in Indian politics today.
But there are other forms of corruption that we perpetuate which also has a devastating effect on society. Influence peddling is very common in India and is not restricted to the government alone. But influence peddling is clearly a corrupt act. Most of us in the course of our careers have “recommended” or “forwarded” the resumes of our friends or associates to the Human Resource departments for open positions. Some companies even offer some type of reward to us if the person we recommend is hired. The fact is that the person we recommend stands a much better chance of getting hired than an individual who is trying hard to get the same job.
Many companies in India employ individuals who are mostly from their own community (religion and/or caste). This is very true for small businesses and privately held companies although this is clearly against the law. This is called patronage and is also considered a corrupt act.
In India we are very critical if politicians favor certain group but ignore favoritism in the private sector (how many of us really care when we shop for sweets, groceries or silk saris whether the owner and all the employees of the store belong to the same religion/caste or otherwise?).
So how do we solve corruption? We have to accept that we cannot separate ourselves from the corrupt society that is all around us. We are part of the problem. We have to set a personal example and change our behavior, attitude, buying habits and so on before we can expect our governments and politicians to do the same.
At a government level we have to encourage simple and transparent systems and solutions. Corruption in India is primarily due to tremendous regulation, beaurocracy and protectionism. We have to simplify the process and procedures as much as possible and make everything easily accessible to the general public.
Baba Ramdev’s solution of more fast track courts is not the answer. It will create more beaurocracy and therefore increase corruption in the court system. It will also increase the prison population significantly. We will have to build more prisons and hire more government employees to manage them. More government employees means more corruption!! Maybe Baba Ramdev is not a “guru” afterall :)
Related posts:
- Ramdev Qualified to Talk About Corruption?
- Corruption in India: Excuse for Uncaring Middle Class
- Myth or Reality: India is prospering but not Indians?
- Indians Ignoring Commonwealth Games
- Swami Ramdev Establishes Political Party in India
Category: Culture & Religion
Nope not with you.. but with Baba Ramdev :) Until and unless strict punishments are given, Nothing is going to happen. This is very true, because as i wrote earlier in one of ur atricles CORRUPTION IS IN OUR GENES. We are born with it.
Fast track courts, A few innocent will get buggered but hey little price to pay for a huge cause, I will be MEAN and say Collateral damage.
We have seen how law works, yesterday i read the news how the Minister who was involved in Sikh genocide of 1984, did not even bother going to court, so a fresh warrant had to be issued.. So there you go What else can be done, other then CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
The pro’s are more then the Con’s and beleive me if we want india to survive It has to be done.. Else the common man will Have to take LAW in his own hands.
Bikram … the brutal killings of Sikh people after the Indira Gandhi’s assassination was mainly lead by the members of the youth wing of the Congress Party. This has been proven in the court system years back. Nobody (including opposition parties) in India has the courage to bring these people to justice because of political consequences. Accused not showing up in court is very common in India and is not because of corruption but because the system is weak and there are many loopholes.
Truly enlightening post!
Now you are speaking like a guru here! Anyway, jokes apart, corruption is something we are all bound to. If all of a sudden, you make strict rules and implement them, we’ll surely run out of jails! Haha!
As you said, we are a part of this awful game of corruption. If we want to eliminate it, we need to change ourselves. Corruption stems from the sole desire of greed for money and power. If this mentality can be changed, India will surely go a long, long way…
I think that all of us want to take the short cut and use corruption when possible (like say when getting a drivers license or trying to get out of a traffic ticket) but blame the politicians when they are corrupt.
THat is what i am saying the law needs to be strengthened and people brought to the book.. and capital punishement brought back..
so people are afraid of LAW.. and not give two hoots to it .. what i said about minister was an example.. nothing to do with corruption etc.. people dont give a damn to law they need to .. only then things will improve
Bikram … I am not sure whether tougher punishment is the answer. America has very tough laws against drug use and thousands of Americans end up in jail over simple drug possession. But this has neither stopped nor reduced drug use in the country. Countries like China and Saudi Arabia execute hundreds of people every year over theft, rape, corruption and so on. But this has not reduced any of these problems. There are certain members of society who are not afraid of the law or the punishment. Some people are willing to commit mass murder in broad daylight. The threat of life sentences and death penalty did not prevent them from committing this crime in 1984 (the actual reason why they have not been brought to justice so far is the lack of political will).
so what you are saying is if we talk of stricted punishments we should not do it , cause it wont improve anything.. And other than that there is nothing else that i think that will effect Us indians. So in the end Forget everything and let it carry on as it is .
Forget about the actual reason.. ONE Minister Hanged.. Thats all it will take to make the others ___ in there pants. I am positive about it.
The threat of imprisonment etc IS NOT THERE my friend.. if it was there then YES they would have thought twice, This is what i am saying.. They dont give a damn about LAW.. SO law has to do something …
I go and slap a 4ft weak guy cause i know i am 6ft and bigger , stronger then him.. I know he dare not retaliate so i hit him, then i hit anothr.. But if this guy wud turn back and HIT me back.. at least I will think twice hitting the Second person…
i think “patronizing” is not just abt Indians…..think this is normal human thinking…..must be followed everywhere in the world….though i don’t have any instances i can boast abt………
corruption, i think will always be ther….it’s not the middle class which is started it…..middle class can’t afford to pay extra for something which they have already paid…..rich ppl tend to induce corruption into the system……
also at 84 …i see it as improvement….cause last time i heard abt a report like this ….it placed India in the early 20′s
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I think that all of it is found in other cultures as well. The question is to what degree.
I will double check but I think the lower the value the less the corruption (so if it went from 20 to 84 then it would mean that corruption is increasing).