The Corrupt Times needs an end!

Corruption has become an integral part today in the world of glamour, police, bureaucracy, politicians, credulous citizens, corporate bodies, underworld, power-brokers, doctors and media. The whole idea of easy money is so attractive, that even against his wishes; a person gets into bribing which includes accepting and taking bribes. In today’s dog-eat-dog world (I am sorry to use this term, but this is what one sees everyday), everyone wants to live a luxurious life crammed with every comfort and deluxe amenities. In the race to have maximum number of imported cars underneath your house, an international brand name attached to every piece of cloth you use to drape yourself and free flowing cash to satisfy your never ending demands; one can not help himself but fall prey to corruption and earn easy cash.

But when we talk about anything, why do we just refer to ‘him’? Just the other day, I accompanied by dad to his C.A.’s office and I was shocked by some things he mentioned in his discussion about corruption with my father. He said that the present finance minister is so horrendous; he has actually pressurized them for things that aren’t of much importance. He spoke about some lady senior inspector in their district (Taluka) who asked my dad’s C.A. to pay her an awesome bribe of two lakh rupees to close a particular case and demands Rs. 25,000 to avoid opening a case. Now isn’t this shocking to see lady officials as well being corrupt? It shatters the very trust one places in the government and its bureaucrats when such cases come in the open. But who is to be blamed here? Right from the hawaldars (more popularly known as ‘Pandus’), to the traffic police, to the inspectors involved in desk work, to the commissioners and the politicians and mayors and the ministers. They are all interlinked to each other and wouldn’t really complain about the other in this whole gamble.

Talking about the people in government offices, they are no less corrupt. For my dad’s Petrol Pump work at MIDC, Andheri; the peon rejected Rs. 50 note when my dad asked him to give a particular file to some higher officer. Then one of the clerks informed my dad that their bribe begins at Rs. 200 which then largely depends on the rank of the officer you want your work to be done with. The under-the-table acceptance of kind and cash is simply shocking. A SP earns an awesome average of around 10 Lakhs a month from just one police station he handles and he covers many such police stations. This fact is clearly mentioned in Y.P. Singh’s book against the corrupt police titled ‘Carnage by Angels’. Who would then want to trust such a system? Who would want to sacrifice his life for the same? People say - to change the system, you need to be into it and deal with the activities there. But one man can no longer make a difference today. Gone are the days of Gandhi and Nehru. Today, one man army isn’t a very successful phenomenon. Anyone trying to generate qualms in the working of the system, as it has been happening normally, is not considered to be a normal human being. People work under the politicians who are as much corrupt. In such cases, if one alone walks the path of honesty and assert to the moral values, s/he shall perish. But someone somewhere has to ignite the fire and I believe, the youth are the best ones to start and make a difference in the Indian political scene today. Don’t really know how, but yeah, we do need a revolution!

Writing Credits: Aaishwari Chouhan
Editing Credits: Piyush Singh