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How not to Fight Corruption
The other day, civil society activists organized a massive anti-corruption rally at Delhi’s famous Ramlila Maidan. The rally was the brainchild of the indefatigable Kiran Bedi. I followed the action on a news channel. I looked at the faces on the dais and told myself that the future of the nation ought to be safe if we have so many clean civil society activists willing to take the bull by the horn. I looked at the “sea of humanity” which had turned up to lend support to the cause. I again told myself that with so many clean people joining the fight, corruption will have to dig in its heels to survive in India. Baba Ramdev too is at it. It is standard practice for him to deliver a lecture on corruption after his lec-dem on yoga. Mind you, Ramdev is no ordinary yoga guru. Comrade Brinda Karat once accused him of running sweat shops in which women were used as bonded labor for making wellness products. The backlash from his followers hit the charming Marxist like a tsunami. So when they put their hands up for fighting corruption, I begin to wonder whether the politically orchestrated noises over this and that scam are real. The entire nation seems to be up in arms against scams and scamsters. Yet India remains one of the most corrupt nations on this planet! I wish fighting corruption was as simple as holding a public rally or putting our hands up at Baba Ramdev’s yoga sessions. It is not that I do not feel strongly about combating the menace. There were two reasons why I did not join the Ramlila rally. One, I am too lazy to move my butt. Two, I do not consider myself clean enough to lend my support to what I believe should be fought as a holy war. In my book the jihad against corruption has to begin with the self. My maternal grandfather used to get very angry if someone told a lie. In his book, having the moral courage to own up was the foundation of personal integrity. This is one lesson which I try not to forget. When I come face to face with temptation, I steer clear by placing my self in front of the confessional box. To double my resolve not to be tempted, I put my wife inside the confessional box. I am constantly fighting my own personal demons. I win some and he wins some. Without completely destroying the demons within me, I simply cannot see myself joining the jihad against corruption. Doing this piece is a kind of a penance. I did a sample article on “Radia tapes and the India media” for Chillibreeze. The piece was accepted for publication. I mailed the same article to all and sundry, including All Voices, before Chillibreeze could publish it. I was told, in polite language, that I was a cheat. I now realize that what I had done would not pass my maternal grandfather’s integrity test. Chillibreeze told me that if I wanted my name to be registered for possible writing assignments I will have to do another sample piece. I am toying with the idea of launching a website called Jihad against Bhrashtachar (JAB), meaning holy war against corruption. The focus of the website would be on raising the level of our collective awareness about what is right and what is wrong. Had I been raised right, I would not find myself perpetually outside a confessional box. Members of JAB will have to take a pledge to confess their past sins and report their future acts of transgression. This will be a JAB soldier’s regular drill to keep him battle ready for the war against corruption. True jihad is possible only if we rid ourselves of our personal sins. How can a corrupt politician or a corrupt bureaucrat or a corrupt aam aadmi like me even think of joining the war against corruption? The campaign against corruption in its present form indeed has a serious flaw. It presumes that everyone who is in it is without a past. I suspect our school system and our parenting methods are responsible for our collective lack of general awareness about right and wrong. Getting the lineman to “fix” our phone bill or our power bill was never treated as a corrupt act. We as a rule do not insist on a receipt for our shopping because we are told that it will help us avoid paying sales tax. Most property deals involve the exchange of unaccounted money. Yet, we think we have the right to join the fight against corruption. We were taught that a stitch in time saves nine. However, we were never told that this principle also holds the mantra for developing personal integrity. Had I been taught to see a deeper meaning in the “stitch in time” formula, I would not have stashed newspaper raddi with pages from used class work copies to increase its weight. I would not have allowed the bus conductor to pocket the fare had I not traveled without a ticket on my lucky day. Years ago, I was doing a bit of aimless globetrotting and I was returning with my host after a late night party in Vienna. There was no traffic at all. Yet my host stopped at every traffic signal if the light turned red. That, my countrymen, is called integrity. It is something most of us in this beautiful land called India lack. Yet, we are eager to cast the first stone at corruption.
Editor's note: Most articles submitted to Chillibreeze go through a selection process. Only 30 percent of submitted articles are accepted for publication on the Chillibreeze.com featured article list. All accepted articles are edited and proofread for glaring errors of punctuation and grammar. Sentence structure is changed in certain cases and sometimes, entire sections are rewritten. If you notice any errors that have slipped through the cracks, do let us know! (Email us at info at chillibreeze dot com). Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in March, 2011. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
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