THE CANCER OF INDIAN SOCIETY

Remember this man....!!!! Yeah you are right he is Abdul Karim Telgi, the mastermind of one of the greatest forgery scam of Indian history after Harshad Mehta.

The smile on this man's face even under police custody depicts that Telgi had been having great contacts with people in and out of the country. The telgi scam had its ripples widespread in the Indian society. Many great personalities including the Police Commissioner of Mumbai were mired after the crash of this million rupees scam.

It would not be wrong if we say that Telgi is known as the STAMP OF CORRUPTION in the Indian society.

However it is not the only case where scams like these have been brought out infront of the people of India. There are numerous cases of divulged and also some unrevealed scam that had been or have been running in the country. Corruption has beseiged the Indian society from all corners.It has now become the Cancer of Indian society. And to cure this cancer it is very important to know its genesis.

Way back in 1940-50, when our constitution was under process it was thought to adopt the trade policies of the then Soviet Union. Hence, the economy of India became a socialist inspired economy.

In such scenario the industrial development was hindered as it required a large number of approvals from the government authorities. In order to set up an industry one had to satisfy around 80 different government agencies. These agencies were headed mainly by politicians and beaurocrats. This set-up was then called as the License Raj or the Permit raj under which the setting up of the business, its area of operation and even the output was decided by the government agencies.

Under such a system, the government representatives right from the poltical and beaurocratic heads to the third grade government employee became overpowered to decide the fate of a business. Hence the License Raj gave rise to the biggest problem of India- The RED-TAPISM...

However the Permit Raj was opposed in its initial stage by statesman and also the Last Governor General of India, Chakravarthi Rajgopalachari. He opined that this kind of permit system has a potential to generate corruption and also he wrote in his paper , "I want the corruptions of the Permit Raj to go... I want the officials appointed to administer laws and policies to be free from pressures of the bosses of the ruling party and gradually restored back to the standards of fearless honesty which they once maintained..."

Eventually, the Permit Raj caused the great slump in the Indian Economy and the country had no choice but to undergo a major economic reform. Dr. Manmohan Singh carried out these reforms and made the economy stable once again but it was too late... the corrution had already spread its roots deep in the society. The License Raj had now taken a new avatar- "The Mafia Raj".

According to a study in year 2005, more than 50% of people in India had first hand bribe experience or of influencing the government officials to get a job done. The Mafia Raj today has got a solid support of the government officials and politicians which help these mafia to occupy tenders and contracts from the government agencies.

The same study says that the truckers pay annually $5 billion as bribe.... In bihar only, more than 80% of subsidized food aid to poor is stolen. Thence, the cases like these have made India the least efficient economy and it lies way behind the countries like Phillipines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore in the race of development.

Notwithstanding such aghasting statistics India has got a great cpacity to annihiliate corruption from its system. A 2006 study places India at 70th position among the states where efforts were made for reducing corruption.

There are various steps taken by the officials and also the common man to uproot this problem.

The major antidote to corruption was discovered when the Right to Information Act came into being. By the efficient use of this act the people of India can know about the factors impeding the process and consequently annihiliate them. The act can also be used for unveiling inglorious activities prevailing in the system.

The computerization of several offices has also proved to be a measure to prevent corruption and red-tapism. Digitalization of paper records and softwares preventing any alteration in them, also the use of smart cards for registration and licensing has limited the activities of middleman and Babus in the government organizations.

Besides these steps by the government it is very important thath we, the people of India take greater interest in wiping out the problem completely. The incidents like in the cases of Jessica Lal murder and Satyendra Dubey murder where the people have actively participated in the protest, the government had no choice but to do justice to the victims.

Also the whistle blowers of the society play a larger role and along with that the private sector's intiative to create awareness among the masses have proven to be fruitful. The campaign 'Jaago Re' by the Tata Tea group is an exemplar to be followed.

So inspite of sitting in some paan or tea shops and lamenting the corrupt officials we can stand up and take initiative.

In the end we should never forget that, TOGETHER WE CAN AND WE WILL MAKE A DIFFRENCE....

An Article by Gaurav Tripathi produced in general interest of the public by G.A.A.P