🎴 Flashcard Mode

What impression about Indian attitude towards corruption does the reading of the second paragraph make on the reader?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Corruption in India has become so pervasive that it has seeped into the most revered institutions. No wonder then that Justice Bharucha was compelled to remark in 2001, “about 20 per cent of the judges in the courts are corrupt; corruption among public servants has reached monstrous dimensions in India. Its tentacles have started grappling even the institutions created for the protection of public.” Even a powerful prime minister like Rajiv Gandhi admitted defeat and bemoaned that “out of every 100 crore allocated to an anti-poverty project, I know that only about Rs. 15 crore reach the people. The remainder is gobbled up by middlemen, power brokers, contractors, and the corrupt.” As much as Rs. 37,000 crore or about 1.5 to 2 per cent of the GDP surfaced as part of the Voluntary Disclosure scheme in 1997 alone. It should surprise no one that Transparency International has ranked India among the top fifty-five corrupt countries in the world.
Is corruption the sole prerogative of the politicians and the bureaucracy? I am afraid not. In fact, the biggest corruption cases have been outside the government. The Harshad Mehta scam of around Rs. 10,000 crore and Ketan Parikh’s scam of Rs. 5,000 crore put other scandals to shame. It is estimated that non-banking financial companies have swindled over 30 million small investors. The other day, it was reported that a sizeable number of software professionals in a well-known multinational had fudged their bills. This morning, I received an e-mail from an erstwhile, dismissed colleague of mine arguing why she was not all that wrong in swiping an attendance card on behalf of another colleague! The cricket match-fixing scandal is still fresh in our memories. The list goes on. It is very clear that corruption is now an accepted phenomenon in the psyche of Indians from all walks of life.

Is there a solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem? Is there any hope at all? Will we ever see a corruption-free society? Can we at least work towards creating a corruption-free society for our children and grandchildren? I am an optimist and I believe that every problem can be solved. It requires leadership that is inspirational, selfless and courageous. We do have a few such people in India among our politicians, bureaucrats and corporate leaders. They have to come together to fight this scourge. Let me detail a few steps needed to fight corruption.
Fairness, transparency and accountability displayed by leaders are what instil confidence in a government, a community and society. Unfortunately, in our society, the government rarely practises these attributes when it comes to the elite. Only when we practise these attributes in fighting corruption among the elite and the powerful, will we succeed in rooting it out.