T. Shanbenthung Kithan; Post graduate (Political Science) St. Joseph’s college, Bangalore; Morung Express; 8, November 8, 2010
The Chief Minister of Nagaland has rightly pointed out, during the Vigilance Awareness Week, held from October 25th to November 1st that “Corruption perpetuates inequality”. It is commendable on the part of the government for enlightening the people with such meaningful initiatives and hope that the conviction to check corruption at all levels remains on their priority list of every department. The question I ask is do we always need such kind of programmes to remind us that corruption is bad? When will we stop complaining or procrastinating and take a proactive stance against it? Let me first make it clear that the short discourse which I am about to embark does not in any way aim towards any particular individual or group; it is approached in a realist manner.
According to the Oxford dictionary, ‘corruption is a dishonest or illegal behavior and it is the action of corrupting someone or the state of being morally corrupt’. Transparency International, a global civil society against corruption, also defines it as ‘the abuse of entrusted power for private gain’ It further goes on to differentiate between "according to rule" corruption and "against the rule" corruption. Facilitation payments, where a bribe is paid to receive preferential treatment for something that the bribe receiver is required to do by law, constitute the former. The latter, on the other hand, is a bribe paid to obtain services the bribe receiver is prohibited from providing.’ In its 2010’s Report on Corruption Perceptions Index, nearly three quarters of the 178 countries in the index score below five, on a scale from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt).In this context Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are tied at the top of the list with a score of 9.3, followed closely by Finland and Sweden at 9.2. At the bottom is Somalia with a score of 1.1, slightly trailing Myanmar and Afghanistan at 1.4 and Iraq at 1.5. India comes at 87th rank with a score of 3.3 which is a clear indicative of being a substantially corrupt country. Corruption and cronyism is so conspicuous in India, that it has become a part of our everyday lives. Bribery, nepotism, favoritism seems have to have crept comfortably into our lives. Today India claims itself to be fast tracking towards a high GDP growth rate, riding amongst top economies of the world and to outrace China’s economy in the near future. But in reality the liberalization of the Indian economy, after the end of the cold war, has benefited only a small stratum of the Indian population. Of course, the government on its part has introduced many assorted schemes and programmes to ameliorate the rising rate of poverty, among other social and economic factors, in order to alleviate the downtrodden. It becomes a matter of concern when the funds for the various schemes, which are meant to benefit the right people usually ends up in the wrong hands. The list begins from top politicians, bureaucrats, government officials, to the bottom of the hierarchical structure which leaves out hardly anyone. Red tapism and stringent rules plays a stumbling block in providing transparency and accountability of the government to the people. Even the Right to Information act (RTI) implemented in 2005, which was supposed to bring about greater accountability and transparency, also fails, most of the time, to deliver justice especially to the common man. It becomes an onus task in the process of filing an RTI application, even if the application is accepted; the time taken to get the required information is overwhelmed due to the procrastination of working officials. These kinds of corrupt practices which are prevalent today are just a tip off the much larger iceberg. At this juncture, the role of the media is very important in checking the menace of corruption, in the recent years, the media: print as well as the electronic media has gearing up, building the momentum for truly carrying out its task as the forefront of Vox Populi. The media is an indispensable tool for creating awareness, disseminating information, and most importantly as the watchdog of democracy. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that the media always remain independent and objective in its views, free of amalgamation of any kind.
Our own Nagaland is not far behind when it comes to corruption. Even though officially much of the corruption issues are watered down and becomes ambivalent. The apocryphal floating around tell us that the levels of corruption in our society is disheartening. So what can we do about it? Well, the blame game seems to be the order of the day; it is so easy to sit comfily, spirits flowing freely, and engaging in rhetoric of critical polemics of whom; The government bodies? The administrative officials? In a way it is perfectly ok for them to get the blame as they have taken the oath to serve the people, the very people on which the basis of the very foundations of democracy stands upon. But if we contemplate the situation carefully we find ourselves rocking in the same boat. For instance, When was the last time you didn’t pay off a bribe to make your work easier, when was the last time you voted for the right potential candidate without taking a reward? I am not saying that we are short on people with higher convictions, but there are many of us who indulge in such practices .Also do you realize that the amount of money pumped during elections by the candidates is, well, excessive. And where do all these cash go? Well, I guess we all know the answer to that too. It seems to be a clear case of I quid pro quo. I, as a youth find it appalling that the young people are used as a means to an end by some candidates, for carrying out their ‘liabilities’. The time has come for the younger generation to take a reality check and realize that immediate bonanzas are insignificant in the long run and should focus on investing in knowledge which pays the best interest as rightly said by Benjamin Franklin.
It is time that all of us realize that corruption is nothing but a hindrance to progress in our society. The need to compel the forces of corruption down to its knees should be the sine qua non for every right thinking individuals of the Naga society. Let us start by taking a proactive approach instead of just being critical. Let us give the Nagas a chance to shine in today’s ever changing world. Let us strive together, notwithstanding our petty feuds and differences, to achieve the objective for a common good. I have been told a number of times that, if I join the civil services then I am predisposed to become corrupt but I say ,Quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, the renowned American lecturer, essayist and poet ‘To be yourself, in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else ,is the greatest achievement’.
.JPG)
.JPG)
