Corruption- a word that seems almost inseparable from my beloved country. I have really been thinking about it! Why do we have so much corruption prevalent in India as compared to any of the developed nations? Why do we encounter corruption in almost all spheres public services? You get away from almost any offence by paying a suitable bribe, from as little as breaking a traffic signal to as big as murder.
Some of the reasons which I believe are responsible for such a deep and widespread of corruption in India are:
1. Extremely low levels of salaries:
In general, everyone wants to lead a comfortable life - live in a descent home, own a reasonable means of transport, give good education to his children, reasonable means of comfort and luxury. I believe there is nothing wrong in that. Problem arises when one's income from fair means is not able to support these requirements. This provides a natural push to look for alternate sources of income. And for those possible, they move into the lucrative world of corruption. And given the fact that they can get away with almost anything, corruption becomes an even more attractive option. Unless we do something about it, I think it will be hard to bid good-bye to corruption.
2. Lack of accountability:
There is very little or absolutely no accountability in the public system. Each year hundreds of crores of rupees are allocated to ambitious water, land and education projects. But hardly you can see a tangible output. No one just bothers once the money has been allocated and received.
3. Of course, a bad bad leadership:
This is probably the biggest reason. A corrupt leader sets a bad example for his followers. This provides an added motivation for his subordinates to get into corruption. I just read about the alleged scam in the allocation of 3G spectrum in India and have been deeply moved by it. I am terribly frustrated and really want that the involved minister and other people should be brought to justice. They should be given a speedy trial and a harsh punishment which will set an example for others.
4. Education
I think our education system stresses more on competition and than on making great humans. We have a terrific sense of competitiveness. In the race to excel in every sphere of life, we forget that education is first meant to teach us some basic human values. Long gone are the days when we used to hear-Honesty is the best policy. Always speak truth.
I think that's where from corruption sets in. Our basic moral values have degraded over the past many years and today's generation has mostly seen corrupt officers and ministers around them.
If we really want to tackle corruption, we'll need to many steps and it will take a generation's time to clean up the whole system. At the outset, the corrupt leaders should be punished harshly and be given exemplary punishments. This will have immediate effects. We should also work towards improving the standard of life of a normal public servant. Give everyone enough means for a respectable life. In the long run, we should improve our education system. Unless our upcoming generation really values the morality of our literatures, it will be hard to bid corruption good bye for ever.
I feel extremely frustrated to see that my country is lagging behind despite having a huge potential to be a world superpower. There are 1000s like me who feel the same. I wonder if there is something I can do about it.
I think our education system stresses more on competition and than on making great humans. We have a terrific sense of competitiveness. In the race to excel in every sphere of life, we forget that education is first meant to teach us some basic human values. Long gone are the days when we used to hear-Honesty is the best policy. Always speak truth.
I think that's where from corruption sets in. Our basic moral values have degraded over the past many years and today's generation has mostly seen corrupt officers and ministers around them.
If we really want to tackle corruption, we'll need to many steps and it will take a generation's time to clean up the whole system. At the outset, the corrupt leaders should be punished harshly and be given exemplary punishments. This will have immediate effects. We should also work towards improving the standard of life of a normal public servant. Give everyone enough means for a respectable life. In the long run, we should improve our education system. Unless our upcoming generation really values the morality of our literatures, it will be hard to bid corruption good bye for ever.
I feel extremely frustrated to see that my country is lagging behind despite having a huge potential to be a world superpower. There are 1000s like me who feel the same. I wonder if there is something I can do about it.
