A question I put for the option !!
No one can answer each and every question in their life. I
concentrate on few of them & I deliberately ignore many of them…. Especially
when they do not directly affect my bread and butter. There is one FAQ which
always puts question mark before me but yet I have never paid attention. It is
question of corruption. A question with many
options but without a unique answer. Actually I always keep myself busy with
many other vital and deep ‘…isms’ so I have been unable to attend it due to
lack of quality time. Keeping this question always in mind and behaving like
ignoring it, has actually built nice chemistry between us.. No ... Not at All ! I am not a
corrupt person. I always say NO to corruption. I am well educated, well
cultured, civilized and off course conscience citizen. I never ask for &
accept bribes neither offers & pay for it at any cost. Actually I have enough
courage but do not have enough time to raise objections on malpractices around
me !
Mr. Akshy, my friend is borne with
silver spoon in mouth so he spends his time in carrying out important surveys. He
has wasted his time in analyzing the corruption in government expenditure (he
presupposed the existence of corruption for the purpose of analysis!) It says
when amount of Rs. 100 comes out from the Government Treasury for public
purpose only Rs. 10 actually serves the common man.(i think i have heard similar words from mouth of great PM Jawaharlal Nehru) But some Government
Departments are really disciplined that they serve almost 60% on the common
man. In other words some departments are corrupt upto 90% while some are
maintaining at 40%. Our Government has to spend money on different tasks like
security, military, health, education, roads (excluding toll roads), railways,
telecommunications, cultural promotions etc. and last but not the least on
various sports. On an average the rate of corruption is, say 50% for all the
departments of the Governments. When Government spends Rs.100, Rs.50
disappears!
Government collects all this money
i.e. revenue by way of income tax, wealth tax, sales tax/VAT, service tax, education
cess, excise duty, customs duty, octri, property tax, professional tax, licensing
fees, and through stamp papers which we have to pay for at different times. I
pay 20% incomes tax on my total earnings. Further if I spend remaining 80%,
then I am paying at least 15% by way of all other taxes. When I earn Rs. 100, I
pay Rs.32 to the Government. Our
Governments (Central, State & Municipality) spends all these Rs.32 on
public welfare with average rate of corruption is 50% (as all the Governments in India are presenting deficit budget for last many years Government is actually spending
more than Rs.32). It suggests that only Rs.16 from my every Rs.100 reaches in
corrupt pockets. Oh !! (This amount never goes to swiss banks, never becomes
capital for underworld, never shifts market attention on secondary luxurious
industries.)
But still it is a fair deal. I am
paying hardly 16% from my income and I am at liberty to ignore this question
and preserve my conscience intact. The ordinary persons like me and you shall
not feel anymore guilt for the Corruption. I preserve the warning in my brain
that fighting against corruption is injurious.... rather hazardous to life. We
have corruption in all countries and all societies then why to cry so…
I can
afford well education, health services just I have to adjust with
infrastructure & security. Then why should I care ? Corruption is like
nails. You cannot cut and separate them permanently. After an extent, say every
Sunday, you have to cut them to the certain extent only. Just like supply and & demand curves find
their equilibrium on their own in free market; in this beloved democracy,
empowered with fundamental rights & liberties, when corruption will reach
at unsustainable level, someone will raise his voice and will lose his long
term life for restraining corruption for short term.
So now after contributing 16% (I do
not pay bribe so am not counting my direct contribution), I am at liberty to
deny my passive role in the flows of corruption. Further I assure not to use
Right to Information Act or even Google to find out audit reports of any
Government Department. I will never ask any political to discuss some of the
old bills pending before the Parliament for years like Whistle Blowers Act (it
safeguards government employee from transfers, inquiries etc. if he fires
corruption in his department), judicial accountability (corruption in
judiciary), Sec 195 of criminal procedure code (it requires prior permission of
Government to file charge sheet against any government employee). I will never
demand to constitute anti corruption department as separate institute from the
Police Department.
I do believe that this 16% passive
contribution to the unholy corruption is not culpable under any law. I can
definitely put this question for option and clear it up for the time being.
Further to prove my conscience support for ‘India Against Corruption’, I will
like to keep gossip on by quoting few lines by संत तुकाराम महाराज;
वाटे या जनांचे थोर बा आश्चर्य | न करिती विचार कां हिताचा ||
कोण दम ऐसा आहे यांचे पोटी | येईल शेवटी कोण कामा ||
काय मोल यासी लागे धनवित्त | का हे यांचे चित्त घेत नाही ||
तुका म्हणे का ही भोगतील खाणी | का त्यां चक्रपाणी विसरली ||
