The United Nations observes December 9, as Anti-Corruption Day. Corruption is a serious issue and no country, region is immune from it. It undermines social, economic and political progress in all societies. The results of ‘India Corruption Survey 2019’, which received 1,90,000 responses from people in 248 districts, revealed that people in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, West Bengal, Goa, and Odisha reported low cases of corruption, while Rajasthan, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, and Punjab had higher occurrences of corruption.
The survey was conducted between October 2018 and November 2019 and was conducted by ‘Local Circles’, a social media firm and the ‘Transparency International India.’ To One's surprise, according to the United Nations Development Programme, in developing countries funds lost to corruption are estimated at ten times the amount of official development assistance.
The civil society has raised this issue time and again. The common man, the poor ones and the middle class are the worst affected of this malpractice. The Congress-led Manmohan Singh Government lost the 2014 general elections because of its corrupt image. Undoubtedly, Corruption remained the major poll issue in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
The UPA Govt at that time came under severe public criticism for various scams that took place during its tenure, main among them being the 2G scam, Coalgate scam, CWG, among others. The Bhartiya Janta Party then exaggerated the issue of corruption and promised the nation a corruption-free govt. However, more than 5 years have passed but nothing has changed at the ground level, the ground reality even today remains the same.
When talking about Anti-Corruption day, one cannot forget to mention Anna Hazare. Going a few years back, we realize, the first anti-corruption movement in India began in 2011. The movement was led by the veteran Anna Hazare and it proved to be a game-changer as it was after that, the public which includes all sections of society started debating on this issue. The historic Lokpal Bill is a result of the Anna Hazare movement.
Efforts are being made to highlight this issue and steps are being taken to stop corrupt practices involved in our system, at both national and international levels. An important question is whether corruption can be eradicated? Few enthusiastic social leaders might say, nothing is impossible, but ground reality says eradication of corruption is a next to impossible and a herculean task.
If one goes by bringing in more legislation to curb this malpractice, similar to the Right to Information act, then yes this problem can be dealt with to a certain extent but this is not the solution. Corruption can be totally uprooted from our society only if we as citizens say ‘NO’ to this malpractice. Youths can play crucial role in fighting the gigantic wild animal of corruption. To eradicate corruption from society, all have to fight it. It is the most dangerous monstrous evil, which is very harmful to any democratic institution.
Corruption is a multi-faceted and evolving phenomenon and is both a symptom and cause of a weak governance system. Corruption can be only eradicated if we as individuals vow not to accept a bribe or support the bribery system in any form. A combination of all, i..e strong willpower along with individual efforts and a systematic and comprehensive approach is needed to end this malpractice from our society.
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