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Topic: Does the root cause of corruption lie with the society or with the Government? How and why? What would make society not to acquiesce corruption?

CORRUPTION: THE HEN AND EGG STORY OF THE 21ST CENTURY

One of the most disputable questions, which have intrigued us for centuries Which came first- hen or the egg? The answer to this question is not as important as the question itself. The thought to borne in our minds is that, where is the beginning or what is caused the outcome to be so. As the title suggests, corruption, according to me, is the 21 century version of the Classic Hen & Egg Story. Who is the root cause of corruption- Society or Government? Did the government rules and regulations or its incapability to implement them, cause corruption? Or, The society and its inherent lack of discipline and impulsive actions or decisions, resulted in the same?
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SOCIETY AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES Be the change you want to see in the world M.K.Gandhi Any society is like a machinery, if there is a problem with any part of it, the entire machine is affected. So in order for the machine to function properly all its part must cooperate and work as one unit , lest the machine fails to work. In this fast paced world , we all want everything in the blink of an eye or at the push of a button. We have the same notion regarding the changes in the society as well. In order to compete and keep up with this pace, we sometimes want to jump the queue or take a shortcut. But there are no shortcuts to success. Hence we pay the price. Quite literally too. There is a behavioral disorder in the society. People in general have certain basic shortcomings, which are not restricted by race, caste, language, etc. We can see them in any thriving society, but the means and discipline to contain such faults is negligent or, mostly absent. Problematic Notions of People: Time is money : With the advent of technology, development of industries , economies, etc, a lot has changed. Progress for the sake of progress is degenerating for the society. The concept of time has altered to defy the basic Physics principles of time and space! Everything is fast these days. Starting from food, education, entertainment, clothes, to technology, everything is express! There is just no time to spare, for every second counts and it literally costs. For instance , these days the children have playschools wherein 11 months old toddlers are enrolled, for their parents arent able to give time to them! In this recession affected times, people need to put in more hours to work to be able to provide for the basic necessities of self and their loved ones. Such is the situation that the parents toiling incessantly for the better future of their children are unable to give them time in the Present!

Now, if one doesnt have time for anything or the loved ones, why would they want to waste any of it on the other members of the society or by following the rules and regulations and upholding the moral principles. If everything has a price tag and one can afford it, then why not save time by making the payment? Money buys everything: These days many would have us believe this idea. If someone has to an important meeting to attend and speeds past the traffic signal, he does not have time to waste for the Challan or simply doesnt want to pay the high fine; he may simply give a smaller amount to the Officer on duty instead. The ill-paid government officer goes happy and so does the offender! Shortcuts to success: Though it goes against the proverbial gems of knowledge, yet people have proved it to be true! In a billion plus nation like ours, there are innumerous applications made each day for the drivers license, voters identification cards, pension, college admissions, tenders, etc. But there is no time to wait for them to be processed. There is a cycle working in the system: You pay extra something to push the files through the offices, the officers expect to receive something to sign the documents or vice versa. It is still an enigma as to which one comes first- the expectation or extra something? Hen and the egg Theory all over again! The certain fact is that, there are shortcuts available in every aspect of the government machinery and there are innumerous people willing to avail the same. Everyone does it or Why-not-me-syndrome: This is probably the most common reason given by people. If someone else gets away with it, why not me? We often see that the other pensioners are getting their pensions, but we are not. Simply because the Babu wants Sweets on Diwali for his children, and others are giving him the same; Why shouldnt I do the same? thinks the common man, who needs the money for the expensive medications. More often than not the under table transaction is the lesser of the two evils, even for the moral few. The Aadarsh Society Scam saw many big names, and huge figures and misappropriations of government funds. Now who is responsible for that? The Government who took so long to realize that the fund was being pilfered by the goons, including their white collared counterparts, was at fault. But what about the people who belonged to the elite class of the society? What about the society who puts forth personal interest ahead of the common interests?

GOVERNMENT AND ITS RESPONSIBILITIES Principle of corruption: The movement of the files is directly proportional to the bribe paid. India is the largest democracy in the world with a billion plus population. Ours is the most extensive Constitution. It has been framed by analyzing the changes in the contemporary Constitutions of various nations. It has evolved with time, with the aid of the Judiciary and Legislature to accommodate the changing needs of the society. There are thousands of Laws, bye-laws, etc. with secular and democratic tones. It has three important segments: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. There are adequate laws, but with the advent of time and increasing offences there should be stricter punishments. The politicization and luring the masses for vote banks, results in a legislature which refrains to pass a Bill in the Houses, lest it upsets the popular masses. Salman Rushdie was removed from the guest list of the speakers in the Literary Fest in Jaipur, 2012, because of the discontent protests of the masses owing to his,critical works on Islamic practices. West Bengal recently saw in the change of government after almost 35 years! The change was essential as CPM rule proved to be detrimental to the states growth. Whereas the chance of seeing Trinamool Congress run the government and make the changes they demanded from the CPM, when they were in power, is nothing short of interesting. Will Trinamool be able to lead the state after all? Is blaming easier then actually doing the right thing yourself? Does someone elses shoe actually pinch you , too?

Reasons for Governments Contribution to Corruption: Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely: The democracy ensures that the rein remains in the hands of the People. The government is By the People, Of the People but, not for the People. The problem is simple, when one ahs abundance of power in their hands, its abuse comes, but naturally. The addiction of power is the worst of all, for there is no rehabilitation clinic or treatment for this one. The economic theory of Diminishing Marginal Utility doesnt apply to power. The more one has the more they seek. Vote Bank Politics: The salesman and the political parties have a lot in common. They tell you how they have something more to offer , always. They can sell their products/party in such manner, that more often than not, we end up going for it. For instance the around the elections, one would see the roads being reconstructed, the pot holes being filled up, the agendas are simply amusing. From Salman Rushdies removal from the Literary Fest, the Rizwanur Rehmans honor killing, re-establishing Hindutva, claims of controlling inflation to punishing those involvedin the 2-G scams, CWG scams, etc. All that one wants to hear will be told and claimed to be done until the election results are out. Then the interests of the people, takes a backseat, while the other interest are being achieved. Everything seems to be fair in the votebank politics. The government and the opposition fails to understand reality, and promises to do things which arent practical. Once in power, every party manages to aid and accomplish the agendas of few classes, even if they are responsible for the whole country!

Lack of Initiative : The time is always right to do what is right -Martin Luther King, Jr. These immortal words are what our leaders lack: spirit! Our respected Parliamentarians often act more like bucket full of crabs of the folklores. No one will let the other one climb out. Instead they will keep pulling them down. The Oppositions forget that they have to participate and also help approve the matters and legislations in the House if it is of public interest, and not simply disapprove it. The Government is reluctant to implement any Legislation which results in the public displeasure.For instance , the Lokpal Bill, has been drafted and redrafted over the years, but never passed by both the Houses of the Parliament! The reluctance to put itself under scrutiny and determining its extent, whilst balancing publics demands of transparency is a lost cause. The powerless Ombudsman would be of no use, for it would require the tax-payers money and be able to achieve not much. Whereas, the empowered Ombudsman, would render the Government quite ineffective. Either way, no Bill which affects the vote banks and above all the Parliamentarians, is doubted to be passed ever.

Multi-Party System: The biggest drawback of our politics is the multi-party system. The Party which should form and execute the Governmental policies should be the most popular one. But in the multi-party system, the Coalition Government is formed. So whoever has the support of the many less popular parties, may form the government, even if it has secured lesser votes than a particular party. The worst part is that these supporting parties always threaten to have their demands met , or they would withdraw their support resulting in the fall of the Coalition Government. The extortion works, but for the parties, and not the public in most cases. Such unstable government can never deliver to the public, let alone deal with and fight corruption in its own system. The Hall of Shame: The Election candidates are not selected on the basis of their service to society. The list of criminals in the parliament is shocking. More than half the MPs have some ongoing case against them , starting from misappropriation of funds, office of profit, to criminal offences like involvement in murder, extortion etc. When the candidates are such, the choices of candidates to be voted for, is limited. The government comprising of such candidates is obviously not the one to shun corruption. Hence stricter screening process and follow-up process of the election candidates are required.

AN ENDLESS LIST OF SCAMS AND SHAME

1) 2G Spectrum Scam The scam involving the process of allocating unified access service licenses is one of the biggest scams in the Indian history. At the heart of this Rs.1.76-lakh crore worth of scam is the former Telecom minister A Raja who according to the CAG, has evaded norms at every level as he carried out the dubious 2G license awards in 2008 at a throw-away price which were pegged at 2001 prices. With the alleged involvement of the Ex-Union Finance Minister, Prime Minister and many other big players of politics, this scam has shattered the belief of the common man in the Government. 2) Commonwealth Games Scam Another feather in the cap of Indian scandal list is Commonwealth Games loot. Yes, literally a loot! Even before the long awaited sporting bonanza could see the day of light, the grand event was soaked in the allegations of corruption. It is estimated that out of Rs. 70000 crore spent on the Games, only half the said amount was spent on Indian sportspersons. The Central Vigilance Commission, involved in probing the alleged corruption in various Commonwealth Games-related projects, has found discrepancies in tenders like payment to non-existent parties, wilful delays in execution of contracts, over-inflated price and bungling in purchase of equipment through tendering and misappropriation of funds. There were many infrastructural discrepancies resulting in accidents, which though didnt cause any casualty, it definitely embarrassed the country as a whole at an International level. The corruption raised questions on our credibility and competence to organize an international event of such importance. 3) Telgi Scam If only we could put the brilliance of our people for the good use, we would have probably become the Global superpower by now. The ideas and scams are brilliantly executed, that its almost shameful to bust such schemes which show clearly the intelligence of the executors. Abdul Karim Telgi had mastered the art of forgery in printing duplicate stamp papers and sold them to banks and other institutions. The tentacles of the fake stamp and stamp paper case had penetrated 12 states and was estimated at a whooping Rs. 20000 crore plus. The Telgi clearly had a lot of support from government departments that were responsible for the production and sale of high security stamps. Though Telgi is undergoing trial, the big fishes are still out corrupting the rest of the ocean. 4) Satyam Scam The scam at Satyam Computer Services is something that will shatter the peace and tranquillity of Indian investors and shareholder community beyond repair. Satyam is the biggest fraud in the corporate history to the tune of Rs. 14000 crore. The companys former chairman Ramalinga Raju kept everyone in the dark for a decade by fudging the books of accounts for several years and inflating revenues and profit figures of Satyam. Finally, the company was taken over by the Tech Mahindra which has done wonderfully well to revive the brand Satyam. But the loss to investors in the ever risky investment market did no good to the investors faith. 5) Bofors Scam The Bofors scandal is known as the hallmark of Indian corruption. The Bofors scam was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s; when the then PM Rajiv Gandhi and several others including a powerful NRI family named the Hindujas, were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply Indias 155 mm field howitzer. This scam was the Watergate Scandal of India.

The Swedish State Radio had broadcast a startling report about an undercover operation carried out by Bofors, Swedens biggest arms manufacturer, whereby $16 million were allegedly paid to members of PM Rajiv Gandhis Congress. Most of all, the Bofors scam had a strong emotional appeal because it was a scam related to the defense services and Indias security interests. 6) The Fodder Scam It is often said about Indians that they want their moneys worth. We are the masters of creating fortunes out of nothing. True. Even fodder can be used make fortune! The Bihars fodder scam of 1996, Chara Ghotala , Rs.900 crore, an unholy nexus was traced involved in fabrication of vast herds of fictitious livestock for which fodder, medicine and animal husbandry equipment was supposedly procured. And the ex-Chief Minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav was suspected to be involved in it. 7) The Hawala Scandal The Hawala case to the tune of $18 million bribery scandal, which came in the open in 1996, involved payments allegedly received by countrys leading politicians through hawala brokers. From the list of those accused also included Lal Krishna Advani who was then the Leader of Opposition. Thus, for the first time in Indian politics, it gave a feeling of open loot all around the public, involving all the major political players being accused of having accepted bribes and also alleged connections about payments being channelled to Hizbul Mujahideen militants in Kashmir. 8) IPL Scam Most of us are aware about the recent scam in IPL and embezzlement with respect to bidding for various franchisees. The scandal already claimed the portfolios of two big-wigs in the form of Shashi Tharoor and former IPL chief Lalit Modi. But they remained mere speculative parties, as nothing much could be proven as per their involvement. 9) Harshad Mehta & Ketan Parekh Stock Market Scam Although not corruption scams, these have affected many people. There is no way that the investor community could forget the unfortunate Rs. 4000 crore Harshad Mehta scam and over Rs. 1000 crore Ketan Parekh scam which eroded the shareholders wealth in form of big market jolt.

As the title suggests , it is an endless list indeed. There is corruption on every level. India has been th 1 ranked 95 of 183 countries in the Worlds Corruption Index 2011 .

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ANTI-CORRUPTION LEGISLATIONS: ADEQUATE? The Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 is legislated mainly for eradicating corruption. But the implementation of the same is another issue. The stricter implementation is required for the sake of fulfilling the legislative intent behind the Act. The Right To Information Act, subject to certain restrictions, gives right to the people to obtain information about Government documents, and functions , etc. This is to empower the public at large, with the knowledge as to their rights, duties etc. The Judicial Accountability Bill, 2010, The Lokpal Bill, is placed before the Houses, broadening the purview of the public officials so as to include the higher ups in the administrative and executive strata of the government and judiciary. The hue and cry about the stronger Lokpal Bill, was a good cause lost amidst power play and politics. The popular demands shadowed the rationale of the Legislation and channeled impractical ideas. The need for change and eradicating corruption cannot be arbitrarily done. The so-called stronger Lokapal Bill sought to create another government like body, with another head, Lokpal who had unhindered powers to try anyone and everyone, including the Prime Minister. So the suggested system indirectly seeks to create a body, with the existing public officials, claimed to be corrupt, headed by a Lokpal who seems replaces Prime Minister as the head( not actually). So basically we have a similar structure made of the similar components, with a different name and a head. Power corrupts , absolute power corrupts absolutely. --- Lord Acton

We do need a strong Ombudsman, but we cannot, and should not forget the procedure of law. The Legislative body should not be swayed by the popular demands, ignoring the due process of law. For instance the Prime Minister has to be given certain immunities, for he is the head of the government, and has earned the position to have basic immunities, lest his attempts to run a government will fall flat on all four.

CONCLUSION I strongly believe that corruption is the price we pay for democracy. This is because even if we take the blame it would be right to fight against it on the same time. But if we are not given fair opportunities to fight it then how are we supposed to fight it? The government is transparent-agreed. But it is transparent only when asked for. If the citizens do not know about half of the corruption that is in their country how are they suppose to respond to it or fight it? And how many people are aware of the fact that the government is answerable to each and everything they do? There is no awareness no proper initiative taken to make citizens aware of it instead they are being scammed without their knowledge, then how exactly are we suppose to take the blame on our head? Measures for the society to not acquiesce t: 1) Start at home: If you think corruption should be eradicated, start from yourself. Do not pay bribes or take short-cuts, and learn to wait for the procedure. Learn to object when denied the rights. 2) Vote: If you want the rights, fulfill your duties too. It is our duty to vote for our representatives in our Parliament, Assembly. Do a background research of the candidates before voting in their favor. Its not our future at stake; it is of all of us! 3) Condone, not Condemn: Not that we should forgive the wrong doings of the criminals turned politicians. They deserve the condemnation to an extent. But lets not condemn politics. It is our country and future, we should participate in the politics. If we think there arent any good leaders, then we should step up and try and set the example. Our country needs young and active politicians who are there to make a difference. 4) Do it: Doing nothing, but merely sitting back and playing the Blame Government for everything! For people who do not care, they do not have right to complain. They shouldnt complain when they do nothing themselves! Know your rights and duties and then follow them: demand your right when denied, fulfill your duties when required. Yes, the government appears to be incompetent and the society is too aggressive. But the dont care attitude of Public gives the opportunity to the corrupt officials to do their own doings. Thus, the hen lays the eggs, and the chicken from the egg becomes a hen and lays more eggs, resulting in the unending cycle. i.e., to simply put: Though the society and the government both are responsible for the corruptioncancer, the balance beams tilts in each of their favor every now and then. In their own different ways they are responsible for the chaos in the recent times. Instead of pointing out the others flaws, both society and government should works on their own shortcomings to establish the social order and harmony.

The notion of change and improvement should be taught at an early age. The value of conscience and principles of righteousness is instilled from a young age. Our former President A.P.J Abdul Kalaam rightly observed:
If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.

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