Almost everybody is corrupt in India. It is difficult to live without being corrupt. If people around you are involved in a corrupt deal and you know about it, but don’t join them, you are likely to be transferred or punished some other way.They are afraid that one day you may reveal everything, if you did not take part in it. If we visit a government office to get something done and feel that it can be done faster by bribing someone, we will not hesitate to do so. Both, those who offer and those who receive the bribe are corrupt.
People give a donation to get their children admission in schools and colleges. They use influence and bribe to get a job. They give dowry to get a groom. There is a law against dowry but it cannot be enforced. If it is enforced almost everybody will be in jail.
A friend of mine was trying to sell an instrument costing Rs.20,000 to a Scientist in a reputed government laboratory. The Scientist said he wanted Rs.10,000 for the deal and asked my friend to mention the price as Rs.30,000 so that he could adjust the amount in the bill. He will place the order and Rs.30,000 will be given as payment for the instrument which is usually sold for Rs.20,000. He has to be given Rs.10,000. Moreover, he wanted three quotations, since government regulations required them to choose the cheapest from three offers. So, my friend gave him three quotations, two of which were priced even higher and got the deal.
I once heard a top official speaking about corruption and how bad it was. His son was my classmate and an average student. He got admission in one of the best engineering colleges in the country and told me ‘My dad got it for me, I can’t get in there without influence.’
Equipment worth Rs.200,000 was supplied to a government department but the payment was being delayed. After repeated visits, we realized that the concerned people wanted ten percent of the amount to facilitate the release of payment.
When I applied for a police clearance certificate, a policeman visited me for verification and started asking me all sorts of questions in a rude manner. When I gave him some money, he smiled and said, “don’t worry everything will be ready tomorrow.’ When I went for a medical check up to get a medical certificate, the doctor told me I was not really fit. When I gave him some money, he said the certificate will be available within a few minutes.
Once I went to the port to receive some goods sent from abroad. There was customs duty to be paid. The cashier refused to accept the customs duty unless he was given a certain sum. While taking the goods out, the gatekeeper stopped the vehicle and allowed it to pass only after he got his share.
A cyclone hit a coastal town which suffered a lot of damage. The government decided to give compensation to those who suffered losses. Government started collecting requests for compensation from the public and officials were sent out for verification. Those who suffered minimum or no losses but could afford to bribe the visiting officials were able to collect large amounts as compensation. The poor people who really suffered losses and did not have the money to bribe the visiting officials got nothing.
I knew a deacon who diverted the money collected during mass to his private account.
Whenever a large number of people are recruited for jobs abroad, there is also the possibility of mass non renewal of contract. People pay large sums to the agents to get these jobs and the agents have to recruit new people to make more money, a share of which is given to the employer to facilitate the process.
The people are corrupt and they expect politicians to be different. At higher levels the amount involved is huge and very difficult to detect. Moreover, the government will ensure that nothing is revealed.
There is a story about a UN project to build bridges in developing countries. There was a project in India and a UN official was visiting to see the progress. He visited the minister in charge who was staying in a huge house and asked him how a minister could afford such a huge house. The minister told him ‘look at the bridge, when I built the bridge, I also built the house.’ He had diverted some of the money to build his house. Next, the official visited an African country and found the minister in charge living in an even bigger house, almost like a palace. The official asked him the same question. The minister said ‘look at the bridge, when I built the bridge, I also built the house.’ The official could not see the bridge and asked “where is the bridge?’ The minister said ‘our people don’t need a bridge, they have lived for so many years without one.’ He had used all the money for his house.
People give a donation to get their children admission in schools and colleges. They use influence and bribe to get a job. They give dowry to get a groom. There is a law against dowry but it cannot be enforced. If it is enforced almost everybody will be in jail.
A friend of mine was trying to sell an instrument costing Rs.20,000 to a Scientist in a reputed government laboratory. The Scientist said he wanted Rs.10,000 for the deal and asked my friend to mention the price as Rs.30,000 so that he could adjust the amount in the bill. He will place the order and Rs.30,000 will be given as payment for the instrument which is usually sold for Rs.20,000. He has to be given Rs.10,000. Moreover, he wanted three quotations, since government regulations required them to choose the cheapest from three offers. So, my friend gave him three quotations, two of which were priced even higher and got the deal.
I once heard a top official speaking about corruption and how bad it was. His son was my classmate and an average student. He got admission in one of the best engineering colleges in the country and told me ‘My dad got it for me, I can’t get in there without influence.’
Equipment worth Rs.200,000 was supplied to a government department but the payment was being delayed. After repeated visits, we realized that the concerned people wanted ten percent of the amount to facilitate the release of payment.
When I applied for a police clearance certificate, a policeman visited me for verification and started asking me all sorts of questions in a rude manner. When I gave him some money, he smiled and said, “don’t worry everything will be ready tomorrow.’ When I went for a medical check up to get a medical certificate, the doctor told me I was not really fit. When I gave him some money, he said the certificate will be available within a few minutes.
Once I went to the port to receive some goods sent from abroad. There was customs duty to be paid. The cashier refused to accept the customs duty unless he was given a certain sum. While taking the goods out, the gatekeeper stopped the vehicle and allowed it to pass only after he got his share.
A cyclone hit a coastal town which suffered a lot of damage. The government decided to give compensation to those who suffered losses. Government started collecting requests for compensation from the public and officials were sent out for verification. Those who suffered minimum or no losses but could afford to bribe the visiting officials were able to collect large amounts as compensation. The poor people who really suffered losses and did not have the money to bribe the visiting officials got nothing.
I knew a deacon who diverted the money collected during mass to his private account.
Whenever a large number of people are recruited for jobs abroad, there is also the possibility of mass non renewal of contract. People pay large sums to the agents to get these jobs and the agents have to recruit new people to make more money, a share of which is given to the employer to facilitate the process.
The people are corrupt and they expect politicians to be different. At higher levels the amount involved is huge and very difficult to detect. Moreover, the government will ensure that nothing is revealed.
There is a story about a UN project to build bridges in developing countries. There was a project in India and a UN official was visiting to see the progress. He visited the minister in charge who was staying in a huge house and asked him how a minister could afford such a huge house. The minister told him ‘look at the bridge, when I built the bridge, I also built the house.’ He had diverted some of the money to build his house. Next, the official visited an African country and found the minister in charge living in an even bigger house, almost like a palace. The official asked him the same question. The minister said ‘look at the bridge, when I built the bridge, I also built the house.’ The official could not see the bridge and asked “where is the bridge?’ The minister said ‘our people don’t need a bridge, they have lived for so many years without one.’ He had used all the money for his house.
