Corruption Free India for a Developed Nation

 

“Corruption is the enemy of development, and of good governance. It must be gotten rid of. Both the government and the people at large must come together to achieve this national objective.” - Pratibha Patil

 

“Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara” a poem written back in 1904, but how it makes us swell in pride everytime we recite it. And why not? India has come a long way since independence on August 15, 1947. From the relentless and tortuous freedom struggle to becoming the largest democracy in the world and the fastest growing economy. We fought a relentless battle to become a developing nation from an underdeveloped one. And now, it is time to gear up and enter the league of developed nations. But remember, while we grow our growth has to be within the governing principles that the constitution of India envisions.

Corruption, “the act of misuse and abuse of power especially by those in the government agencies in many ways” is not a new concept. This system of fraud, scamming, exploitation, tax evasion travels through the Indian timeline from 375 BCE, when Kautilya mentioned in the Arthashastra 40 methods adopted by corrupt people for misusing government fund to the time of Mughals, where the people of the Sultanate were openly exploited by the officers, goods were hoarded by traders. Fariyadis had to bribe officials to present their grievances in front of the Sultan. This traversed to the British period, where people were exploited by landlords who in turn scammed their way out of paying revenue to the East India Company by conducting Benami auctions of their properties or transferring their lands to the women of the family. Fast forward to the present, independent India till date sees an alarming level of corrupt activities, be it by the hands of government and its officials or the common man. Some prominent examples of corruption in independent India are the Vijay Mallya Scam, Securities Scam by Harshad Mehta, Bofors Scandal, 2G Spectrum Scam, Hawala Scam and many others. 

India is the 5th largest economy in the world and has the 3rd highest number of billionaires, yet when it comes to corruption, India ranks 85th by the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International. The rank indicates that half of the countries of the world is less corrupt than India. In an official survey it was observed that 91% of the brides were demanded by government officials out of which 77% were demanded for avoiding harm rather than gain any advantage. In a saddening revelation, it was found out that 51% of the bribes taken for timely delivery of services to which individuals were already entitled. Today, international firms perceive Indian businesses as highly likely to engage in bribery and thus this perception has a direct impact on foreign investments.

The most prominent causes of corruption are lack of education, the high share of the informal sector in the country’s GDP with nearly 80% of the workforce employed in it; nearly 30% of the lawmakers of the country have pending criminal cases against them. As capitalism grows, people become more materialistic; there is a large gap between the rich and the poor with India's 1% rich population holding 60% of the country’s wealth while those at the bottom of the pyramid struggle to make both ends meet.

Though reforms against corruption have been implemented, they have been unsuccessful. What we require is a strong set of anti-corruption measures which are enforced with due diligence and leave no scope of escape from the hands of justice. The punishment for indulging in corruption should be strict enough that it invokes and discourages future incidences of bribery, fraud, scams etc. 

India was once called the golden bird because of its immeasurable wealth. But what use is that wealth to a country if it is accumulated in the hands of a few? India will truly gain back its golden days only when corruption is completely abolished from the country and wealth is distributed fairly among all. This is not something that can be done alone by the government, the people of the country have a moral and social responsibility as well to root out the weed from the glorious garden of India and ensure that any corrupt players in the government and its office, private sector or even at lower levels are caught and punished. Only once India takes impactful and efficient measures against corruption, will it be able to progress from a developing country to a developed one.

Today, corruption is the biggest enemy which our country is fighting with, and we, the warriors who must fight against it. If we unite, we will win; but if we blindside the enemy, we ourselves will cause our own doom. Time is ticking and the screams are getting louder. We must act before it is too late, before our country gets so devastatingly ravaged by corruption.