General Elections : India (2014)

Next year, 2014, our country, is headed to one of its most important periods of its democratic timeline since its independence in 1947-the general elections to choose its leader to head the country of more than 1.2 billion dreams for the next 5 years. As always, unless something dramatic happens, India is most likely to choose one from its two major political parties, the Congress or the Bharitiya Janata party (BJP). The Congress which is the current government is stained with enormous corruption and for increasing social problems& chaos in the country, while the BJP which is formed on the religious foundations of Hindtuva principle is no greater in morality. The one thing that stands out about the coming elections is that it is presumed by the “entire country and media” as a battle between two people, rather than two political parties, the two prime ministerial candidates, namely Rahul Gandhi-un-officially claimed candidate of congress and Narendrea Modi the current Gujarat chief minister from BJP.  

                      
                             A unique aspect about the BJP candidate is that there are always equal doses of praise and criticism for him in the society and media. He is hated by many for his alleged involvement in 2002 Gujarat riots but is also praised equally for his efforts of development that he claims to have achieved. To quote exactly in terms of development perspective, even though Modi’s state holds #2 in the country in terms of power generation and it is indeed the industrial hub of India. However, states like and including Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab etc. have all reported to be doing better in terms of GDP, human development index, and child nourishment, conditions for women and education sector and so on-in the recent years. In fact a lot of praise can be given to states like Bihar or Odisha which have shown improvements given all odds of circumstances against them. It can be said that the entire nation itself is trying to develop and every state needs each other to do so. However, I see no problem for BJP in choosing him as their candidate since it’s their own choice but the only thing that worries me most are his projections as a strong believer of religion in politics and- inclination for religious views. This is something to be fearful and watchful about. Just as times are changing and world is on the path of moving forward into advances of life and sciences, our country seems to head backwards by mixing religion with politics. I see a lot of propaganda from the young generation of our nation in social media and outside supporting Narendra Modi for his strong pro hindtuva agenda- and often feeling proud about their religion. Since India is a secular country with right to practice ones religion of choice, feeling proud is acceptable but to put it as the main agenda for the elections ahead of other important socio-economic problems is unacceptable. In democracy, mixing religion with politics is a signal of exponential decline of the state.
                  
                       Most importantly, It is upsetting to observe from all the political speeches given by both prime ministerial candidates of Congress and BJP at their respective rallies held thus far in view of forth coming elections- no one has till date proposed their understanding, insights or ideas about combating the major problems faced by our country today, such as – safety for women & children, corruption, the agricultural farmer’s suicides, the AFSPA or social other problems from north east, the naxal issue from the east coast belt of India, the problems of tribal populations, the issues of ever growing poverty, the forever rising prices of fuel or other common commodities like food inflation, the agenda on nuclear power, FDI, states bifurcation demands, unemployment, the rupee decline, foreign relations, health related problems – to name a few and the list is ever increasing.  There are numerous socio-economic problems that we face today as a country that need immediate answers with concrete long term solutions to which the politicians need to focus. The existing problems cannot be color coated by saffron/green or with any religion since hunger knows no religions. 

                      India is a country that has its roots from religious tolerance, equality, secularism and peaceful co-existence of people from different religions/communities which makes our country very special on the globe and we should put efforts to sustain our greatness and achieve development. 

It all Started With Ram. . .

The recent protests against worst crimes on women is a sign showing that the society is getting together to fight and repeal these evil crimes-which have been occurring since ages. This is a result of India’s younger generation’s courage to fight the system and their will power to bring justice into the society. The increase in awareness via growth in communication amongst the citizen via Internet is also helping everybody to get together and fight. This should give a strong warning to those crooked minds who think they can get away or even think of committing crimes against women.  Indeed there should be strict laws to protect women, but we all know that laws alone cannot solve the problem. The minds of these pathetic perverts should change.  It is the responsibility of parents, teachers and elders to teach children of today to respect women so that these crimes can come to a complete end in another ten years.

In the midst of these protests, it was disheartening and shameful to see politicians and spiritual leaders those preaching religion projecting women, yet again, to be the wrong doers.  They also put the blame on the influence of western culture instead of blaming the actual wrong doers- the perverted people. This made me think as to what could possibly have lead the so called sage-wise men, occupying highest positions in the society, to think so narrowly-going against those women who have suffered the brutality. I was sure that it takes a much more brutal and narrow mind to think on those low lines. These acts and comments were at the heights of stupidity. It put a thought to me that there should be a foundational flaw which shapes the mentality of these sadists who sexually attack women or project women to be on the wrong side after they were attacked.

It struck to me that these crimes against women happening now are a result of cascade of events. They are in a way the result of the Indian culture that teaches men to be the dominant gender and their actions, no matter what, as justified/appropriate if they feel they are right. Men seek their lessons from the stories they learn and lay strong impression in them from the mythology.

It all started with Ram. . .

There was a king who was considered to be ideal. He obeyed his elders and did everything right. One day, his wife got abducted by the wrong guy of the story when he left her in forest and went to hunt for an animal. He later kills the wrong guy but abandons his wife after his laundry guy puts a hint of a doubt over her integrity while she was hostage of the kidnapper. This came even after she passed the test of fire- as asked by her loving husband- the ideal man. This is one of the first incidents about Indian mythology that children in India learn but it is obviously sugar coated with the moral of the story being that the ideal man sacrificed his love life for the society, not for its well-being but being a king his stature will take a blow if his wife is suspected in the society he rules. This is one of the first atrocities against women that were carved into the culture of India.

Then there is a famous story in which a woman was married to five men who put her on gambling and lose her to the opposition who later molest her. Of course she was heroically saved by her super star brother lord but even after this discriminating act, the five men are praised in Indian culture as the best and their eldest brother is considered the symbol of Dharma and his action of gambling on  his wife is portrayed as a duty to protect this Dharma. Then there are numerous other incidents to follow in the culture like, to name a few, the practice of Sati, where the widow is burnt on the pyre of her husband, alive. The practice of Kanyasulkam, where young girls were sold to old widowed men for money. These two practices are now outdated and are almost nonexistent. The practice of Deva dasi, the prostitutes of Temples is another horrifying example another example of atrocities against women via religion and culture.  The practice of accepting dowry is still prevalent all over the country.

I feel that what we are seeing today in the society is a result of practices that have been followed in the country since ages.  These are few of the countless incidents written and celebrated as dominance of one sex over the other all through Indian culture and our children- from all communities and creeds are exposed to it. The India traditional culture has always been on the side of displaying the dominance of male over the female. It is no doubt that the two great epics of India are the most wonderful stories ever written or told in India but the way they are taught should be changed. There are those hidden subtle imbalances inherently casted into the system. This is true with most of the religions and cultures across the world. These need to be cleared out before any change could substantially take place. If an incident is a wrong doing, they should be taught as one and everyone should be advised not to do so.

Education is the only weapon to end all evil in the system.

An appeal to all the Protesters: "India Against Corruption"

This blog entry is an appeal to all the protesters on the roads of India who are fighting for a change.

As I decided to write this appeal to all the people protesting on the roads of India at this moment, I began to think about how to start my appeal letter. Whether it is supposed to be addressed as “to all Anna Hazare supporters” or “to all Anti corruption movement volunteers” or “to all supporters of Jan lok pal bill”. The Anti corruption protest volunteers  is very apt right now for a reason that the people of India have become frustrated and are desperate for a change and wish to see a corruption free India for which they have taken to the roads demanding a change and not exactly for the bill. they assume "the bill" is a path to their destination,A panacea.As I look at the news about the things happening around India, The Team Anna Hazare has support of the public who want corruption to end but these supporters are not exactly for the bill they are putting forth. It is indeed a misconception if anyone feels that the people on the roads are actually protesting for the bill, instead they are out there for a corruption free India. And the Team Anna Hazare has to be applauded for being successfully able to channelize the anger and patriotism of the public into a form of support for their bill.  I am confident enough to quote that not more than 10 % of people protesting on the roads even know the broad sense of the bill they are marching for , leave alone being aware about the minute details that could have a deep affect on their daily lives. They just want corruption to end. That is their motto and that is their ultimate goal, to have a better life in India. But, one must understand that, mere forming of a bill doesn’t end the age long culture of corruption. Let’s consider for example the problems of Traffic or problems relating to society which should have ceased long ago, had mere forming of rules and bills had profound effect on the way of thinking of people. It’s more about traffic sense and social responsibilities when it comes to curbing the problems I mentioned above, and Courage and willingness to take our country forward as an entire nation is what is required to fight corruption. I strongly believe in our country's democracy and have faith in our parliament. I know we have faced charges of corruption but parliament is something that is sacred to our nation. For, it is the place where decisions regarding our nation’s development are taken and the people whom we elect participate in with our hopes and goals. I agree that in a democracy, a citizen has a right to give his opinions about the proceedings in the country and has a right to express his views but to compel parliament to pass a bill formulated by Anna Hazare with in a stipulated amount of time is senseless when there are in fact various versions of lokpal prepared by other social anti corruption activists. Well at the end of the day, it is the parliament whom we will end up blaming, if anything goes wrong to us and our nation through this bill after it is passed in haste, as demanded right now, as they are responsible and answerable to us.

Hence, here goes my letter.

My fellow Indians and Anti corruption protest volunteers,

For now, we the people should first realize the difference between supporting Anti corruption movement and Supporting Jan Lokpal bill & Team Anna Hazare . Understand the direction in which we are moving by these protests , insist the government to consider the bills prepared by Anna Hazare’s team, Aruna Roy’s team and formulate a bill that is suitable for our nation and that which will not put our constitutionally guaranteed rights at stake.  

We don’t need a second Independence, India is already an independent country. We want independence from social problems and poverty in our country. We want democracy to sustain in our nation. We don’t want or need Anarchy.

Kindly “Save Democracy”  

Thank you & Have a safe & Peaceful protest.

Independence day : ReAliTy ChEcK

When the countries of the world were choosing sides between the two major super powers, a nation in the Southeast Asia was taking shape. With Peaceful and non violent protests as her weapons she marched towards her destiny, The Independence. 15^th of August 1947, India won her Independence from the colonial rule. Hence formed a nation which during the course of time overcomes various hurdles to reach the place where she is today, a nation that can influence the world in all aspects of society, from economy to culture. India  which was predicted to be down & broken within no time after her Independence by the who’s and who of the world  , showed its  strong willpower and courage to stand by her principles  by not aligning into either of the two super powers at that time and continued its journey towards development as an Independent nation. India took the path of democracy and is celebrated today around the world as the largest democracy and an example to many other nations around the world.

Each year, Independence Day is celebrated all over the country and the heroes of the struggle are remembered and paid respect for their sacrifices to the country. Independence Day celebrations compel me to think  how independent we really are of the problems that have been tied to India since years. Let’s take this auspicious occasion to also remember the challenges and problems we face this day as a nation and recollect the dream our freedom fighters had for the nation and where we are in the course of fighting these problems. 64 years into Independence, India still faces challenges, some of which have been with her since 15^th of august 1947 and some fresh new ones. I decided to name a few in this blog post.

1)    Food, Fuel & Population: The food inflation today is high, close to double figures again, which with the ever rising prices of food make the life of the common man difficult in these days. The reasons for this may be attributed mainly to a high population growth rate and also a downfall in agricultural production.  The downfall in agricultural production may be attributed to the little use of technology and minimum awareness amongst the farmers and little support from the government to farmers. Added to this is the heavy rise in fuel prices which also contribute to the food prices hike. Awareness about population control and its effects is one of the possible solutions to these problems.

2)   Women & Society: This day,we have women holding the top ranks in various government & private institutions but simultaneously on the other hand , we still have women being subjected to oppression & crimes .The fact that the practices like dowry system and other caste related social crimes are  still persistent in India makes me wonder how backward as a society we have become after 64 years of Independence. Nation is regarded as our Mother and Respect to women is the essence of our culture. We should let there be equality and let everyone live peacefully. The other major drawback in the society is the exploitation of the common man in the name of god and  then establishment of groups of religious wings which is not a practice prescribed for a secular country like India. There should certainly be awareness about this aspect and we should come out of this practice of blind faith for a better nation .

 3)   Security:  The most important aspect for a prosperous country is security. Internal and international. The border issues with Pakistan and China are certainly one of those issues which should be solved sooner than later for good to the world & our contry. Added to this is the cross border infiltration of Anti social activists and security lapses which results in chaos,explosions & destruction every now and then that disrupt the peace & harmony in the nation. Added to this are the in state self trained military, anti-government naxalites, (who are fighting for the cause of liberating the tribes and poor farmers from the oppression and lead lives of extreme poverty and forgotten even after years of Independence), have  a strong foothold all along the entire east coast of the nation. All these are  woes to the nation. There is a constant war between the Police and Naxalites in these areas which is a bother to public who is caught in between this violence exchange.

4)   Culture Corruption: India has picked up a culture of corruption. In recent times there have been various instances where various crowds from the government servants to civil servants to defense personnel to media have been involved in acts of greed. The resultant distrust on the government servants amongst the citizens of the nation gave rise to supporters of Anti Corruption law throughout the country. At present, the disagreement between these civil society representatives and the public elected representatives to reach to a common decision point seems to result nothing but disruption of the everyday life of the common man.

5)   States of uncertainty: Jammu Kashmir is one place which has been under unrest ever since Independence. The constant clash between the separatists and their counterparts has left the beautiful valley in chaos.  Added to this is the rise of protests in states like Andhra Pradesh demanding a bifurcation of the state and the demand for Ghorkaland etc etc is making the government struggle to maintain peace in these places. And this has been hampering the development in these places and India as a country.

6)   Crisis, Ruling Crisis: The problems mentioned above and various others which have been building up on our nation have left the ruling government without any answers and have been deprived of trust of the public. The inefficiency to control protests & lack of ability to give a credible answer to the public is a negative for democracy. Also, the lack of a strong opposition party in the nation also adds to the woes of the situation. There isn’t any credible, able, party visible in the near future to take up the office. This is definitely unhealthy for democracy and something that fears me along with other citizens of the country.

These are a few of various things that trouble our nation. Yet, our nation stands strong. It stands as an example of the secular nation, celebrating various cultures and religions in one place. The unity when it comes to dealing problems or celebrating festivals and occasions makes the India a special place.

The solution to all these problems is education of the masses-which is not a solution that can be done over a week’s time or lesser but the education of masses will give the masses a voice. This gives an advantage through awareness while they say their voice during the democratic practice of elections. This will make sure the right one takes the office and makes right decisions for the nation. For now, those in the office should take a thought and help make our country a better one than it already is. Let us take this holiday to think about these problems once again which have been troubling us since a long time. The government and public should act together for solving these issues. A mere blog post can never solve the problems that are decades old. But a though about them before a loud celebration may help in solving them.

It is true that no nation in this world is a perfect one but desiring to be perfect is the first step towards achieving the dream “utopia” and Let me Wish you a happy Independence Day because we should definitely celebrate Independence Day and also strive for independence from the problems of our nation.

Save "Democracy" !

Fast for a cause-Article 19 of the Indian constitution gives its citizens, the right to freedom of expression and speech, the right to go on a hunger strike as a mode of expressing their dissent over unlawful acts or injustice in the country.

India has witnessed numerous incidents protests via fast for, a purpose, achieving democracy and independence pre independence, to stand against various instances of unruly actions of the government since independence.

Recent developments in the country, needless to mention about the shameful acts, like the looting of public funds and vandalizing the hopes of people, have made the people restless and desperate for a change to see a clean society. This gave the social activists fighting for lokpal bill, a bill that is designed to attack anyone who is guilty of corruption irrespective of their wealth/power and other virtues which make the law disabled to bring them to justice, a chance to put forward their movement into limelight in hope to get the long awaited lokpal bill passed-which one the flip side is a bit over reaching than it is supposed to and also undemocratic in some ways  and loosely flawed  which could be corrected to match and benefit a democratic country like ours. In this scenario to start debates for setting up lokpal bill a fast-unto death-protest was under taken by Shri Anna Hazare during early 2011 which was welcomed with huge reception by the Indian crowd including over the internet. The talks began and ended in despair as the two teams, government & social activists, failed to come to a conclusion over the bill.

Now what Anna Hazare has done unknowingly in this process of protesting is that he has sparked off a trend in the society. Trends which like a medicine can turn harmful when taken without a prescription and even poisonous when in overdoses. Immediately after the talks broke for Lokpal raised into limelight the yoga guru of India, Baba Ramdev and sparked a controversy when he narrated his plans to build an army against the Indian state. Then the infamous fast by Tinku urging the government to give him admission into IITs.

The support to fasts by Anna Hazares and Ramdevs may be attributed largely to the lost hopes of people over the government and partly to the media. The media on the same lines can be blamed for being biased, not many people are even aware of the 10 year old -still ongoing- fast by Irom Sharmila fighting for removal of arms act from Manipur or about the 115 day old fast which ended in death of the protester for saving river Ganga,Swami Nigamananda.

Now what I fear from the most is that this phenomenon of picking up fasts for every desire on mind and expecting positive results in return may actually demean the respect protest via fast has earned till date. Even more than this, the wide range of unrest that is created by these fasts have an impact on the life of a common man. As I quote “a common middle class man may afford losing money from his pocket without his knowledge but cannot tolerate losing his daily bread. Even worse the government may rule out protests like these as attempting to committing suicide as mandated under the Indian Penal Code and cease them permanently which is again undemocratic and leads to unrest .

With continued protests and threats like these which results in building unrest amongst the people ,halt the progress of the nation and destabilize the society and may actually lead to downfall of democracy and state which is totally unnecessary for a country like India. Instead I would recommend the protesters for Lokpal to either build a bill that is feasible and ready to adapt to Indian democracy or to contest in the coming elections and lead a party to change the society in a more democratic manner rather than what is happening now. And for the government I urge them to open their eyes to work efficiently and effectively to curb any further corruption. Overall it is a vicious circle.

"HANDS OF LAW" :: GREASE RIDDEN ? ? ?

I feel happy and secure when I learn through media about the arrests and alleged raids over personnel who commit crimes or may have been indulged in one, but I am equally outraged when I see the state- failing to bring to justice the obvious perpetrators of crime against prosperity India.

Few thoughts struck me and compelled me to express them in this article when I read about the arrest of human rights activist,Binayak Sen, recipient of two international awards for his service (to humanity) since 1978 to the tribes and poor, as a doctor in the area of Chhattisgarh, India.

Sen is convicted under sedition.

(Sedition: any action, esp. in speech or writing, promoting such discontent or rebellion.) //According to web dictionary//

Sen is accused of helping (colluding with) the Maoists in the area he was actively doing community service.

Maoism in India is to be condemned for their actions of violence but the reasons behind their birth and continued success amongst the tribal areas is something to be taken note of. The support of local tribes to the rebel groups is a reflection of the government’s inaction towards the upliftment of the backwards. The government has to work upon the problems instead of fighting against their own subjects.

According to the recent reports, under Indian penal code, Sen was found to be guilty and hence arrested.

According to the right to equality before law, “The state shall not deny any person equality before law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India” and this statement according to my understanding states, everyone is equally treated in front of law, be it for awarding or punishing.

But in India, when it comes to the execution of laws, the big players always have a safe escape but the little ones get the big punishment.

Well for now, let’s consider, the open-daylight- loot of public funds by the crooked public servants like A.RAAJA in the spectrum 2G scam. The fraud of 1.76 Lakh crore rupees of public money and in result leading to disturbance of parliament which in result blocked various bills from being framed and in result caused chaos in the country.

I call this sedition or a bigger crime.

And ask you to tell me how big or small this crime is when compared to the (accused) sedition by a ‘human right activist serving poor since more than 30 yrs’???

Or let me ask you, how punishable is Sen’s sedition when compared to the shame caused to India in front of entire world due to the mishandling of work and looting of public money in the CWG games by Mr. Kalmadi?

Well I can continue with many more instances of power prone crooks of government and ruling class going wild and getting loose. (Like for example in recent times, the Adarsh society scam. The land scams of Karnataka chief minister and etc etc.)

I call these, open sedition or even a bigger crime term if such a thing exists.

I fail to understand how such open culprits could go free in the society after committing such bizarre shameless crimes? And whereas, instances where government inaction is the root cause for problems, the Innocent people get punished so frequently??

I always believed that the hands of the law were big enough to bring any crime doers under justice but never realized until recent happenings that the grease of power & money glued to these individuals make the hands of law slip over them and fail to bring them to justice.

My sincere request is, I want these big shots to be prosecuted for their crimes just as these smalls fishes are being trapped for their share of wrongdoings in the society.

People should be punished for crimes. So everyone who commits crime should be punished. “Equally” And especially those who feel they can get rid of the law using their power –influence and wealth should be punished in such a way that no one else would dare to play with public money or sentiments.

Government should work to make its subjects happy. Riots and Extremism are the results of indiscriminate behavior towards the common man. Government should keep the Subjects happy and grow together-for PEACE.

**Life imprisonment of Human Rights activist Dr. Binayak sen , Similar charges on Authors/Artists for expressing views and various other similar incidents happening these days lead us to question : Is India slowly transforming into a dictator/Fascist governments of the likes of "some countries" around us for whose people we feel pity about ? ? ?

I hope not !!! **

References: 1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binayak_Sen

2) http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/chhattisgarh/Binayak-Sen-2-others-get-life-term-for-sedition/Article1-642218.aspx

3) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sedition

Right to freedom of speech ? ? ?

“The Booker prize-winning novelist and human rights campaigner Arundhati Roy is facing the threat of arrest after claiming that the disputed territory of Kashmir was not an integral part of India”, as quoted by British national daily news paper The Guardian, last month over the controversy raised by Roy’s remarks on Kashmir.

According to news reports, recently, Roy was charged under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between classes), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), 504 (insult intended to provoke breach of peace) and 505(false statement, rumor circulated with intent to cause mutiny or offense against public peace).

The current proceedings compel me to raise two questions about the current situation in India.

The first is, how feasible is the constitution’s Right to expression of speech? The constitution provides rights to every Indian, to express his/her views but with certain clauses tagged to it. The main clause is that the expression should not be a hate speech or it shouldn’t initiate riots. Now how do we define a hate speech? Roy’s comment about Kashmir is the voice of over thousands in the Kashmir, who either due to dissatisfaction or some other unknown cause call for independence. The action of the government should be to check in the problems and controversies over Kashmir and bring the turbulent situation in Kashmir under control and satiate the people there and make them realize the importance of united growth, instead of calling for action against those who voice over the current situation in Kashmir.

I am in no position to comment the over Roy’s statements because I am not fully-completely aware of the situations in Kashmir, as I personally haven’t been to Kashmir or in those situations the people are currently facing there, except to read about them in daily newspapers.

Yes, I agree that right to expression should not be misused to the extent of propagating hate over communities or religions but expressing views on the state of the nation is legitimate. The statement (speech) by Roy has not caused any good or bad to the current situation in Kashmir, where there have been regular day to day protests since long time.

The second question that comes to my mind, which is in fact a ’fear’ more than a question regarding how the world would view our state of democracy from hence.

We already have negative remarks about artists leaving India to take asylum at another country fearing their right to expressions and few other instances of banning works of other writers and artists. Now there has already been news in and around the world quoted similar to above about author Roy.I now fear, about our country and its largest democracy, which boasts for its freedom of expression , doesn’t end up being quoted in the same lines of ” Burma jailing Aung San Suu” or“China jailing Liu Xiaobo” by the world. The unnecessary hype that got attached to the issue in India around Roy’s statement, which should have been worked upon or ignored like any other political-view, might actually demean India’s stature as a country that prides over its democracy and freedom of speech.

Finally,I end the article condemning the arrest and raising questions about the government’s ability to tackle criticism over the state of the nation. In general, views on both sides of the political-situation should be welcomed so there will be awareness about the great range of views and sentiments of the people of the nation.The check on speeches might get even heavier after this which is not good for democracy. The response answers by the government to the statements made by people of the country should come in terms of positive action on the situations but not on the people themselves.

Its only when the nation and is ’united’, we can take our country forward towards progress.

References : 1) http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/Arundhati-Roy-Syed-Ali-Shah-Geelani-charged-with-sedition/Article1-632402.aspx

2) http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/26/arundhati-roy-kashmir-india

Culture Corruption

A nation's stature is determined more from its people & cultures than its treasures . The people are the measure of its greatness and in a democracy the elected leaders are the definitions of the country.

India, a nation with, great personalities, great virtues like its culture , the fact of being the world’s largest democracy ,Its heritage , the abode of thousands of languages and various religions makes everybody spellbound by its wide spectrum of people and culture and also the fact that it is a country where every individual is free to practice his own religion, and to express his views, define India as one of the best places to live around the world.

But one more string that’s tagged to India is Corruption.

The very infection of Corruption has spread like an everlasting pandemic to the roots of our nation. At, every place-stage of the proceedings-every level-every angle ,money plays the driving force for getting works done and corruption phenomenon is one the leading cause for the downfall of all of us as a nation.

There is corruption in Political arena, in public services, in taxes and licenses and literally everywhere in India.

It has become a known secret to all and is most commonly spoken topic in every random conversation, that one can get any work done (quick-without delays-even though illegal) in a government office through payment of money to any concerned officer .This is shockingly true but a very bizarre act and even though we know that we don’t have to pay them for doing their duty, we end up paying the minimum sum with respect to the nature of work, saying, This is India, This is how it works ?

So is this how it all works in India ?

where has the infection sparked up? How on earth a country known for its honesty and sincerity of the people ended up being known for their corrupt works? And also managed to earn itself a proud 84^th place out of 180 listed countries in Corruption Perceptions Index ?

Lets first see some general day2day cases of India,

Everyone who gets their passport from Government of India, pays a sum of Rs. 200 to 500 to the officer who comes home as a part of police verification process.

But, why should we do that? We need not actually pay any money to the verification officer for doing his duty, but we do end up paying.

And in illegal terms, any who gets caught for parking at wrong place or for speeding on the roads or for triple riding, gets away from punishment by paying some money to the on duty police officer.

And if I mention various other locations and situations we the people pay money to the concerned people, the list amounts to more than a thousand or more instances.

Here in above instances, people often pay even though their work is legitimate and for other cases, people pay for escaping legal punishments. Paying money for over coming punishments for illegal acts is a very incorrect practice.

This not only takes our nation in a wrong direction but also becomes a breeding grounds for the corrupt officials. This allows everyone a freedom to commit mistakes and there by making our country corrupt and a true unsafe place.

According to India law, Not only those who take money/gifts as part of corruption are entitled for punishment but also those who pay the money are also entitled for same extent of punishment.

So Are we , the people are the ones to blamed for making our country so corrupt ? I say, Yes, we are equally responsible for the condition of our nation but who is to be blamed in this vicious circle ? If it were solved, our nation would have been corruption free

Somewhere, the tradition has begun and is continuing till date . So according to me, It is high time that we put an end to this practice everyone together should march towards a corruption free India.

But , let’s not worry too much about how it all started but let’s get down to the business of dealing with the problems that we face in facing the problem of corruption

From the Government point of view

The anti corruption bureau in India, is in charge of keeping a check on the corruption using Prevention of Corruption At, 1988 which falls under Central vigilance Commission and doesn’t fall into any ministry and is headed by the Central vigilance commissioner, the CVC is supposedly an autonomous independent body but with only powers to advice but not take action against any one which is indeed a backdrop of the system.

Various individuals and officers that are searched and investigated in a daily basis by the ACB of whom many are innocent and most of them are guilty, but I haven’t ever witnessed even a single politician getting prosecuted for their corruption.

Everyone is fully aware that politicians eat up all our tax money and they keep growing richer everyday but no one ever dared to investigate into their funds.

This implies that, somewhere in the independent functioning of CVC, there is a string attached with the politicians which prevents ACB from intruding into the corrupt practices of politicians and hence politicians fall safe all the time.

So this makes me think the prosecution and hype over innocents being nailed under corruption scam is just an affirmation to their inability to actually counter the real culprits.

This has to change. A real force or power has to awarded to the ACB which allows it to search or arrest any random politician at their own will and scan his properties and then take necessary action against them.

Also, earlier , gifts attained by anyone, no matter how expensive they were, were never checked upon and never had any taxes on them. This allowed corruption prone to receive money inform of gifs. Now the new law of levying heavy taxes on gifts that are not from close relatives should help in curbing corruption.

The legal actions taken on the guilty proven should be so heavy in nature that , it should be a warning to the others who even think of getting involved into corruption. And also the process of investigation should be made quick which in turn requires input money and man power which can be afforded for a dream that we all care about, after all, it’s all our tax money.

Now from the public point of view,

The first step that is to be taken is to avoid payment to any official or officers for getting your legitimate work done.

And then the most important part is , awareness.

Spreading of awareness about the harmful effects of corruption on the growth of our nation to one and all should be done in a huge manner.

Well, the most important part of the corruption fight is corruption is Education. Education for all helps people to know their rights and ways to counter the infection. It helps them know that they don’t have to pay for getting certain public service done.

Educating the children of this generation about the effects of corruption, will eventually erase corruption from the map of India in years to come.

We may not be seeing a change immediately, but certainly in some years time, I wish to see the change happening.

The topic of corruption is so huge and is spread in various direction that I could give only an overview of my opinions with minimum examples.

Always remember, It’s you and me together , who can bring a change.

Educate- to eradicate poverty.

References

http://www.cvc.nic.in/

http://apvc.ap.nic.in/js/vol1/c3t1s5.html

http://www.simpletaxindia.org/2010/03/gift-tax-tax-on-gift-budget-2010.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

http://www.u4.no/helpdesk/helpdesk/query.cfm?id=188