Corruption crusade - a holistic view

Anna Hazare is a crusader, a crusader against corruption, the most common virus afflicting the country at present. His mission is indeed noble and has caught the fancy of the masses. That Tihar has now become home to many of the erstwhile powerful and corrupt is sufficient evidence of both the widespread corruption as well as the recent efforts of the government in tackling the same.

The moot point however is whether the proposed Lok Pal bill would be adequate to eradicate the deep rooted corruption in the nation. No doubt, it shall help by instilling fear of god in members of the sarkari tantra, but will that be enough?

The answer is “No”. Corruption cannot be eradicated without going into and then eliminating the systemic causes of the same. The root cause of corruption in the sarkari tantra is its complexity. This tantra was designed by the british to rule over untrustworthy slaves. It is unfortunate that the same old tantra is still flourishing and new complexities are being added with each passing day. How can therefore one expect trustworthiness from a tantra based on mistrust? The complexity of the tantra attained through the web of thumb impressions on files provides a shield to the financially as well as the professionally corrupt. Besides it also adds heavily to inefficiency and consequently low productivity, thereby retaining the nation forever in the developing category.

Corruption, complexity and productivity have a direct bearing on each other. The earlier it is understood by the powers that be, including the crusaders, the better it would be for all of us. Trying to tackle corruption in isolation, howsoever good the intentions may be, would not yield the desired results.