Whenever a mainstream citizen witnesses any form of corruption in front of him/her, the first thing which pops in their mind is “It’s none of my business.” This is where we need to act smart or at least act in the first place. Observing the situation at the grass root level, a question which always comes up in my mind is that why can’t we do anything as an individual. Examining the things at the minuscule level I feel that even cheating in a normal exam is also a form of corruption i.e. corruption with the education system. Corruption is multifaceted actually. Either using our powerful position for personal gains or misusing tax payer’s hard-earned money or carrying out illegal activities behind the mask of an honest public servant, everything comes under corruption.
If we try to observe the actual situation, then I am pretty sure that all of us will come to the same conclusion i.e. “The reason any person gets involved in corruption is that either it is the easier way or the only way.” Being on the ground level, I won’t talk about miracles. I don’t ask anyone to bring a change in yourself instantly because this sense of corruption has got imbibed in every one of us in these so many years, and human nature needs time to change. I just wish to request you all to let the change be reflected in you not suddenly but at least steadily. Let us all lend our minds to that inner conscience of ours which tries to stop us whenever we get even little inclined towards any corrupt practice.
Let’s talk about some daily incidents of our lives. Now suppose, we reach the bank for some chore of ours and by God’s grace we are at some powerful position then we are likely to use this position of ours to get our work done earlier than it would have been done in the normal case. In such a situation allow yourself to give it a second thought “Is it necessary to use our position?” or “Can’t we complete our task without using our position?” Supposedly, now we come out of the bank and we are heading towards our home in our car. A traffic light is encountered by us which turns red when we reach the spot. In such a situation we are generally likely to jump the red light but before doing that let your conscience speak again, “Is it necessary to break the traffic rules?” or “Can’t we just wait?” Staging just one last situation, assuming that now our patience level does not allow us to wait and we jump the traffic light. At that very moment, the traffic policeman catches hold of us and starts asking for a bribe. In such cases, we try our best to get out of the situation as soon as possible so we try to make some negotiations and finally end up giving the bribe. At such moments question yourself once again, “Can’t we just try to be a little brave to accept our wrong deed?” or “Can’t we think of paying the due fine to get free legally rather than taking the corrupt path?”
Our small steps taken today can make a huge difference in the future collectively if we start thinking optimistically. It is not morally right if we think that when everyone in this society is doing the same then how does it make any huge difference if we also do a little bit of it. This is where we go wrong because at times we forget that we are also a part of EVERYONE. It is high time now that we stop moving along with the flow of corruption and start acting accordingly.
Bhrashtachari : Desh ki sabse purani bimari
