Where did it all start?
Did it start due to our government’s negligence to issues that are important, but are buried somewhere in the rack of old files?
Did it start due to the young generation’s transparent protest for a better society, which slowly transformed into an opaque and endless disagreement?
Or did it start in the insignificant goals of these decision makers who are not leaders, but solicitors of our country’s values for money.
I’ ll tell you where it started.
It started in our minds. It started because of lack of determination.
It started because we allowed it to start.
And it goes on because we all allow it to go on.
It started from the extra bucks we pay to get our jobs done quickly in government and private offices.
Let me tell you something.
India has amazing guidelines in theory, but not in practice.
Why is that?
It is because our opinion leaders fail to reinforce them at the grass root level.
Let me ask you a question.
How do you know that the money in your pockets right now is white or black?
How do you know where it came from?
I won’t be surprised if the money in my pocket has come to me, roaming from a poor father who paid an unnecessary donation to admit his child in the school.
It must have come to me, roaming from a retired citizen who has to put his assets at stake to make sure he gets his pension.
I don’t know.
I wont say all of us, but most of us have witnessed corruption and not many of us have made an attempt to stop it, or even question it at that point in time.
Even if we believe that we are not responsible for all this, we should understand that we need to be responsible enough to put an end to it.
I can see a lot of opinions building about what I said. I hope it also builds the determination in you to challenge the corrupt system and get an optimistic reply called change.
5 comments:
Recently I decided that every time I was asked to stop & then to pay up, I would not pay bribes, so over the last couple of times, I've got into arrogant fights, screwing the happiness of any traffic-cop who asked for money, eventually it came down to paying up a proper fine - 200/- or so.
A friend of mine cannot afford to pay up 200 every time because he literally doesn't have the money. So he has no choice but to pay the 50 rs or buy the packet of gutka or pay up 10 rs or 20 from a handful of change.
How do poorer people, who can't afford petrol and don't have all of the right documents, how do they survive, their bikes would be impounded and their happiness screwed.
So I for long time thought... and I couldn't come up with anything... I just couldn't?
How do we deal with this?
The Government employees (including Police) are not paid enough. It's not that the Govt. does not have money to give them a raise or something. I understand that poor people will not be able to pay a proper fine, but walk away paying 20 bucks. so, the problem has to be eradicated from the root. to make sure that these servicemen do not ask for bribes, give them a raise and a comfortable lifestyle. the problem is that for a while, bribes will still be taken, because it is not just need now. it has become a habit. however, eventually, change can be brought like this. and, coming to protesting and all, we are the right kind of people to start and continue protesting. i' am glad you're protesting. i've always been protesting. and, if i've really violated a law, i will pay a fine. coming to things like bribes in offices, i think people have to be citizen journalists and report incidents. the system has to be made so strong, that an individual or an organization has to think a million times before asking for a bribe. for poor people, there has to be a court specially dedicated to addressing this issue instantly. the high court is just too busy for all this. there has to be a dedicated jury just sitting to address corruption issues instantly and take action against the individual or the origanization that exploit the poor.
feedback?
I read that 60% of Indians are ok to pay bribes just because its now a naturalized part of life.
I think that there is a Govt\Civilian body that has been setup to counter corruption in India, I don't who they are or what they do, In West Bengal there are a lot of posters in public places that encourage people not to pay bribes and to report incidents.
There are organizations like Lok Satta that are supposed to be doing something, I have no idea what their agenda is...
My point is that there are organizations and people doing things, there just not as visible as they should be\could be, maybe they don't have resources or something.
Something I have realized recently, is that for almost every issue in the country, there are Organizations, independent activists etc who are involved, and trying hard to do things to create change, but they are lost in a sea of, well, the ocean that is India.
I think the next step is identifying organizations on the internet (everyone has a website), individuals are present on the webs social networks.
Here's what I'm asking you to do:
1. Google the issue using the appropriate keywords.
2, try finding the concerned people, who are involved in the issues.
3. Email them. Just generally, find out what they're doing, maybe meet some of them when your free.
4. Start a blog linked to this and put up what you learn and we'll go from there. It'll be a start.
-- One thing we need to be aware of, it often comes to light that several of these organizations are not doing things or are misleading, making their own profit etc. The point is to find the genuine people.
How do recognize genuine, well, I think its the bible that says, you'll know a man by his fruit - i.e. the character he shows of himself.
As for feedback:
- Your good, you write well
- Get action oriented, simplest thing is to talk to people, get perspective (s). Everyone has an opinion. Everyone thinks its bad, the same people pay bribes and stuff. Like you said in your writing, its become normal, a part of life.
When batman was becoming batman, he said, he needed a symbol, something elemental, something terrifying; to shake people out of their apathy.
My idea for shaking people out of apathy is "Guerrilla Advertising". Write on Money, write on the walls. Write on the roads. Write in the street.
Or write stories.
Or get involved with whoever is doing stuff
Or fire up your friends
I was looking at this diploma course in Bombay, it teaches people about their right to speak, to be heard, to PROTEST. It teaches people how to do dharnas to fight, non-violence and Gandhian stuff, really cool stuff.
I once sent a letter to the RSS, I was saying if they are so pissed about KFC and atuff to go and break the places apart, and screw their cause and their organizations image. I told them, they should walk in, occupy all the seats and start eating fruits, and not leave.
It was an interesting experiment. Go sit and eat a banana in Mcdonalds or someplace, watch what happens... - I should write about this incident.
Go google. Get us some answers.
Bribe & Bribers, You are ALL Fucking Corrupt.
Lets make cheap posters, set them on sticks and put them up on the road dividers along all the flyovers.
True...
As you said, there are organizations and individuals working towards eradication of corruption. Heroes in darkness.
It's easy to get in touch with them. We discussed the idea of writing on money 3 years ago. Did you practically try it? I tried it once. Sometimes the currency got through at petrol pumps and sometimes got rejected in restaurants. We should market this idea in a bigger forum to get some people interested. I' am not sure if you noticed, but there is a group of youngsters who are going around the town after 12 and leaving messages of peace and brotherhood on the walls of bus shelters. Check out the Grand Kakatiya Bus shelter. It's close to your place. It's a good idea to do something ambient. If you're deeply interested, I have some ideas. We can meet up and take this ahead together.
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