My blogs are corrupt !. Anyways, it is the in thing now a days and I thought that I should also join the bandwagon lest I be seen out of place !. The other day, I was surfing channels and chanced upon some discussion going around ,obviously about corruption. In came my kid and frowned “ Colluption band kal ..maala cartoon pahayacha aahe “ literally meaning “ Stop corruption, I want to watch Cartoon “ !. The fact is there is so much “corruption” going on around in media that my kid actually must be thinking that all the news channels are called corruption !.
Anyways, one line that struck me in the episode was “Stop corruption”!. How casually could my kid say this while the Government and team Anna are still struggling to find a way to reconcile their differences for a draft that needs to be approved by the government before presenting to the parliament as a bill and ,if approved may result in creation of office that could possibly put a tab on corruption , provided it has the right evidence and documents to prove so( the country is obliged to all concerned that at least the physical structure of Adarsh is still in-tact and that remains the only proof that it actually exists. ).
Coming back, I kept pondering over ways to “Stop corruption”. After all, I too have some social responsibility and then Anna doesnot hold monopoly on ways to stop corruption !. Even I am enthrusted the responsibility as a citizen of this country . Now there was one problem. As per the rules of the game ( the game that I have to play in office every day!), I need to understand the problem statement before solving it .
So what is the problem ? Well that’s easy …. “ There is lots of corruption in the government “. But which government ? 2G, CWG, Adarsh flashed in front of me followed by “Chara Ghotala”, Bofors and many many others. So the problem statement refined “ There is lots of corruption in all the governments “ . Well that’s good . So we have the bad boys doing all the corruption in the government and we need to get rid of it . “It” ? What does it mean? Well I am not a political novice !!. “It” means the political parties or a cocktail of them who form governments because they got a majority and consequently an authority to rule !. Hang on –But didn’t we change government in 2004 because we thought that it was corrupt and inefficient ? So did we in 1999 and 1998 and god knows how many times !! .
My curious mind still working on the problem statement . But how can parties be corrupt ? It is like saying that my building is corrupt ! Besides all the parties have had long and glorious past with websites that proudly proclaim their vision and mission statement !. So, concluded me – “ Most of the people who belong to most of the political parties that rule different government bodies in the country from Gram panchayat to Federal Government are corrupt “. Well that’s and achievement I thought ..keep it up .
My mind was still not ready to give up . After all I had scored good marks in Civics during my schood days !. If all politicians ( or most of them.. I am being politically correct here ) were corrupt, why don’t the officers and police keep a tab on them , investigate and prosecute them ? After all we do have the legislature, judiciary and administration as 3 independent arms of the government..isnt it ? I remembered an interaction with a relative of mine who had to “pay” regular visits to Mumbai to ensure that he doesnot get transferred from his current post and location. Also there was some news in media recently that the Chief Vigilance Commissioner( I am yet to find out what is the role of this office ) had to step down due to Corruption charges .
I was sad. After so many hours of breaking my head , I had not even been able to identify the problem statement . My latest version looked as follows “ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties and many bureaucrats ,police officers are corrupt”. I am a person who strives for perfection ( particularly when it comes to my wife ironing my shirt ) . So I wont give up easily till I have verified the problem statement from all the angles!. Besides there has to be somebody who can take care of these monsters !!. Havent we seen it in the movies ? Hey Hey…The Army ..thats correct…NDA, CDS ..all my childhood dreams came alive !. It has to be the army . See I was so correct even as a child !.
I had almost finalized my problem statement and about to draft a Military answer when it “Dawned” upon me that in some recent survey, Pakistan was one of the few countries that was ahead of India as far as the Corruption Index ( next task is to study this formula) was concerned . Well Pakistan has been ruled by the Army for so many years ! So how is it possible ? Something is wrong . Besides, there were so many names from the armed forces emanating out of the “Adarsh” box !. While I admired the army, I always had a grudge . During my NCC days, I was made to run 3 rounds for being late,while Anand joined the parade because he always had a cigarette for the Major ( All the uniform waalas were called Majors). So the army waalas were not “ Doodh ke Dhule” either even though they wore nicely starched uniforms ? That’s what it looked like .
“ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties and many of the bureaucrats, police officers and some of the defence officers were corrupt “ Version 13 of the problem statement said. I still maintained a soft corner for the Army !.
I was riding my bike , thinking of the ( now eternal) problem statement when I accidentally happened to jump over the signal. The efficient cop was quick to stop me and was in immediate possession my my licence book and bike keys . I was presented with 2 options . Rs 100 for express service(without receipt) and Rs.300 for ordinary. Me, being an honest son of India and particularly while I was almost about to solve the corruption problem, opted for the latter.
After waiting for almost an hour , I got an appointment with the police officer who examined my licence book for 3 odd minutes and said . “ Your licence has expired . So your fine would be increased. Besides we will need to file a case against you “. “ But how is that possible “ I exploded. My license is valid till 2016. That’s when I realized the trick. The 6 in handwritten 2016 was being deliberately interpreted as zero to prove me wrong. Again here, I was given the express option which I refused. Instead I took it on me to prove myself correct and left the police station with a firm determination to get the records and place them before the officer. My license and bike keys still with the police.
That’s when I realized how big a mess I was into . My licence was from my hometown Nasik. I had to travel all the way to Nasik to fetch the records which I did. At the RTO office, I spent half a day shuttling between counters without much progress in what I had come for. Finally I was told to seek a letter from the local police station stating that my original license had been lost and that I wanted a duplicate one. I was also to bring originals of my proof of residence and a photo identity.
By now my problem had worsened. I did not have anything to prove that I was a resident of Nasik or that I was myself !. I went to the concerned local authorities but in vain !. Again , I was offered an option of ‘creating the documents’ for Rs 5000 which I refused. After all, if this is what I had to do , I could as well settled for the Rs 100 express fine !. Finally after 3 days of ordeal, I came back home feeling dejected and disillusioned . I was surprised to see my bike parked in front of the gate . My younger brother had through some contacts managed to convince the officer and got back the licence and bike for a “fee”.
“ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties , most of the bureaucrats and police officers , almost all of the government servants and police -dealing with public, many of the government servants otherwise and some of the defence officers are corrupt “ I proclaimed in disdain which was an outcome of my experiences over the past few days.
The bad guys identified , now they are to be severely punished. Who would do that ? Well the judiciary . Then why did I need to travel to Nasik if Judiciary could help me . That’s because Judiciary requires evidence and where does it come from ? The police are supposed to collect it with help of the right government bodies. “ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties , most of the bureaucrats and police officers , almost all of the government servants and police -dealing with public, many of the government servants otherwise, some of the defence officers and some in the judiciary are corrupt ,which also results in delayed and ineffective justice “- Version 21.
By now, I had started getting exasperated ( which I am sure you would be by now !) and was about to finalize this as my problem statement when it occurred to me that all these are just one side of the coin. After all, I had to suffer because I refused to bribe. What about others ? Why would people not prefer a Rs. 100 express fine over Rs 300 fine and make life easier ? Also, with my version of problem statement so far, there had to be an overwhelming number of “donors” for the business to flourish. I modified my problem statement to read “Most of the politicians from most of the political parties , most of the bureaucrats and police officers , almost all of the government servants and police -dealing with public, many of the government servants otherwise, some of the defence officers and some in the judiciary are corrupt ,which also results in delayed and ineffective justice . The problem is compounded by ordinary people accepting, helping , advocating corruption and thus are part of the problem”.
It is then that I was enlightened by the truth and my problem statement appeared right in front of me .“ We,The people - are corrupt !!!”. Gosh !! That was to bold a statement and obviously a big a problem to solve !!.
Pondering on the latest realization, it seemed to be too harsh a statement to me. How can it be true ? After all I am calling myself corrupt ! My parents , kins everybody corrupt ? Besides , I was aware of some virtuous individuals and some exemplary officials, politicians and police officers who have been honest ,upright and non compromising.
However , I did spent quite some time before arriving at the conclusion and it still remains
“We , The people are corrupt”
Anyways, one line that struck me in the episode was “Stop corruption”!. How casually could my kid say this while the Government and team Anna are still struggling to find a way to reconcile their differences for a draft that needs to be approved by the government before presenting to the parliament as a bill and ,if approved may result in creation of office that could possibly put a tab on corruption , provided it has the right evidence and documents to prove so( the country is obliged to all concerned that at least the physical structure of Adarsh is still in-tact and that remains the only proof that it actually exists. ).
Coming back, I kept pondering over ways to “Stop corruption”. After all, I too have some social responsibility and then Anna doesnot hold monopoly on ways to stop corruption !. Even I am enthrusted the responsibility as a citizen of this country . Now there was one problem. As per the rules of the game ( the game that I have to play in office every day!), I need to understand the problem statement before solving it .
So what is the problem ? Well that’s easy …. “ There is lots of corruption in the government “. But which government ? 2G, CWG, Adarsh flashed in front of me followed by “Chara Ghotala”, Bofors and many many others. So the problem statement refined “ There is lots of corruption in all the governments “ . Well that’s good . So we have the bad boys doing all the corruption in the government and we need to get rid of it . “It” ? What does it mean? Well I am not a political novice !!. “It” means the political parties or a cocktail of them who form governments because they got a majority and consequently an authority to rule !. Hang on –But didn’t we change government in 2004 because we thought that it was corrupt and inefficient ? So did we in 1999 and 1998 and god knows how many times !! .
My curious mind still working on the problem statement . But how can parties be corrupt ? It is like saying that my building is corrupt ! Besides all the parties have had long and glorious past with websites that proudly proclaim their vision and mission statement !. So, concluded me – “ Most of the people who belong to most of the political parties that rule different government bodies in the country from Gram panchayat to Federal Government are corrupt “. Well that’s and achievement I thought ..keep it up .
My mind was still not ready to give up . After all I had scored good marks in Civics during my schood days !. If all politicians ( or most of them.. I am being politically correct here ) were corrupt, why don’t the officers and police keep a tab on them , investigate and prosecute them ? After all we do have the legislature, judiciary and administration as 3 independent arms of the government..isnt it ? I remembered an interaction with a relative of mine who had to “pay” regular visits to Mumbai to ensure that he doesnot get transferred from his current post and location. Also there was some news in media recently that the Chief Vigilance Commissioner( I am yet to find out what is the role of this office ) had to step down due to Corruption charges .
I was sad. After so many hours of breaking my head , I had not even been able to identify the problem statement . My latest version looked as follows “ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties and many bureaucrats ,police officers are corrupt”. I am a person who strives for perfection ( particularly when it comes to my wife ironing my shirt ) . So I wont give up easily till I have verified the problem statement from all the angles!. Besides there has to be somebody who can take care of these monsters !!. Havent we seen it in the movies ? Hey Hey…The Army ..thats correct…NDA, CDS ..all my childhood dreams came alive !. It has to be the army . See I was so correct even as a child !.
I had almost finalized my problem statement and about to draft a Military answer when it “Dawned” upon me that in some recent survey, Pakistan was one of the few countries that was ahead of India as far as the Corruption Index ( next task is to study this formula) was concerned . Well Pakistan has been ruled by the Army for so many years ! So how is it possible ? Something is wrong . Besides, there were so many names from the armed forces emanating out of the “Adarsh” box !. While I admired the army, I always had a grudge . During my NCC days, I was made to run 3 rounds for being late,while Anand joined the parade because he always had a cigarette for the Major ( All the uniform waalas were called Majors). So the army waalas were not “ Doodh ke Dhule” either even though they wore nicely starched uniforms ? That’s what it looked like .
“ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties and many of the bureaucrats, police officers and some of the defence officers were corrupt “ Version 13 of the problem statement said. I still maintained a soft corner for the Army !.
I was riding my bike , thinking of the ( now eternal) problem statement when I accidentally happened to jump over the signal. The efficient cop was quick to stop me and was in immediate possession my my licence book and bike keys . I was presented with 2 options . Rs 100 for express service(without receipt) and Rs.300 for ordinary. Me, being an honest son of India and particularly while I was almost about to solve the corruption problem, opted for the latter.
After waiting for almost an hour , I got an appointment with the police officer who examined my licence book for 3 odd minutes and said . “ Your licence has expired . So your fine would be increased. Besides we will need to file a case against you “. “ But how is that possible “ I exploded. My license is valid till 2016. That’s when I realized the trick. The 6 in handwritten 2016 was being deliberately interpreted as zero to prove me wrong. Again here, I was given the express option which I refused. Instead I took it on me to prove myself correct and left the police station with a firm determination to get the records and place them before the officer. My license and bike keys still with the police.
That’s when I realized how big a mess I was into . My licence was from my hometown Nasik. I had to travel all the way to Nasik to fetch the records which I did. At the RTO office, I spent half a day shuttling between counters without much progress in what I had come for. Finally I was told to seek a letter from the local police station stating that my original license had been lost and that I wanted a duplicate one. I was also to bring originals of my proof of residence and a photo identity.
By now my problem had worsened. I did not have anything to prove that I was a resident of Nasik or that I was myself !. I went to the concerned local authorities but in vain !. Again , I was offered an option of ‘creating the documents’ for Rs 5000 which I refused. After all, if this is what I had to do , I could as well settled for the Rs 100 express fine !. Finally after 3 days of ordeal, I came back home feeling dejected and disillusioned . I was surprised to see my bike parked in front of the gate . My younger brother had through some contacts managed to convince the officer and got back the licence and bike for a “fee”.
“ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties , most of the bureaucrats and police officers , almost all of the government servants and police -dealing with public, many of the government servants otherwise and some of the defence officers are corrupt “ I proclaimed in disdain which was an outcome of my experiences over the past few days.
The bad guys identified , now they are to be severely punished. Who would do that ? Well the judiciary . Then why did I need to travel to Nasik if Judiciary could help me . That’s because Judiciary requires evidence and where does it come from ? The police are supposed to collect it with help of the right government bodies. “ Most of the politicians from most of the political parties , most of the bureaucrats and police officers , almost all of the government servants and police -dealing with public, many of the government servants otherwise, some of the defence officers and some in the judiciary are corrupt ,which also results in delayed and ineffective justice “- Version 21.
By now, I had started getting exasperated ( which I am sure you would be by now !) and was about to finalize this as my problem statement when it occurred to me that all these are just one side of the coin. After all, I had to suffer because I refused to bribe. What about others ? Why would people not prefer a Rs. 100 express fine over Rs 300 fine and make life easier ? Also, with my version of problem statement so far, there had to be an overwhelming number of “donors” for the business to flourish. I modified my problem statement to read “Most of the politicians from most of the political parties , most of the bureaucrats and police officers , almost all of the government servants and police -dealing with public, many of the government servants otherwise, some of the defence officers and some in the judiciary are corrupt ,which also results in delayed and ineffective justice . The problem is compounded by ordinary people accepting, helping , advocating corruption and thus are part of the problem”.
It is then that I was enlightened by the truth and my problem statement appeared right in front of me .“ We,The people - are corrupt !!!”. Gosh !! That was to bold a statement and obviously a big a problem to solve !!.
Pondering on the latest realization, it seemed to be too harsh a statement to me. How can it be true ? After all I am calling myself corrupt ! My parents , kins everybody corrupt ? Besides , I was aware of some virtuous individuals and some exemplary officials, politicians and police officers who have been honest ,upright and non compromising.
However , I did spent quite some time before arriving at the conclusion and it still remains
“We , The people are corrupt”
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