Our nation today is passing through a terrible crisis of character; the ancient Indian edifice of moral and spiritual values is crumbling to pieces. In every sphere of life corruption and dishonesty are rampant and there is a very negligible minority of honest souls. Corruption has now assumed mammoth proportions and in our day-to-day life it has just become a very common phenomenon to see it, raising its ugly head. There is hardly any sphere of our life -social, political, economic, religious and governmental that has remained untouched by it. Even the sanctimonious educational institutions have now become centers of rampant corruption. Meritorious students are often the scapegoats of this social malady. Ideal, talented and honest teachers have become suffering souls thrown into dark recesses. Hence, like the air we breathe, corruption has become all-pervasive and like God, it is omni-present.
Corruption is a deep-rooted social menace that has eaten into the vitals of India’s social and public life. It has distorted all moral values and made truth, honesty, virtue, sincerity and sacrifice meaningless like old furniture. Few decades ago, for one to be branded with the epithet ‘corrupt, was very disgraceful and repulsive. But, today doing corruption without shame and ethics has become a unique art or super talent. Unfortunately, corruption, though a serious evil has become a matter of fact in our lives.
But why corruption? A major cause of corruption is the rise of the burgeoning middle-class with a dream to lead a materialistic life-style. This class, which is shaping the destiny of our nation, has lost its moral and ideological conscience in pursuit of status, power and money. Our dirty politics is also a vital reason of corruption. The politicians are adopting all sorts of evil means to enjoy the charm of power. Lal Bahadur Shastri, our former Prime Minister was not able to purchase even a slate for his son, as he has not received his stipend. But now a village Sarpancha or a municipal Corporator is a man of lakhs. The bureaucrats are also not so far behind. They are also digesting a major amount of people’s money as their lion share. Our faulty system is also a principal reason for corruption. It is seen that the corrupted fellows are moving happily and the innocent guys are suffering. Lastly, the most important factor is, we, the people are not conscious. We are not raising our voices and are motivated by the leaders and influential persons.
What are the remedies? Yes, corruption can be minimized and thrown to the dustbin if our government takes proper measures. We the masses also have a prominent role to play. We can build an ideal and great nation, as we are the most potent political force.