Even as the stink of murky contracts of Commonwealth Games is choking us, an audit report has exposed supply of sub-standard ration to our troops. The report says that troops are fed sub-standard and out-dated food. One has to taste (if possible eat) food served to soldiers to know what it means. If we can’t provide mere edible food to our living soldiers, building a War Memorial is as good as a “brick service”. We have read about supply of sub-standard ration in the past also. It appears, things will not improve unless ‘gentlemen’ of all ranks are served same food across the table. But then we cannot expect the colonial mindsets to change overnight.
We all are milking this country in every possible way, so we can’t expect the armed forces to be sacrosanct. In fact, we have no right to label politicians and babus as corrupt. Politicians have power, position and opportunity to make money because all deals go through them. But then, are we, the commoners, far behind? We either fuel or indulge in corruption whenever we get a chance irrespective of our class, culture or status.
The watchman outside your apartment takes his cut before he allows any salesman/vendor inside the complex. Officials in Passport offices reject applications of honest and law-abiding citizens on flimsy grounds whereas criminals get passports. A clerk at an electric crematorium expects a bribe so that one gets priority to dispose the dead ones (in the jet age people don’t have time to wait for their turn to dispose at the crematorium).
We the “honest commoners” always try to claim more than what we deserve. We subscribe the cheapest paper and submit claims for the most expensive one. We shamelessly use official manpower as domestic help. We blatantly use official cars for school duty and for shopping. We are paid enough to own a car and employ a driver too. Still getting a free ride seems to be our prerogative. India could have been richer by billions had we grown out of this “free ride” culture.
We pay tax only when it is unavoidable. We break a traffic rule and bribe the police or worse, use our contacts to get off lightly. And we label the police as corrupt!!
Why do we associate corruption with government employees and politicians alone? The magnitude of corruption in IT companies is unimaginable. We know how highly paid IT professionals line their pockets in recruitments, event management, and signing contracts for transport, drinking water and so on. Often, ‘entertainment’ parties makes HR executives richer rather than entertaining employees. So it is obvious that we the so-called honest citizens have no second thoughts in giving or taking bribes. But we expect our leaders to be honest!! What we reap is what we grow. We have no business to take pot shots at politicians unless our house is in order. Like charity, honesty should begin at home.
