The greatest evil that has been plaguing Indian society is corruption. Corruption is the main cause of the high poverty level in India and has been the cause of misery, despair and frustration of the common man. Corruption is prevalent almost everywhere and the root cause for this is the greedy politicians and public officials who want to make money through every possible resource available to them while they are in power.
The greatest extent of corruption will be seen the public sector or the government services. One has to keep paying more than the prescribed fees ( 2 to 3 times or more!) to get anything done. For example get a drivers license, permit for building, extension of current dwelling, getting a passport, a birth or death certificate, obtaining a clearance for manufacturing, getting a new power connection, getting a transcript / marks list from a public university, getting an income tax clearance, and the list is endless! The extra money collected is distributed from the big bosses to the clerk who collects the money. It extends to law enforcement where criminals can get away with anything (even terrorism) and to judiciary. I am not saying that 100% of the public officials and politicians are corrupt, but according to my experience it is a majority. I think the honest minority will be ridiculed everyday and their lives will be miserable. I pity them.
Corruption does not stop there. It shows its ugly face in the private businesses like real estate, health care, education and many other places like this. The reasons are high demand and low supply due to overpopulation or connection to government permits for building etc. What I have personally observed is that though lot of people do not like this practice (both taking bribes and giving), they are led helplessly into the system. If an individual tries to resist it, that person will be ruined economically, socially and mentally by hook or crook. The rule to survive is though you are honest, do not protest and play the game for your safety!
I have the fortune of speaking to my grandfather (who was a 28 year old young man in 1947 when India got independence) regarding his opinion about corruption in the early 1990s. His opinion was, though the British had an agenda of exploiting the vast natural resources of the country and using its strategic position in trade between Europe, Africa and East Asia, they did not let corruption to be seen in public services. They hired the best and honest among Indians, built good infrastructure in the big cities. Some people say that even today the big cities in India like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata are running on the same sewage systems and public transportation systems that were built by the British for 1/4 th of their current populations! After independence the new found freedoms saw avenues for making easy money in public services. Also the quality of people who were recruited has degraded so much due to various reasons and corruption mushroomed. All the money earned by corruption is being stored in Swiss banks and some unofficial figures tell that Indians have the largest reserves in Swiss secret accounts. It is ridiculous for a country like India where almost 25% of the population is below poverty line to has such money hidden away.
The way this problem has been built up and penetrated every aspect of the society, it is hard to untangle it just by passing more laws (by the same politicians who indulge in corruption?) , agitation or protests by a few people. The solution for this problem lies in an increased level of moral values and discipline of the future generation. And this can be achieved either by believing in the wrath of a higher being like the monotheists do or by understanding the destructive power of bad karma. Ones accumulated karma can be a good friend or ones worst enemy. The Law or Dharma is neutral that does not show favoritism but one should realize that it is unforgiving when dealing with ugly karma. The individuals who indulge in such actions should realize how much physical, mental and emotional harm they are committing on others and to the sangha or society as a whole by indulging in corrupt practices.
Buddhism asks us to seek the sangha as a refuge. Corruption ends up making the sangha impure and one who corrupts cannot take refuge in the same sangha in times of need. Krishna says in Bhagavad Gita about the demoniac nature as follows. "They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization. Thus until the end of life their anxiety is immeasurable. Bound by a network of hundreds of thousands of desires and absorbed in lust and anger, they secure money by illegal means for sense gratification."
My advice for people for now is try to avoid getting involved, but if you find yourself in a situation where you have to give a bribe to get things done, please play safe and play along. I strongly feel that the solution does not lie in protesting and getting into trouble but by correcting it in a long term fashion.
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Dear Nirseek, loved your blog post, althought I have a slightly different take on it, think about it...if you take a step back and look at the same situation, dont you think that lack of education is the greatest evil that is plaguing Indian society, which is manifesting itself in many ugly ways. You are correct in the sense that it has to be dealt with a long term solution. But changes take a long time, try changing something that your spouse does that you dont not like, or try changing one of your old habits that irritates your spouse, there you see, change is not easy. It needs that right variables doing the right things at the right place and right time. I would be interested if you can find something from Geetha that stresses the importance of the education. Thanks.
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