India Against Corruption

What is corruption?

Corruption means any abuse of a position of trust in order to gain an undue advantage. This involves the conduct of both sides: that of  the person who abuses his position of trust as well as that of the person who seeks to gain an undue advantage by this abuse.

Corruption can occur in relation to officials as well as between private persons. It is particularly prevalent in certain kinds of transactions (for example, when awarding public contracts), in certain economic sectors (for example, in extractive industries), and in certain countries. Corrupt practices can range from small favours in anticipation of a future advantage to the payment of large sums of money to senior members of governments.

Now is the time for us to give back to India as otherwise we would let down our country and our fellow Indians. Many of us go overseas and settle down to find better opportunities and lifestyles for our children, but equally many of us stay back and there is certainly now a critical mass of such people who can make a meaningful difference.
This does not mean that we have to leave what we are doing and start agitating, or even join politics although that clearly is a route that some should follow.
There are many ways in which we can contribute - from starting entrepreneurial ventures, getting more assertive about the management of our communities, spending our spare time in non-profit activities, putting pressure on our politicians to perform better, forming networks to collaborate better,
The time has come for us to take our country back. Take it back from those who are either incompetent, or corrupt, and frequently both, from those who think nothing of exploiting others, from those who have either narrow sectarian or casteist views, from those who only think about furthering their own vested interest, from those who believe that spending time in jail on corruption charges is an act of valour to be redeemed once out on bail, from those who hobnob with such people and still state that their personal integrity is untarnished, from those who do not understand what it means to lead this great nation with its great culture and people, from the corrupt bureaucrats who have submitted themselves willingly to the corruption around them, from the corruption-inducing businessmen in India for whom making money at the expense of everything else is the only mantra, from the petty civil servant who has long back lost the concept of civil service, and so on.
So what can we do? First, we must be more assertive. This is our country that is being taken away from us by all that is happening around us. By quietly acquiescing, we become party to the corruption and moral degradation.
We must vote more often, we must write more to make our views heard, we must take part in local elections for our communities, we must support those who try to stand and fight such corruption.
We must move the country to a more transparent way of governance, we must get the government out of areas it has no business being in, and we must individually oppose corruption wherever we find it.
But who is this 'we'? It is all of us who read newspapers every morning and bemoan the fall of standards in our country, or the not-enough-rapid rise of India.
The 'we' is the 'I' that includes all of us. We must rise and do our bit for the country to pull it out of the morass that we have got ourselves into 60 years from our Independence. And the rest of the world - even with warts and all - shows just how far we still lag behind.