Corruption

 It is supposedly anti-corruption day today. I am using that 'supposedly' quite carefully. Well, in this blog today, I want to define corruption. So!

What is corruption? Undoubtedly, it refers to monetary malpractices. In India, we all know very many examples of this sense of the term, as the famous assertion by the erstwhile P.M. Rajiv Gandhi regarding the dregs of a rupee reaching the end beneficiary would establish beyond doubt this type of corruption.

Surely with the DBT technology, such kind of corruption could be checked. Even the notorious ' chai pani bhiskut' 'adjustment' with the traffic police is now a little difficult, what with road side cameras filming your traffic faux pas, and issuing challans against which you face a court hearing and the fine.

As salaries as well as bills are mostly, though not all, managed by computers, tax evasion of any sort is comparatively difficult currently. Does that mean we are all back in to Raja Harischandra's kingdom in the Satya Yuga? No way! You all know the (in)famous "jugad" mode in India which is often used to deceive the system, even the technology.

Well, then what exactly is corruption? I think it is a particular mental make-up which looks for easy solutions of all sorts. Actually, it is an attempt to deceive the others, the world. In reality, however, it is tainting your own soul, staining your own image in your own eyes. That is the real corruption in my opinion.

Is there a second chance if/when such an eventuality takes place? Indeed, yes, there IS. 'Admit your  mistake to your own self, never repeat it' would be the process, right? If I may quote an example, Gandhiji's "experiments with truths" would provide  the best example of such a mode of self-purification, I suppose.

Well, I would sum up by saying that corruption vanishes in to thin air as long as there is transparency in our dealings, in our behaviour, but most importantly, in our own souls, and most ethically!

Pratima@"Integrity, transparency and the fight against corruption have to be part of the culture. They have to be taught as fundamental values.” So says Angel Gurría, OECD secretary general.