“The biggest disease is Corruption. The vaccine is transparency.” - BONO

The above quote is given by BONO which states that the biggest problem which the country is facing right now is CORRUPTION and it can only be solved by establishing strong institutions, putting the right system in place, and doing practices that ensure transparency, clarity, and brings about more efficiency in the work. Corrupt people hate transparency, and it is only through transparency that the problems can be checked.

CONVERSATION

Rahul: Hi Riya! How are you?

Riya: Hi Rahul! I am good. The day After Tomorrow, there will be a selection of New class monitors through voting. Who do you think will be the next monitor of the class? Reena or Rohan?

Rahul: I am 100% sure that Rohan is going to be the next monitor.

Riya: How are you so sure, Reena can also win?

Rahul: No! Rohan is going to win as he has secretly distributed a lot of chocolates to all his classmates to vote for him For the post of monitor.

Riya: Oh! But that is wrong. Rohan has given bribes to the students.

The above conversation between Reena and Rahul makes it clear and helps to understand the meaning of Corruption. The Bribe(in the form of chocolates) given by Rohan to his classmates so that they vote for him for the post of class monitor is a form of Corruption.

Corruption in Different Sectors

• Education Sector: A candidate asking/offering a bribe to the member of the selection committee to consider him for the post than the deserving candidate is a form of Corruption. Corruption is eating the country like termites and we have to fight with it with full might. It is our endeavour that those who have looted the country have to return back to it.
• Judicial System: It has come to notice that corruption is also functioning in the Judicial system. In 1995, A.M. Bhattacharjee, the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court was forced to resign in 1995 after it was found that he had received Rs.70 lakh as a book advance from a publishing firm known to have links with the underworld.
• Entertainment/Media Industry: It is assumed that corruption in the entertainment/media industry is in the form of hanky-panky in the media business. It is in the form of Private treaties, paid news, ad for edit deals. There is talk of film studios paying a heavy price to sell their satellite rights to a TV company and of production firms paying off programming heads to get a show approved or extended.
• Medical Institute: It is believed that it is only a Doctor who has been blessed with the magical power to treat a life but what would happen when the same person is not honest to his own profession? In the medical field, many doctors willingly accept money in return for providing special privileges/treatment and also for considering them first and giving first priority to them over other patients.
• Corruption in Police Department: Becoming a police officer is the dream of many people. Police are not here to create disorder but to maintain order. But sadly, the same person can also be corrupt. Many corrupt Policeman charges money for releasing the prisoner from jail or providing special privileges to him/her. They use their power for personal gain.

JAN LOKPAL BILL – Aimed to eliminate corruption in India

Under the leadership of Anna Hazare, an anti-corruption crusader, who began a fast-unto death, the mass movement of people saw an expression of their collective anger against Corruption and their willingness to see the enactment of the Jan Lokpal Bill. The bill seeks the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year, and envisage a trial in the next one year. This would ensure expeditious trial and cases against Corrupt people would not linger on for years. The bill also proposes to confiscate the property and recover the loss that a corrupt person caused to the country, at the time of conviction. Most importantly it would help a common citizen as financial penalty on guilty officers would be imposed if the work of any citizen is not done in the prescribed time in any government office. The Jan Lokpal Bill is a step forward In the fight against Corruption. This effective mechanism aims to bring transparency and accountability in public administration for preventing and eliminating corruption in India.

Our role in creating the India of our Dream - A corruption-free India

We, today’s generation are following our dreams, trying to achieve our goals. Our life has actually become a routine. First, we are born, then we go to school, and colleges, then focus on our careers, relationship but in between all this we do not realise that why we are born. There is a reason for our existence. We are born for a reason, we are born to contribute something to society before we leave this place. John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” It is said that nation comes first, everything comes later.” The nation has given so much to us. It’s now important that we give back to the nation by being an honest citizen, and being honest towards our profession. In each and every field, we witness corruption. No field is left where corruption is not witnessed. Preventing and Eliminating corruption from India requires first To change our mindset and then change the mindset of others. Our role in creating the India of our dreams which is to have a corruption-free India could be as simple as being a responsible citizen or as influential as becoming a leader in your chosen field. It all begins with a clear vision, commitment, and being honesty toward our work, profession and nation. If we estimate then, on Average every Indian person is working hard day and night and pays taxes to the government but a very big multi-crore scam fumes those people/taxpayers as he/she feels heartbroken and cheated for his valuable contribution of money/tax/funds towards the development and well-being of the nation.

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

We all have to fight against Corruption and eliminate it otherwise the word humanity, and honesty will be deleted from the dictionary. We can fight against Corruption by refusing to take part in illegal, dishonest activities. We can also report about such matters to the concerned authorities if we see someone engaged in such dishonest acts. Many people do not report about such activities because they don’t want to get involved in such matters and help the authority. As a result of this, these criminals get motivated to do more such crimes. Mahatma Gandhi Ji once said,

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”.

We, the youth have to be that change which we wish to see in the world. Only then the other people will get motivated and bring about the change. We the youth play a crucial role in fighting corruption. We can spread awareness about the harmful effects of corruption in our schools, colleges, and communities. Such awareness can be brought by organising various events like Nukkad Natak, campaigns, competitions and many more. By learning and practicing honesty, we can pave the way for a corruption-free nation. Many times people take advantage of our situation and forces to commit any wrongdoing. At that very moment, we should just remember and ask ourselves that Am I doing anything wrong? Is this going to harm me, my family, my nation in anyway? If the answer comes as ‘YES’ then don’t do it, just don’t do it.

Many times people take advantage of our situation of being middle class and offer us money/bribe but we should not go into emotions and accept the offer seeing our condition. Just simply refuse the offer because if we accept the offer, we might get profit but later in life we will feel guilty of our doings And will regret doing such a dishonest act and that guilt will be so big that nothing and nobody will be able to heal it. Saying no to corruption is a way to show our love, respect, pride for our country. It helps us build a better future for each and every citizen of the country.

A nation like India which will be free from corruption will witness prosperity, success and fortune. Its resources will be used wisely, which will lead to better education, healthcare, adminstration and infrastructure. It will ensure that everyone gets equal opportunities and there is peace and harmony in the country. Children learn what they see and later become the same. So, if children see that their parents promote corruption or accept money, they will feel that it is correct as their parents are doing it and later in their life, they will also do the same. So its important that today we take a stand against Corruption and prevent the present and future generations from being part of it. We should trust ourselves, our work and be dedicated towards our work. Then definitely we will achieve success and there will be no need to commit any wrongdoings.

CONCLUSION

In the above, we saw the meaning of Corruption, its impact and how can we fight it back. It is our collective responsibility to say no to Corruption. By doing this, We can build a brighter future for our nation. Today we all should take a pledge to make India corruption-free. Let’s Say No to Corruption and become committed to our nation.

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