Aam Aadmi Arvind Kejriwal has sounded the bugle to put an end to corruption through his toll free number. A welcome step! Reminds me of a Tamil movie called “Mudhalvan” by Director Shankar. It also reminds me of a biblical story of “David and Goliath” Well though our David – Kejriwal is all set to put an end to the Corruption called Goliath with his toll free number of slingshots, but what has to be seen is that, the today’s Goliath, is too powerful to be killed by a slingshot! All the actions of the new Aam Admi party seem to be like a movie portrayed in reality. What really intrigues me is that how come a former civil servant can ignore certain facts of statistics and behave like a run of the mill politician?
A normal study of statistics (http://www.transparency.org/cpi2013/results on world corruption from a view point of a layman would reveal that corruption is indirectly proportional to development. Corruption is least in countries which are developed and is high in countries which are under developed. That even shows that countries with a higher GDP are less corrupt than those with lesser ones. What is understood is that corruption can be removed only with development. Today’s Goliath can never be killed with a slingshot alone; a concerted effort needs to be taken from all the directions to put the demon to rest. India is one country where there is a great gap in the salaries of the private sector when compared to those in the Government. A person working in the IT sector earns pay in 6 digits whereas his neighbour, a government servant earns in 5 digits. With the upper class lifestyle creeping in to the middle class, it becomes tempting for a government servant to make a fast buck to keep up to the new lifestyle like sending his kids to an international school; medical treatment in corporate hospitals; buying a car; a posh house etc. In this unfortunate situation, it must be the work of the government to focus on a multi-pronged development, as development is the only available antidote for the poisonous corruption. The probable solution for a better society would be to
- decrease the parity between the pays of government and private sectors;
- focus on infrastructure;
- quality education at government schools;
- quality treatment at government hospitals like those in Singapore where Government hospitals are preferred to private ones;
- Proper work atmosphere in Government offices;
- Inclusion of Civics as one of the important subjects at school;
- Strict enforcement of rules and then
- Fitting punishment for corruption.
Punishment alone can never be a deterrent to corruption. There will always emerge another modus operandi to take a bribe.
Without overall development, corruption can never be wiped off this country. I can draw a parallel to this. Recently after my visit to a host of countries – first, second and third world, in the American continent, I promised myself not to litter, as in all these countries I was amazed with the sense of cleanliness the people have and also found the countryside to be spick and span. So coming back to India with my new resolution I desisted myself from throwing rubbish and now my car has turned out to be a dustbin, and I am still looking for a dust bin to clear the trash. We don’t provide dustbins at regular intervals and we expect people not to litter. This goes the same for corruption too. They don’t provide the setting which deters a person to take bribe but expect him to be honest.
Each and every one has a share in nurturing the Goliath of today. We talk of corruption only when a government official demands a sum. We forget that it is we who in desperation to see our favourite actor’s movie look around to find if any tout is there selling movie tickets in black; it is again we who try to impress on the railway ticket examiner with cash to secure a berth in an otherwise filled train. Our attitude has to change. This goes a long way in killing corruption. As long as the corrupt feel it is wrong to take a bribe but still takes it due to circumstances, we still have hope as this situation can be changed with a focused all round development. But if a corrupt justifies his action then what ever be the development he still stays corrupt and there would be no recourse. We have to work towards the eradication of this evil by providing a scenario where corruption is treated with contempt.
The introduction of the toll free number which was widely publicised and spoken about in the media where we were told that 4000 calls were made in 7 hours all seems to be focused in creating hype. Toll free numbers existed even before Mr. Kejriwal entered into politics. The portal of Central Vigilance Commission clearly provides the details. (https://portal.cvc.gov.in/portal/index.jsp). The people never took recourse to it. Those who took were able to nab the corrupt. Now projecting this highly publicised toll free number just shows it is a concerted effort to capture the imagination of the common man, and that the elections are around the corner I can see that this seems to be an effort to transform this generated hype into votes. Though the AAP can never form the government on its own at the centre, it can play spoilsports and try to offset the chances of a deserved person from coming to power. I guess the AAP is really getting good at it. I hoped that Kejriwal would be a statesman; alas he too is proving to be another Aam Admi Politician!
Grow up Kejriwal people are counting on you!!