Corruption is a cancer of our society
Corruption is a deep-rooted menace, that has eaten into the vitals of our society. There is hardly any sphere of social, economic, political, and religious activities that is free from corruption of some kind. Corruption has become so common that most people have come to accept it, as part of their life. Bribery and corruption increased greatly after 1947. The growth of democracy and industry, the system of licenses and permits for setting up enterprises securing quotes of raw materials import and export and the expansion of trade and commerce is responsible for the increase in corruption stringent laws against corruption have proven to be effective in curbing their evil.
The ability to bear corruption has increased among the general public. There is no strong public forum in society to oppose it, illiteracy, poor economic conditions, etc in many areas, is responsible for corruption. The low pay scale of government employees leads them to corruption. The complex law and procedures of the government take away people from government help. It is at its peak during the elections.
Corruption flourishes as long as there are people who are prepared to give bribes and others who are prepared to accept it directly or indirectly. Each one of us has a weakness for easy money. People are prepared to do anything or stoop to any extent of taking graft in order to maintain their so-called standards of living. People who indulge in corruption maintain double standards. On the one hand, they accept bribes and on the other, they urge people to be honest and pure. Such hypocrisy compounds the offense.
People who work on the right principles are unrecognized and considered to be foolish in modern society. Corruption in India is a result of the connection between bureaucrats, politicians, and criminals. Earlier bribes were paid for getting the wrong things done, but now bribe is paid for getting the right things done at the right time. Further, corruption has become something respectable in India, because respectable people are involved in it. In today's scenarios, if a person wants a government job he has to pay lakhs of rupees to the higher officials irrespective of satisfying all the eligibility criteria. In every office, one has earlier to give money to the employee concerned or arrange for some sources to get work done.
Corruption is a disease spreading in society, which has taken its roots in the minds of evil people. Nobody is corrupt by birth, but gradually he gets accustomed to his wrong thinking and greed. If there is any problem, illness, etc then we should face it with patience and trust and should not do bad things in the opposite circumstances also. Many lives are affected by one of the wrong steps. We are not alone on this earth, so we should also think about others and should live with peace and happiness with positive thoughts.
It is not difficult to locate the cause of corruption. Corruption generally breeds at the top and then gradually filters down to the lower levels. Gone are the days when people who joined politics were fired by the spirit of serving the nation. Those who suffered for the sake of getting their country freed from the foreigners knew only how to make sacrifices. They had never expected any compensation for their sacrifices. Those were the times when only selfless people join politics. But unfortunately, present-day politics has become a business like any other business. The modern politician is no longer motivated by lofty ideas. In order to win elections, they spend huge sums of money with the hope that after they are elected, they would recover much more than what they had spent. When the people in power indulge in unscrupulous practices a common man also indulges freely
Government after government have made promises to root out corruption from our public life, but this evil has persisted, of course, there is honest official but they are in the minority. Let us as a nation contemplate seriously what will happen when our public life is loaded with corruption. A certain amount of introspection by those who are in power can only initiate the process of minimizing the evil of corruption in our country. If the public generally is indifferent corruption, would continue to grow like cancer.
There are many reasons for corruption in society, in the present day politician may policy for their own benefit and not for the national interest. They just want to make themselves famous, so that they continue to benefit, they do not care about the interests and needs of the public. Today humanity is being moralized and social values are going down.
According to a 2017 survey study, many factors have been attributed as causes of corruption; greed for money, and desires. Higher level of market and political monopolization. Low levels of democracy, weak civil participation, and low political transparency.
Major factors responsible for corruption are:-
1. The nature of the human being people in general, have a great thirst for luxuries and comforts, and as a result they get themselves involved in all unscrupulous activities that result in monetary or material benefits.
2. Moral and spiritual values are not given almost importance in the educational system, which is highly responsible for the deterioration of society.
3. The salary paid to employees is very less and as a result of which they are forced to earn money in illegal ways
4. People of India are not awakened and enlightened. They fear to raise their voice against anti-social elements prevailing in society.
Control corruption in India -
Corruption in any sector could be effectively controlled by working on improving transparency and accountability in that particular. Transparency will ensure that each and every functioning, decision and its outcome is known to the public and all so that the fairness of the deal could be ascertained. On the other hand, accountability places the responsibility for an undesirable outcome/loss on an individual.
1. This has been done by the government of India under the Right to Information or the RTI Act, which had been incorporated in 2005. RTI Act 2005 gives the power of questioning to the common citizen of India. Using the RTI act anyone could now question any department by simply submitting a RTI application.
2. Government also established the Central vigilance commission (CVC)in 1964 to look into the matter of governmental corruption.
3. Government has amended the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, to criminalize the party which pays bribes for undue advantages.
Every problem has a solution.......but it depends on us if we have to stand against this evil act or in support of it. People usually stay silent in such situations, but one must remember that mere silence leads to acceptance. We must unite together and try to reduce corruption. We all need to be loyal to our responsibilities and stick to any type of greediness. Though corruption is uncontrolled in India. It is also true that by and large the common men and women of India are honest and have an evident dislike for corruption. However, deep-rooted corruption might be, it could be successfully eliminated with political will and public awareness.
