India has been witnessing corruption in public domain since independence. However, in the last few decades the length and breadth of corruption net has been manifold. Literally, in every walk of life one can experience the toxins of carcinogenic corruption. Even today the lowest rung government official doesn't hesitate to ask for few bucks to facilitate a service, which on the contrary is a legal right of citizen though to avail it freely. Analyzing the gravity of systemic corruption, many anti-corruption laws have been enacted in this country and nothing has changed the topography of rampant corruption. And of late the much publicized draconian Jan Lokpal bill draft initiated by a civil society organization and supported by Anna Hazare has been a hot debate not only in media, but also in public domain. There are cynics and optimists as well who contribute their piece of argument to galvanize this bill as the mother of all anti-corruption bills ever enacted by any democratic nation in this world. For some time, I was quite optimistic and elated and was holding my trust in the civil society committee, which is an equal partner in drafting and debating on the Lokpal Bill draft. The irony of the draft is that it's a one-stop shop to handle corruption charges against anybody and everybody in public service.
Given the corruption charges getting rounds against Bhushans, now a fundamental question hammers me is that, can human greed be controlled by the stringent laws of land? Maybe, the charges against Bhushans not be true, but one critical aspect about elder Bhusan's declaration of assets looks unbelievable that how just a lawyer can accumulate the personal wealth to the tune of Rs. 209 crores in his life time? Though most of his legal practicing time has been spent on PILs which are certainly not a high yielding specialty in legal domain, but his wealth amassed speaks the contrary. If at all we seriously think about a committee that would pull off the huge responsibility of drafting a stringent anti-corruption bill, the primary attributes of the composition must hinge on the human attributes such as impeccable propriety other than sharp legal acumen. Of course there is no dearth of finest legal luminaries in this country who are honest and an incorruptible. The civil society should not be restricted to the crony professionalism, rather they should weigh high moral grounds against the skills, which are anyway don't rest within Bhushans only.
Well, that's one part of this anti-corruption drive to design a stringent deterrent mechanism to check corruption. However, if we look at the other developed democratic nations, we find a curious contrast that rather taking preventive measures as others strictly follow, why we Indians still wait a disease to inflict us and then take medicines? Probably, this perspective is inherited from a serious feudal mindset that still we preserve in our biological gene. We need to change that mindset first. We cant rely on the old school of intelligence. We must transform our old believes and think something innovative and out-of-the-box. First, we should pan our vision from curing a disease to preventing it. Let's understand that in an age of IT revolution, nothing is impossible to ensure a thorough transparency in the execution process of governance. Consider this: if the bidding process for 2G spectrum could have been executed through an automated process without human intervention, perhaps this scam could have been avoided. Let me tell you that the corruption is an indication of exponential human greed in a society, rather not a reflection of unavailability of stringent laws against corruption. So, the main culprits in the game of corruption are human beings. The more discretionary power of human beings means the larger chance of making corruption. To deal with this scenario, we need to minimize human intervention of human being in the execution process and promote automation, which would certainly curtail the chance of corruption in public domain.
When India is boasting its IT revolution in international forums and certainly has proved its mettle, then why at domestic front we are reluctant to adopt the best practices in automation to curb the corruption in governance process? The best way to eliminate the corruption is to prevent it. Are our old politicians listening? Or do they need to go back to new-age schools to take lessons on how to lead the nation in a technologically advanced manner? The old time is over, the old thoughts and beliefs as well. If still we believe in the status quo, better forget complaining about the corruption. We cant falsely claim or take it seriously that the most seasoned political leaders in this country are capable enough to guide a billion of youth powerhouse bubbling with ideas and innovations. This is the time for intelligent, dedicated, dynamic, and honest young leaders to take over the governance of this nation. We must challenge the unchallengeable. Then only we can aspire for a developed India, free of corruption.
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