Fight against corruption
Fight against corruption
Introduction
Organizations such as Transparency International have rated India as comparatively higher on the corruption index compared to developed countries. In fact, many Asian nations have scored on the lower side of the ranking due to rampant corruption. Corruption is fast becoming a fact of life in India.
From politicians and bureaucrats, to criminals and businessmen, everyone is either giving or receiving bribes for favours. Even the common man has become prone to shelling out some money to the cops when he commits a traffic violation. Unfortunately, the situation will only worsen further unless the fight against corruption gains a momentum. Indians must unite in the fight against corruption. It is important to focus on how to prevent people from using dishonest means so that our society can become law abiding.
Viewpoint
• A survey by the Global Corruption Barometer last year found that the corruption rate in India is twice that of the global average. India’s score on the corruption index of Transparency International was a pathetic 94.
It is atrocious that this nation is still unable to overcome the corrupt malpractices in administration and politics as well as trade and commerce so many years after it has attained independence. Unless social welfare activists and Indian citizens unite to fight against this evil, it will pervade every aspect of the way that India functions.
• There are innumerable reports of black money being stashed in illegal bank accounts and extortion bids by those who are in positions of authority in return for certain favours. The fight against corruption has currently gained momentum as people are becoming more aware that this is crucial to ensure that India progresses.
• Rather than accepting corruption, people of all ages from different walks of life need to take a stand and refuse to offer bribes in return for concessions. It is important to establish due processes by which corruption can be curbed by those who are in-charge of the administration of India.
• When leading parties in India are realizing that corruption has plagued the common man so much that he is considering politically fledgling leaders in a bid to wipe out this endemic problem, change is inevitable.
The media has also become more aware of the issues such as the countless scams and the conflict of interests that arise when tainted ministers with criminal records are given a chance to contest elections.
• Civil society has woken up to the reality that corruption needs to be eliminated from society so that we can progress into a future that is brighter. Our children need to live in a country where bribes are a thing of the past. The issue of corruption has become a leading point on which the upcoming general elections are being fought.
Conclusion
The fight against corruption is slowly gathering rapid momentum and it is only a matter of time before those who walk the power corridors realize how important it is to rout this evil out from our political and economic systems. Standing up for what is right is not easy, but it is vital if we want our country to prosper and become a financial and economic powerhouse.
Fighting corruption is the our only chance for a better and brighter tomorrow.
Discussion
- RE: Fight against corruption -Deepa Kaushik (05/03/14)
- This is by far the biggest struggle next to the freedom struggle we fought in 1947. We could win the freedom struggle more easily as that was fought against the outsiders, but for corruption, we have our own men turning out to be our enemy.
Corruption is slowly eating up the nation. The privatisation of the various sectors that we have visualised in the recent past is the effect of this corruption. We are making ourselves slaves to different countries, working for them, bowing down to all their terms and conditions, spoiling our health and biological clock; everything just for the mere money.
Corruption has entered every field, and to remove this at the root level, we need an effective governance and policies that gets actually implemented stringently without any failure. But this can hardly happen, and is next to impossible, with the corrupt officials being placed right from the level of ministry. A corrupt government can never pass stringent laws to curb the same.
We are waiting for a courageous person to come up with a clear background, who has potential to clean up this drain. If such a person comes up in the front, he would be supported by a huge army to lead him through this freedom struggle from corruption.
- Fight against corruption -Farhana Afreen (04/03/14)
Fight against corruption
India Against Corruption or IAC is a term that began with Team Anna in their movement inclined to assemble the people of India in support of their demands for a less corrupt society in India. Anna Hazare has started a movement to truly fight against corruption and it was headed mostly by middle class professionals and lawyers, becoming very famous during the anti-corruption protests of 2011 and 2012. Their demands included the passing of Jan Lokpal Bill which aims to put a complete ban on corruption, promoting the betterment of common people in India.
The strength in person of the IAC movement was that it had no official organization beyond a 24-member core group. In 2011, the mostly middle-class organizers of IAC resolute to commence a movement to assemble people in support of a demand that they hoped would lend a hand to bring about a corruption-free India.
To fight corruption, they proposed for the formation of a Lokpal who would have had powers to arrest and charge government officials accused of corruption. Ramdev, a popular yogi with millions of supporters was asked to be the leader for this movement. However, his connections to the right-wing Sangh Parivar was a problem that seemed to harm the trustworthiness of what was supposedly an apolitical movement. After that Anna Hazare, an expert social reformer with a record of fasting in support of his causes, became the leader of the movement. Along with Anna came a large support base that had mostly middle-class people from urban areas and optimistic youths. The urban erudition of Hazare fascinated sophisticated people of the nation to support the campaign including the Bollywood stars, the internet geeks and conventional English language news media.
Anna had beforehand been victorious in campaigns for infrastructure reforms at the local level in his state, Maharashtra and that the IAC campaign of 2011 had an impact. IAC and Hazare in particular gained from disgruntlement arising amid common people due to some instantaneous corruption scandals involving the government. These scandals, such as the 2G spectrum scam, were bigger examples of the corruption that is claimed to be prevalent in Indian society at all levels but the IAC solution was the Lokpal which was considered a "simplistic" reaction.
Leaders of IAC became acknowledged as Team Anna. In late 2012, there was a split in the IAC group which was a result of differences of opinion among the leaders on the topic of its lack of convenient achievement owing it to its reluctance to be directly unavailable in the political system. A survey had proved that direct involvement in politics was necessary to fight corruption as opposed to Anna’s belief that changes can be brought if individuals change their views and thoughts and begin looking at the social responsibilities from a new point of view.
In August 2012, Hazare had announced that he was terminating Team Anna just at time when divisions were coming to a start. In November 2012, after the split, he announced the formation of a new Team Anna, that would preserve the tag of India Against Corruption and that its members were focusing on other public issues that they might tackle.
The new Team Anna, sometimes referred to as Team Anna 2.0, has announced a tour of the country from 30 January 2013, on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. On the same day, Hazare said that he had formed Jantantra Morcha, a campaigning group that integrated the previously-named members of Team Anna 2.0 and which he considered to be a substitute for IAC but with a broader plan.
Currently Team Anna is concentrating on RTI, right to information. This brings us to the conclusion that to fight against corruption, an individual or a group cannot do all the work. Every single person of the country must do his part to bring a change.
