India Inc pleaded with the Government to do something about corruption. This is the big news of today.
India would definitely be the numero uno in Olympics, only if the competition was of a different kind, centered around the widely practised sport of corruption.
Do the decision makers, or the men who matter, the bureaucrats and the politicos who have not yet jumped on the bandwagon of corruption have even the foggiest idea of the level of corruption in our system? It is almost nothing that an outsider can do with any sarkari system in the country without the customary greasing of palms. Yes, organizations like the Delhi Metro also exist, but they are notable exceptions that one can count on fingertips. The rot is absolute.
The tantra has two category of men who matter. One who have jumped on the bandwagon of corruption and the second who have not yet. The second category has a miniscule sprinkling of men of integrity who also deliver, the rest are either spineless, nincompoop or unconcerned. It is also tragic that this category generally feigns ignorance about the corrupt practices going on right under their noses and remains busy in its own world, fully occupied by the mundane stuff, that it tries hard to believe would bring about the change.
The problem invariably lies in the top management. Everything else is generally the symptom and this top layer, with a sprinkling of exceptions of course, generally comprises of rank mediocres, a category that alone possesses the capability to rise through the muck. Most of them, members of the second category of course. This ground reality is painful!
There is a book by William Nanda Bissell "Making India Work". It starts with "India is not a poor country, it is a poorly managed country..." and goes on to state that corruption is the root cause of all problems in India. Corruption is violating the rules for self-benefits. I think the simple rule of obeying traffic lights is violated by 70% of Indians which is a life threatening violation arising from a corrupt mind who, not necessarily belong to the top rank!
ReplyDeleteI am overwhelmed by your genuine concern for the malaise of corruption inflicting the Nation and society as a whole. We see you as a beacon of hope in this dark dungeon of universal loot and deceit. These are indeed difficult times of total degeneration of human values. In times like these, we all look up to individuals beyond ourselves for reassurance, to get guidance on what is right thing to do. When we are children and things around us fail, we look up to our parents for value clarification. Later in life, we look up to a teacher or a mentor to help us clarify what is right and wrong in times of difficulty. Beyond this is government which is seen as the protector of civil society. But in recent times, we are seeing this established model break down with routine regularity. Authority or people who are supposed to monitor and remove the rot in the system are themselves, either involved or totally oblivious of the corrupt practices around them. Whistleblowers are hounded, framed and persecuted.
ReplyDeletePresence of people like you gives hope for revival of these values. I remember and still possess cutting of news item of Indian Express (01.12.1999) hailing you as “The Engine” for catapulting DHR as a “universal property of mankind” when it was declared World Heritage Site. I pray to give “This Locomotive “enough strength to pull the system out of this quagmire of loot and corruption and offer unconditionally and everything which I possess for this noble cause.