Why are we so frustrated with the ongoing corruption in our country? Going by frustrated statements of some people I have come across recently, it almost looks like they are spelling doom for India.
But the fact is far from that!
These people may make you feel that there is no future in this country, and all that, but if you observe them closely you will realise how much a part of the corrupt system all of us – including them – are!
Just the other day, I came across a person who was so frustrated with all the corruption that he kept asking how long we will have to tolerate this. What really shocked me was his question: “When will they make life better for us? When will I get a 2 BHK flat?”
My shock is because of this: Why should we expect one or the other type of a government to come to power in the state or at the Centre to ensure that our lives are better or worse? Is it because we always try and find solutions from the government, whichever is in power?
If we are actually doing that, then I am not surprised that we remain in the pits; and will continue to be so – frustrated, angry and even suck up to the philosophies of doom, as is being presented by the Naxal movements in the country.
This person’s impressions that it is the government which will provide you with all happiness made me realise that it’s not him alone, but our entire nation which believes in such a thing. Everyone wants an ideal leader; everyone expects a government to usher in grandiose for them; everyone wants someone else to take the axe so that their own lives are better.
But no one will himself/herself take the step to make things better for others. It is this breed of people which is going to make the difference that will take us all to a better, corruption-free life.
If we do not believe in this, then we are a pathetic lot who should have first learnt lessons in citizenship before jumping to take independence from the British.
Take corruption itself. Where does it begin, and why do we see no end to it? It is because we all are an inseparable part of corruption, although when it comes to blaming, we point fingers at others, or at best at the party in power itself.
Let me share an experience with you. When people gathered to stage a dharna at Freedom Park in support of Anna Hazare’s campaign to enact the Lokpal Bill and to fight corruption tooth and nail, I found one person who I know personally – and who himself indulged in corrupt practices in his professional life – vowing to take his family there and express his support for the cause. But the first thing that came to my mind was this: if people like him are participating in a dharna in support of Anna Hazare then this movement itself would be doomed. Because there is no point in having corrupt people camouflaging as honest, sincere individuals suddenly participating in these campaigns only to let go later and resume their corrupt ways of life. Where are we headed in that case?
Therefore, it is up to us to set an example; no matter others saying things like “What are you trying to be Mahatma Gandhi for?”
I think it is in the Indian blood to go to foreign shores (mostly the West), return home praising the discipline among citizens, and then continue with the indiscipline here in India without a care in the world. That’s why they say Indians are best behaved when abroad. But if they can behave well abroad, why can’t they do it here, in their own country, if they really want to rid it of corruption?
Why, among all things, should we blame the government ahead of blaming ourselves?
We need to make the beginning; we need to ensure that our country is corruption-free. It is up to us; it’s not up to people like Anna Hazare (despite his good intentions) or Baba Ramdev, or even the government itself to rid us from corruption. We have to do it…ourselves, and from our hearts!
