[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. [/inlinetweet]In its simplest sense, corruption may be defined as an act of bribery or misuse of public position or power for the fulfillment of selfish motives or to gain personal gratifications. It has also been defined as ‘Misuse of authority as a result of consideration of personal gain which need not be monetary’. Today, India has earned a place among the three most corrupted countries in the world. Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between bureaucracy, politics and criminals. India is now no longer considered a soft state. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on fingers. Earlier, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done but now officials palms are greased for accomplishing tasks at the right time.
Nowadays, private sector companies are better in comparison to the governmental jobs. Private companies are hiring candidates on the basis of their skill, ability, technical knowledge, good percentage of marks and all the educational records. However, it has become tough to find employment in government offices as bribes have to be paid for securing any job (high level or low level) like teaching, clerk, nurse, peon, sweepers, etc. And the amount of bribe increases in the market depending on the type of post.
Corruption is prevalent in everywhere whether it is in hospitals, education or government offices. Everything today has become a business and people are trying to earn money unethically. Educational institutions are also involved in corruption and they offer seats to those students only who have paid lumpsum amount, irrespective of the percentage scored by them. Very weak students are granted admission in the top colleges and universities only on the basis of money paid. On the other hand students scoring better percentage have to take admission in ordinary college due to financial problems.
It is well established that today’s politicians are extremely corrupt across the world. In fact, people are surprised to find a honest politician. These corrupt politicians go scot-free, unharmed and unpunished. Leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel are a rare breed now who had very little bank balance at the time of their death. Today, the list of scams and scandals in the country are endless.
Is it possible to contain corruption in our society? Corruption is a cancer, which every Indian must strive to eliminate. Many new leaders after getting elected declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon they themselves become corrupt and start amassing huge wealth.
There are many myths about corruption, which have to be exploded if we really want to combat it. Some of these myths are — Corruption is a way of life and nothing can be done about it. Only people from the underdeveloped or developing countries are prone to corruption. We will have to guard against all these crude fallacies while planning measures to fight corruption.
Corruption is an intractable problem and is like diabetes. It can only be controlled, but not totally eliminated. Corruption can’t be eliminated completely at all levels but it can controlled to a certain extent. It is not possible to curb corruption by improving the social-economic conditions of the country overnight because we all know that most of the people who are corrupt are not economically or socially backward, surely they will be having a notable social status. Corruption will only end when people like me and you stand up and speak out. If we do not take the step forward to eradicate corruption from its root, then Indian won’t progress and will continue to remain a developing country.
