To fight corruption first let us look at ourselves

Anti - corruption movement (actually I am not sure if it can be called a movement but for the lack of a better term I use it, rather loosely) seemed to have captured the imagination of the tech savvy middle class and that means that most people who are behind it are young people.  Which is good, because it is the young who will not only inherit the legacy of today in the future, but also because they have usually have more enthusiasm and energy to pursue something to its logical conclusion.  Having said that I will have to say that it is sad that a septuagenarian had to wake up the young. Equally sad is the desire of the people to be happy saying what they want on Facebook and taking up symbolic fasts in the privacy of their homes.  To me however, the saddest and most alarming thing is the way that corruption is being defined by everybody in this country including Anna Hazare and the other self-appointed members of the civil society groups.  Now that push has come to shove these people who have been in the "front" of the movement have decided to form committees and make themselves members of those committees.  For all the hype and hoopla around this and the idea that it is to teach politicians a lesson, I am a little non-plussed by the fact that this is not something devoid of politicians.  Shanti Bhushan and Swami Agnivesh come to mind immediately.  To me the presence of such people is always an indication of an open door for realpolitik to enter into what is essentially a watchdog office.  Think of Baba Ramdev who has now become anti-corruption activist from being a yoga and medicine guru.  He has not talking about why people should not take atovarstatin for reducing cholesterol and how yoga and pranayama will take care of most life style diseases.  One must understand that for all his attempts to portray himself as otherwise, he is a deeply entrenched conservative at heart and in mind.  Tendencies such as these can be used by politicians to make the office of the Jan Lokpal their own.  When the father - son duo of lawyers play a significant role in the drafting of such bills you have to be concerned that understanding the office of the Lokpal will be very much a game of understanding legalities something that most common people are not equipped with.

More than the points that I have raised, it is the definition of corruption that is a cause of concern.  All parties who have identified themselves with this issue and movement are looking at it from a "self-righteous" perch and therefore without an iota of introspection have trained their attention on the "wrong doing other" which happens to be the politicians and the bureaucracy.  In this case the "righteous self" is the injured party that has been enduring the "collective wrong doing of the other" and has therefore been a victim of deprivation.  Deprivation is only monetary terms.  It is the middle class which is complaining of how money that is due to us is being usurped by politicians and how the rich and the famous, not to speak of the ignoble politician and the bureaucrat, do not pay taxes while we work so hard and hardly have anything to spend on ourselves because we have to pay most of our earnings in taxes.  This self-righteous middle class which refuses to introspect will only see corruption at the level of the Commonwealth Games, the Adarsh Society scam, IPL etc.  When they have to see corruption at the lower levels it is always the traffic policeman, the property bill collector, or some small government functionary.  The big picture which is in the middle is conveniently missed and it is here that corruption of the most dangerous variety exists.

I say that this corruption of the most dangerous variety because it is here that the rot starts and spreads through out society.  Everybody wants to send their children to the best possible schools and there is always a list of such schools readily available.  Obviously when every child cannot secure admission in those schools the self-righteous middle class person feels quite happy to activate"contacts" who can "facilitate" admission.  Capitation fee or donations are fine as long as the coveted admission is secured.  Everybody wants their children to becoming doctors or engineers (in the developed parts of the country) and they will go to any extent to secure that crucial admission.  Anything from "putting in a word to donation" is acceptable to the middle classes.  So the middle class that I am talking of comprises mainly of non-government employees, because the government employee is the "corrupted other" who seeks bribes and is incompetent, even the person is from the same stratum of society.  While this is true to an extent, I believe one who abets corruption in any form is also a corrupt person.  People do not wear helmets and seat belts while driving or will use a cell phone.  When stopped they will be quite happy to pay a bribe but will complain about corruption.  Look at the roads on any Indian cities.  How many people wear helmets and how many are driving with the cell phone to their ear when they are even riding a scooter or motorcycle leave alone cars?  How many actually run red lights because they have no patience to wait for the light to turn green?  How many regularly insure their vehicles diligently every year? How many people segregate their garbage into bio-degradable and non bio-degradable?  How many spit on the roads and litter where they please?  Isn't it possible that this behaviour and lack of responsibility nurtures various forms of culture at lower and middle levels of society?

I have touched upon the subject of education already.  Let me now spend sometime talking about it.  The Indian education system is definitely among the most corrupt and inefficient in the world.  At the primary school level admission is available to the upper and middle strata of society in urban areas.  Very little is available in rural areas and definitely not to the poorer strata.  The self-righteous middle class person does not feel the necessity to understand that he/she has a responsibility towards society, country and fellow citizens.  That is why when higher educational institutions are also slowly going to the dogs.  While everybody sees corruption at the level of appointment of Vice-Chancellors to universities, they conveniently overlook the corruption at the level of appointment of teachers and other personnel in the universities.  Most universities in the country have people who should be behind bars masquerading as teachers.  What of those who flout all rules and regulations in the name of caste, religion, region and any other discrimination?  It is alarming that people such as these are also today crying hoarse about corruption.

My point is not to say that there is no need for the Jan Lokpal Bill or that the politicians and the bureaucrats should be allowed to go free.  By all means this is a legitimate battle and needs to be fought.  But concentration only it this level will mean that the battle will be won briefly and then things will slowly return to the normal (read that as corruption).  After all public memory is short and we will only wake up when someone will again start a movement for whatever reason.  I am therefore saying that the Indian citizen, especially the middle class Indian citizen has a great need for introspection.  That will show how and why we also aid and abet corruption.  It will also show why it grows to the proportions that it does.  Till then any exercise is one in futility; one that will benefit the Bhushans, the Kejriwals, the Agniveshes, the Ramdevs and the like by providing them with ready platforms for self perpetuation.  The publicity hungry celebrities from the tinsel world will also get into condemning corruption while they are probably sitting on it themselves.  My request is please think a little before you jump into something or in this case at something.

P.S: Wonder where Arundhati Roy is?

P.P.S. Have not proof read.  Please excuse errors of syntax and spelling.  Thank you.