Comments on: A Digression on Corruption in Six Acts

By: Weekend Reading

Weekend Reading — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:01:05 +0000

[...] Corruption in India: by Atanu Dey. “Corruption is seriously like a cancer for an economy. It eventually kills it. Like a cancer, corruption has something to do with the DNA at the cellular level of the organism…India is poor because it is corrupt. No other factor can adequately and fully explain its horrifying poverty.” [...]

By: charvak@gmail.com

charvak@gmail.com — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:00:38 +0000

Lord Acton said Power corrupts and absolute….,it appears that every Indian when born and being brought up is faced with this ethical dillemma,whether to exercise his power of discretion in corrupt means or non corrupt means.When a corrupt official/politician is cought with crores of assets,what is not seen or discussed by intellectuals is thousands of crores looted by buisinessmen and Indian society at large for individual selfish corrupt profiteering motive!In my opinion it is problem of ethics setup by our society’s socio-cultural millieu.From time immemorial every group has minority of aberrants,but when whole society becomes aberrant and involved in short cut of corruption as bribe giver sometime or later in their lives,it has to self examine this dillema scientifically.It is no gainsaying that politicians have greater responsibility when a commoner relishes in such luxuries.Politician pickup agenda setup by commonner.The society and every individual has to realise and resolve that he will wait for due process to help him but not bribe anybody.It includes non evesion of taxes etc.It is a problem of NGOs rather than GOs.The discussion oriented towards receivers absolvs giver from this sin!The only way is the way of Joseph son of Jacob chose at Potifer’s house instead of falling for his wife’s enticement prefering prison.There are no shortcuts for the truth to prevail.The society has to teach its children this hard earned way and practice it earnestly.Rebel at every instance of aberations publically garnering public support marginalising corrupt bribe givers,official receivers and the practise itself.There be national hatred against everybody involved and holding them in social contempt instead of stature accorded by society.I think highlighting act of bribe giving as a sever crime is what is lacking.

By: novice

novice — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 07:34:45 +0000

I was thinking if the government were made more like a regulatory body instead of the one which controls and runs everything, will it solve the problem, since the people in the government can still look for ways of personal gain by favoring one of the private parties taking money from them. I believe constitution which you suggested plays a very important role here.

By: worldisgreen

worldisgreen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:01:07 +0000

Atanu:

Coincidentally, I left work after reading your article and the evening story in the Australian Broadcasting Corporations’ radio was on corruption.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/backgroundbriefing/stories/2009/2702931.htm

The world bank put the corruption at $1 trillion per year!!!!!

I follow your logic on the power of the government. I will look forward to your post on that.

I do not see how it can done though in India.

By: Atanu Dey

Atanu Dey — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:25:56 +0000

Suhit, strictly speaking, corruption itself is the effect of a deeper cause — which I have hinted at but did not go into in detail. Public corruption (that which is associated with people in government and the public sector) arises mainly from power or control that the government has arrogated. The more control and power the government has over people, the more public corruption. And that public corruption gives the private sector the latitude for being corrupt.

There’s little gained by hunting down lowly officials and stringing them up for being corrupt. That’s pruning, not uprooting. The solution is to reduce the power of the government. Once that goes, with it goes the incentives for corruption. Lower public corruption means a lowering the upper limit to private corruption.

I will explore this at some length soon.

By: worldisgreen

worldisgreen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:51:56 +0000

The list of ministries is funny if not the damage they are doing.

I totally agree with you Atanu. Corruption is the crux of the problem and emphasis on symbolism like mumbai vs bombay.

Fantastic article.

There were a series of telugu and tamil movies on this. Kamal Hassan, Chiranjeevi and Rajnikanth have all acted in movies which emphasise this basic point that corruption is the root of all problems in India.

One special scene in the movie Indian/Hindustani by Kamal Hassan where he gives his viewpoint on the whole scenario and how corruption is eating through the country.

His solution is kill the corrupt officers and show them on TV. Kill till there is fear and the problem is solved. He eventually kills his corrupt son too.

The problem is that the solution in all these movies can never happen in real life. And frankly, that seems to be the only solution.

Suhit