Soak No More Corruption!

Hi Guys,

Wish you all a very Happy Independence day!

It has been 65 years since our country got Independence. Our history has been quite phenomenal. We were a rich country, looted by foreigners and then after independence, we have bounced back again in a quick span.

I was quite confused of what to write for the Independence Day. Indiblogger came to my help with the  Soak No More contest  and suddenly the caption ‘Soak No More Corruption’ came into my mind.

India is one of the most corrupted countries in the world and this corruption is a big obstacle for our growth in the global market. I was checking some of the stats in Transparency International website. India is ranked 95/183 countries with a base score of 3.1/10 (where 10 is least corrupt). Control of corruption is 36 percentile (in negative scale of -2.5 to +2.5). The good thing is that we are ranked 51/142 countries in judicial (which means the court is free to certain extent). Voice and accountability is 59 percentile with positive scale.

54% of people accept paying bribe and 64% of people consider government’s effect to abolish corruption as ineffective, but 74% feels that government is taking some effort. The most corrupt institutions in our country are said to be Political Parties (4.2/5), Parliament and Legislature (4/5) and Police (4.1/5).

These are the three important institutions for the growth of a country. If a political party is corrupt, then think about the future leaders of the country. I think entering into a political party and fighting against the internal politics is a very big task and that’s why many youngsters hate politics. We are very much aware about the corruption in the next two things. MPs and ministers have acquired a new hobby, a hobby of getting caught for doing a scam. All the scams are hot for a week, the ministers get arrested and in two months, they are out of jail, preparing for their next jail visit. How many scams did we face in the two years? 2G, coal, Adarsh, CWG, S Band Spectrum and many others – for some scams, some initial actions were taken and for some no actions were taken.

64% of people say that government’s effort to stop corruption is futile. Having a deep thought, one would understand that the main reason behind is fact is the people. When it comes to corruption, people have two opinions. 1. Myself. 2. Others. When it comes to themselves, people don’t even worry about corruption. Remember the events in which people give bribe even when not required.

Whenever I go to Railway station to board a train, then for sure I can see people going behind the TTE and asking him to do something and give him some money even when he is not asking. I remember an incident that occurred in a Passport Office. It happened two years back when I applied for passport. I was getting my documents verified and in the nearby counter, there was a middle aged man getting his documents verified. The officer said that some documents were missing and said him to come again. The man started to ask, whether the verification can be finished if something was given and he was nearly forcing the officer to get something. Whose mistake is this?

Whereas when it comes to others, people start blaming others as if they are very legal and they have never given a bribe. As a society we have to change and the change applies to us too.

A few days back when one of my professors was speaking about corruption, he said that in India, the most educated are the most corrupted too. To a certain extent, this is true. Education has created new pathways for the people to corrupt the society and there are a few instances in which education has become a source of corruption.

I have seen few students who prepare seriously for getting into government jobs and the two primary reasons they give are that you can get high salary without doing any job and you can get something more apart from your salary.

The attitude of the people must change. We have been soaked in corruption for the past so many years. It is high time that we come out and make sure that we are soaked no more.

Ponder over the future of the country and your role in the country’s growth for sometime today. Don’t consider the day as yet another holiday. It is a day to reflect on the past and ponder over the future. The freedom that was achieved after so much struggle and it we should make sure that we respect their struggle by progressing forward.

Again wish you all a very Happy Independence day!

Happy Reading!!!

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This post is written for Soak No More contest at Indiblogger
Indiblogger users, click this link to vote for my post.

Sources:

http://www.transparency.org/country#IND_PublicOpinion

http://www.transparency.org/country#IND

Things that crossed my way!

Hi Guys,

I was busy for the last few days and I was not able to observe and follow lot of things, including my favorite F1 race held at India for the first time.

A mixed post in my blog after a very long time.

7am Arivu – My View

I watched the movie 7am arivu today morning. The reviews I heard before were mixed. People who watched it first day said it was very poor (due to the over promotions). But in the following days, the movie started to get good responses and I went with a neutral mind. I found the movie interesting. The movie had quite a huge number of flaws, but it was compensated by a good story line. With 3 songs less and better back ground music, the movie would have been much better. Comparing to the current commercial movies, the movie was better in many ways. I would rate this movie higher than many of this year’s hit commercial movies.

Auto Up gradation in Trains

Whenever I used to book train ticket, there would be an option known as Auto Up gradation. Passengers booking in lower classes will be updated to higher classes if the higher class seats are unoccupied. I often think why this option is there as all the seats are occupied generally. Last Sunday I travelled with my friend from Chennai and when I booked, the status was RAC. When I checked the chart, to my surprise the ticket was updated to First Class from Sleeper. I never expected it and out of nearly 100 confirmations, only 3 were updated. It is interesting when something that we never expect to occur, occurs.

Vigilance Awareness Week (Oct 31 – Nov 6)

On October 30th, we were celebrating the success of Indian Grand Prix and it was a proud moment for us. On the other hand, October 31st marked the beginning of Anti corruption week, a phenomenon in which India has been at the bottom of the table for a very long time. It is probably one of the worst weeks celebrated. Government officials (who are also citizens of this country) must have a social responsibility and it is shame that they have to be remembered by creating awareness for a week. This week is observed for the past 10 years and I see no difference (or rather to say, the corruption has only increased).

That’s it for now.

Happy Reading!!!

Remembering Independence!

Hi Guys,

Wish you all a very Happy Independence Day!!! 64 years back, on this day India became an Independent country. We were given the rights of deciding our own things.

Last year, August 15 was a Sunday. So, many people were sad that they didn’t get a holiday. This time, August 15 is on Monday. Most people are very happy that they have got 3 days gap from their usual routine. Initially, that was my thought too. Later, I regretted my thoughts. This is a day we need to think about our country’s past and future.

How many of you attended a flag hoisting ceremony today morning. Most people think it is an idiotic ritual. Some other people attend the function, just to get the sweets distributed after the ceremony. Worse, lots of our people feel ashamed to sing our national anthem. I have witnessed this in many functions. I at least feel proud in this aspect. I have always sung our national anthem and I always feel proud when it is sung.

One of the main issues related with our country is corruption. In the past 2 years, there have been many huge corruptions including 2G, CWG, Aadarsh homes, etc. The money involved is too big and nobody cares about it. Even if people ask questions, government thinks people can do nothing against them. People who raise questions are just crushed.

So, where does all this corruption begin from? I think our former president Dr. Abdul Kalam gave the answer. It starts right from our home. He said if you know your father gets or gives bribe stop him. What is happening is completely opposite. Parents encourage children to do wrong things. They have no shame. It is quite obvious from the activities and speech of some of my classmates. On the good side, some of my friends are really good and they want to be honest.

People blame government when they know of corruption. But, when it comes to them they are ready to be corrupted. By the starting of this year, I went to Passport office to apply for my passport. The officers were really great. They were working perfectly. They accepted the forms only if the proofs were correct. Our faithful and honest citizens expect the opposite. I needed to stay in queue for 2 hours and people were speaking ‘Applying passport is a big trouble here. Officers are strict. People residing at some XXX and YYY places are lucky. They can easily apply passport through some intermediate persons’. What the hell is this? If you don’t have the right documents, then you have no rights to get the passport. Why are you blaming the officials?

There are a few good people too. They want their country to improve. They want their people to be good. They want their country to be perfect. The good thing is the number of people is increasing these days. This is a very good sign.

Let people work for the development of their country. If country improves, then the standard of people will automatically improve. Let’s pray the good things continue to happen.

Again, wish you a Happy Independence day. Don’t misuse your independence.

Happy Reading!!!

Suport Anna Hazare!!!

Hi Guys,

The past few days have been very eventful as 72 year old Anna Hazare started the fight against corruption in India. His demand was to setup a Lokpal (ombudsmen*) to deal with the corruption in Government offices. He started fasting on 5-4-11 and ended it on 9-4-11 after our Government promised to set a committee headed by our finance minister that will draft an effective Lokpal bill. But, in my point of view I doubt that it won’t be formed soon.

Looking back at last 60 years, the corruption levels has been reaching new highs. We are bribed everywhere. If you have to finish a work in any public department or office, then you have to give bribe. This has agitated the people so much. This was the main reason why many youngsters and even school children supported Mr Hazare. It’s heartening to see the support.

So, who is Mr Hazare? Fighting against corruption is not the only battle that Anna Hazare has taken part. He has been at the Indian army for 15 years, after the Indo-China war in 1962. He then retired from army at the age of 39 and returned back to his village, Ralegaon Siddhi a drought prone village in Maharashtra. There he grouped the people to from organizations for getting water.

He then wanted to remove alcoholism from his village, as he thought if there is no alcohol, then the economy would improve. He along with the youths forced the owners to shut down the liquor shops and then people who continued to drink were punished for the sake of their family. 

As years passed, Anna Hazare continued to improve the village by implementing watershed management, promoting milk production, enriching people by education and removing untouchability. As a result, Ralegaon Siddhi became a model village and Mr Hazare was awarded Padma shri in 1990 and Padma Bhusan in 1992.

His fight against corruption began in the initial 90’s and continues till now. His battle has been accepted widely by the public. Though government accuses him of false charges and arrests him sometimes, people are in his support. His battle has led to the resigning of some corrupt cabinet ministers in the past. He was also influential in forming the ‘Right to Information Act’ which was implemented at Mumbai in 2003.

He was awarded World Bank's 2008 Jit Gill Memorial Award for Outstanding Public Service. World Bank’s award committee said, ‘Hazare created a thriving model village in Ralegan Siddhi, in the impoverished Ahmednagar region of Maharashtra state, and championed the right to information and the fight against corruption’.

It’s great that we are having a person like him in our country. The good thing is people have started supporting him and if this grows with time, we can believe India will become a better country in future.

Let us support the great man!!!

*Ombudsmen – It is a Swedish word. It refers to a intermediate person who acts a mediator between the person and the public servant. It is becoming famous in organizations worldwide.

Happy Reading!!!