I went to my first ever TV talk show “We The People of India” on NDTV (India: Game for Corruption?), it was one thought provoking topic that revolved around the big ticket scams v/s the tolerance that has built into the mentality of the People or India that”Without paying for getting work done, work would never be done”. The show was a live show and many from my family and friends watched it live. I got the chance to share the lime light with likes of Bharat Bala (Creative Director – CWG Opening and Closing Ceremonies and a Film Producer / Director), Alok Roy, Vishal Uppal (Davis Cup Player), Paul (Invited for providing his view from a Non-Indian perspective), Kirti Azad (Ex Cricketer and a Politician), Michael Pareira (Six times Billiards / Snooker Champion).
The show provided me an insight of the thoughts on what is the thought of an average Indian, how the youth is reacting to it and so on. There were many questions that were raised and seemed to be unanswered from the perspective of Corruption and Indian Society. Some of the Burning Questions that need to be answered can be –
- Would avg. Indian stop paying Bribes to get the work done??
- Would we still bid for Asiad 2019 and wait for another corruption case?? as it was highlighted that corruption inquiry on Asiad 1982 is still on (I guess Kirti Azad highlighted that)
- When would we start focusing on the Games rather than promoting the corruption?? as Vishal highlighted that the success and glory of out athletes is lost in the shades of corruption and irregularities.
- Would Privatization help in reducing corruption?? I doubt that we will get an affirmative answer because Emmar MGF – the renowned builders from Private sector failed to provide the world class Games Village. Moreover the bids process would bring in more chances for those who want to use corruption tool, it would open another avenue for those who want kick back from the perspective of clearing orders and sign papers to clear files…..
- Should Politics get involved with games and sports?? as if it is not today!!!!
- Should we as the citizens join hands to fight against corruption and stand in unison to say NO to bribes and kickbacks? I doubt on this side as “We do not have patience to wait for things to turn our way and we want to get work done even if we have to pay from our nose to the Public Servants.
One thing is for sure, unless We the People of India do not react in a Negative way to teach these bureaucrats a lesson from their own books of corruption, we would face this corruption for ages to come. Big Tickets Scams would happen, but the memory of human would forget because “We the Indians have a short lived memory for scams. We forget them pretty easily.”
We need to now rise to the occasion and ensure that the Politicians whom we elect are made Accountable for their acts and be held responsible for any irregularity in the area of their performance. We need to realize that the root cause of Corruption lies in the COLONIAL MENTALITY that we have. The Colonial Mentality of thinking that those who rule the country are Powerful. We need to come out of the shades of our Colonial Mentality and Realize that those who rule the country are not powerful, but its our power that we have vested in them to turn the tables for our good. The Political Leaders need to be made to realize that the Power lies in the hands of Citizens and not in the hands of those sitting at the power centers or running the government. They must realize the real meaning of the word “Public Servant”.
Another thing that I had a discussion on with the “Think Tank” as invited on the show, though on a lighter node, but if taken seriously can lead to drastic change in the entire scenario. The main points that we discussed were –
- Government needs to decide on legalizing the Bribe or Commission that is charged by the Public Servants. What I mean by this is similar to the Tatkal Passport Scheme where you pay a premium for issuance or renewal of Passport, the other areas should also have similar schemes. The premium rates should be decided in a fashion that the money that exchanges hands illegally today fills in the Government Coffers.
- Stop paying those DAs to the Public Servant, rather link them to the performance bonuses and to the yearly pay hikes and promotions. Pay them the commission as proportionate to the amount of work done by them. Penalties may also be considered for those who create pile of a file on their desks or for those who create endless loop for the “Aam aadmi or common man”.
- Anybody who denies to pay bribe and thus opposes corruption, but still succeeds to get his work clearance / completed from the Office of Public Servants must share his views and experiences with others. I PAID BRIBE is one such wonderful startup by an ex-government employee (incidentally he was on the show too).
Signing off with a Hope that We The People of India will unite against corruption and eradicate it from our society 🙂
