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5 Ways To Reduce Corruption and 5 Places Where It Exists

By Youth Ki Awaaz in Society
8th August, 2010

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By Abhishek Singh and Tarunima Pandey:

July 22, 2008, a black day for Indian democracy. The day reports that Bharatiya Janata Party legislators displayed purported bundles of currency notes in parliament, which they said [allegedly] were offered to three of their members in return for support to the government. Is it shameful?

We are all aware of the term ‘corruption’ and have had a lot of discussion on how to control it. It may be defined as the misuse of the public office for one’s own advantage or for the purpose of any other illegal benefits by a public servant. According to sec. 2(c) (vii) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, a public servant is, ‘any person who holds an office by virtue of which he is authorised or required to perform any public duty’. But in reality this has been seen to be abused.

Every person has their own dignity and some fundamental rights. Corruption also affects the fundamental rights. How? It has been seen that any citizen fears to go to police station even when their right(s) is violated. Why? Because they do not want to face a series questioning of the police. Normally, what actually happens is, a person when goes to a police station for FIR, they have to struggle a lot and face a lot in order lodge the FIR in the order of it being properly written. It therefore, suggests that we need such a body that could provide us a corruption free society. As per Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Sec. 13 (1) d (ii) of POC Act, “a public servant is said to commit the offence of criminal misconduct, if he, by abusing his position as a public servant, obtains for himself or for any other person any valuable thing or pecuniary advantage.” This seems to be omnipresent be it in any police department or medical department and even in judiciary.

5 Ways To Reduce Corruption:

The question again arises – how to control this increasing corruption in our country? There are several bodies that are working for a corruption free system. Here are suggested some of the tools to reduce corruption:

1. The first tool is ‘education’. With the help of education we can reduce corruption. According to a report by Transparency International, the least corrupt state is Kerala, the reason being that Kerala’s literacy rate is highest in India. So we can see how education effects education. In most of the states, normally a fairly large number of people are uneducated. Those who are uneducated do not know about the process, provisions and procedures through which they can get justice. Corrupt public servants try to make a fool of them and often demand bribes. It is due to unawareness in the field of law, public rights and procedures thereof that a common and an uneducated suffer out of the corrupt society. This suggests that if we are educated, we can understand our rights well.

2. We need to change the government processes. If the members of the governing body are government officials, there will certainly be less reports of the criminal cases. The reverse may be possible only when there are no more criminal politicians in our government. The provision is that, if there is any case filed against a person then he would not be eligible for election. But if we see 100 politicians then about 60% of those would have a criminal case against them. If these ‘criminal’ politicians are in charge of forming and implementing laws, what type of law would be formed, one can only guess! Thus during election, we should keep in mind the person for whom we shall not vote. In India there is a provision that no person as a criminal shall be allowed as a Member of Parliament or member of legislative. Unfortunately a fairly large number of them are a part of it.

3. We can reduce corruption by increasing direct contact between government and the governed. E-governance could help a lot towards this direction. In a conference on, “Effects of Good Governance and Human Rights“ organised by National Human Right Commission, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam gave an example of the Delhi metro rail system and online railway reservation as good governance and said that all the lower courts should follow the example of the Supreme Court and High Court and make judgements available online. Similarly, Sivraj Patil said that the Right to information should be used for transparency. We have legal rights to know a lot of information. According to this act, (Right to Information act 2005), generally people should follow the procedure of law given to then when their work is not being implemented in a proper way in public services. This act is a great help in the order to control corruption.

4. Lack of effective corruption treatment is another reason. That means, instruments which are in use, are not running properly. Despite the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, corruption is still flourishing. Why? Because of weak actions and proceedings towards corrupt people. People don’t have any fear of this act and the court. The act may thus be revised for its better implementation.

5. Lack of transparency and professional accountability is yet another big reason. We should be honest to ourselves. Until and unless we will not be honest, we can’t control corruption. If each of us is honest towards our profession, then corruption will automatically decrease. We need to pay attention towards professional accountability i.e., how much we are faithful and truthful towards our profession. Corruption may be controlled by handling five major professions: lekhpal, medical, revenue, police and judicial.

5 Places Where Corruption Exists:

1. Lekhpal, a government official, whose job is to examine, report and keep all records of lands. But recently, there have been a lot of cases in the court, which are based on land dispute. Why is it so? This is due to the flaws in the department of lekha vibhag. As far as this department is concerned, if the people pay attention towards professional accountability, land disputes can be considerably reduced, or resolved faster. This would account for a fairly large control over corruption.

2. Another type of profession where corruption is rampant is the medical sector. How? There are many government hospitals and public health centres in villages and cities. There are some doctors, appointed for the treatment of the people. But in government hospitals, there is hardly ever proper treatment for the common man. Doctors have started opening their own private clinic to earn more money. The public hospitals lack adequate medicines and other required facilities. Doctors may not be found on the scheduled timings. The poor people, who only depend upon the government hospitals, are suffering since they can’t afford treatment from the private hospital. If the doctors would come in time, and in hospital there is sufficient medicines and proper treatment available, then most of the people would have been healthy. Thus doctors need to give their job professional accountability.

3. Third one is the revenue department. In this department, a fairly large number of the employees are corrupt. They take bribes and leave the person who didn’t even give tax off the hook. For e.g. income tax. If every person is honest towards his/her profession then a heavy loss of Indian government may be saved.

4. There is a lot of crime around us and criminals are doing their work without any fear. If police becomes serious then there will be control over corruption to the extent of nearly, say about 60-70%. They should perform their duty honestly. The day all the officers will be serious towards their profession, we may expect a corruption-free environment.

5. And last but not the least, is the department of judiciary. We know there are several lakh cases which are pending in the courts in India. The process of justice is very delayed in our country. Due to this, the numbers of cases are increasing day by day. If the proceedings are fast, people may see that if they do wrong or commit any crimes then they will have to face punishment. People thus will hesitate to take bribe. To recall and mention a famous quote here, ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’.

The writers are correspondents with Youth Ki Awaaz and students of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow.

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  1. saurav singh

    Dear, abhishek and Tarunima

    i am very agree with your view but don’t you think that whatever way you have prescribed above are not effective. meanning there by your five way to reduce are flying in the wind but in the practical world it having no effection over system. for example you said the is no impelementation of prevention of curruption act, but did you ever thought that by sying this the problem is solved? in fact this act was come for the perticuler object and tried to enforce strictly but whoever is appointed to eliminate curroption becomes currupt that is the main problem came into existance. give us the better ideas to proper implementation of this act in the practical language.
    you gave the example of POLICE, in fact lot of people who goes for the FIR are hyperbole then it is dificult to identify who is actual victim. secondly durring the investigation if police don’t take strict action then no one will tell them any type of truth.
    same in the case of judiciary, there is not a judge is liable for the pendancy & judge never goes to anyone to ask for bribe, ppl themself comes to judges.

    so only pointing out is not the well solution as per my best knowlagde.

    * i think that for solution you must put your self in the same stage and them find out the solution, i wish that you will come to know it.

    thanks

  2. M.R.Rangaswamy

    It’s a never-ending problem. Let’s not lose heart. Let’s continue to fight for an ultimate success. Shouldn’t we ?

    1. YouthKiAwaaz

      Absolutely M.R., it is only when we believe that we can will we be able to fight this evil.

  3. Ramanand Kowta

    The seed of corruption is sown by the well meaning Bhaarateeya mother early in life. When the child stands up for the first time and attempts to walk/ move, he inevitably falls and cries and looks around. The Mata cannot bear to see her ‘ laadla ‘ cry and her ‘ mamata ‘ overflows. As a sign of unconditional affection and love, she picks up the laadla, cuddles him to her bosom, wipes off the tears and does something that appears very innocuous – she hits the floor as if to rebuke/ scold/reprimand it for ‘ mere munney ko tooney giraaya aur chot pahunchaayaa aur rulaaya ? ! ‘ This repeats more often when the laadla is found crying – and every family member repeats this scene. By contrast, a Jewish mother simply waits for her darling to succeed after repeated attempts and JUST cuddles him to her bosom !
    This bhaarateeya mamata only conveys to the child – through the Heart – that
    – falling, failure is bad/undesirable and must be avoided
    – repeated attempts can be tricky and avoidable
    – placation/ consolation by ‘ blaming the other – the floor ‘ for the fall is the right response and attitude. Pointing a finger at the other/ passing the buck is instilled early on. Responsibility takes a beating. Add to this the total protection and chaperoning,by parents, of the Bhaarateeya child and teen and youth throughout schooling, college, employment, marriage.
    Do we allow them to take pride/ self-esteem in their own attempts – stand, walk fall, stand, walk…. and run and…. FLY and SOAR ?
    Young parents and to-be-parents have a profound lesson in this explanation that was narrated to a group of urban farmers by a sensitive police officer. I was present and it hit me like a whiplash. Hope it does the same to all who read this !
    Please feel free to contact me – Bhaarateeya navjawaans- on 09892910023 and on ram.hey.anand@gmail.com
    Yours Nature – Ally,
    Ramanand Kowta

    1. Vid

      Very much agree. I also believe this overly attached bhartiya mamta is also responsible for prevalent sexism and low intercaste marriage percentage. Majority of Indian men never grow up coz of this and they end up compromising whole life.

  4. vriti

    corruption never rules

  5. vriti

    CORRUPTION;AN EARTHLY EVIL TO THE SOCIETY

  6. chandasampath

    corruption will have end if we are honest

  7. swera

    one day a corruption will end if we are honest.

  8. sweraa

    corruption destroy the world.

  9. thierry

    how can one reduce corruption in a country like Cameroon?

  10. Olagundoye

    The solution to the problem of corruption can be liken to a man climbing a ladder.Therefore,such a man that is willing to climb the ladder must not fold his arms or put it in his pocket.This is my own fomulated quote’A BETTER CAN NEVER BE A BEST WITHOUT A GOOD’.Lastly,our leaders must strive hard.

  11. Rohit Bajpai

    I really appreciate your ideas and views as these are the some of the best methods but the main problem is who should implement on this only 10 out of 1000 people who really care about these things n try to implement on this, the first first thing we need to do is be honest with yourself n take an immediate action if anything goes something around you. If any body came front and take all the necessary actions then something could be happen.

    1. Dhireema gupta

      i really agree with your views but today, nobody himself/herself wants to be honest at the sight of these corruption cases if one can get control over his/her demands and behaviour towards anyone than i think corruption will be lessen and also goverment of a country is known to its rights and responsibilities then corruption will be fully controlled

  12. sathish

    corruption is fully due to the government officials. Politicians are the persons who stands only for five years, they pass the orders and bills that is fully created by the IAS officials.

    If Government officials are honest, Then the corruption can be fully eradicated.!!!!!!!

    JAI HIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. shankar rao

      Corrupt is our mind if we desire something which is not rightfully ours and to get that which is not ours we do everything legal, illegal which is corruption. No point in blaming the system, we have to reform ourselves first and take all possible action to curb/eliminate corruption in public life.

    2. Rodrick Mupapa

      Great contribution. I appreciate that.

  13. Dhireema gupta

    how we reduce this corruption by being honest ourself goverment of the country should also be known towards its rights and responsibilities towards country then it will be under control

  14. Manoranjan Dev

    i amn’t agreeing with point 1.)…. Because if u will see the biggest scams/corruption, black money or many social evils like female foeticide,sex determination etc.., that is happening in India are done most by the educated people not by the illiterate people that has been also showed in Satyamev Jayate………
    So, where are we going after being educated …..

    Only Quality education with human & social values can led to this change…….

  15. ayyappa

    first people should be honest

  16. SATYAM

    CORRUPTION KO NIKALNA MUSKIL HAI LAKIN NA MONKIN NAHI

    1. the shaikh ii

      Lakin corruption ko nikaalna bahut aasan hai bas india k log ek baar sirf kisi bhi chunao mai neta logo ko sapport na karey to aur na hi ek saal \vote dey kisi bhi party ko apney aap curruption cum ho jaayega .

  17. lavanya

    mahatma gandhiji decided and sent out whole britishers from india like that if we decided altogether we can throw out corruption from india

  18. surya

    All this corruption, atrocities against women, horrible Driving instincts, etc., are all the branches of single root problem, Lack of Ethics. Yes, whether it is a highly qualified bureaucrat or a doctor , all of these crimes against the society are because of the immoral behavior . What will a student learn from a teacher, who himself is a pervert. There should a change in the education system, there should be a separate section for ethics in their daily curriculum and the first years of a student must be spent in making him learn the fundamental rights, responsibilities of a citizen because a plant can be bent only when it is young. Let them know the power of transparency in governing things and questioning the wrong.
    Only then we can build a nation where everyone is responsible and everything is transparent ; so is our future.

  19. shankar rao

    I want to be honest and I can remain honest. That’s it. But I always lose my temper if somebody is not honest and prospering and going scotfree to boot. The justice system is corrupted and I feel it is a losing battle against corruption. If we are honest we may atleast remain peaceful and nothing more nothing less.

  20. Brooke

    Nice article but please work on the grammar. It’s kind of hard to overlook them.

  21. Rodrick Mupapa

    good good keep it up.

  22. R. VIJAY

    Very nice sir. “Say no to corruption “

  23. rashmi

    i am very impressed with your post ,all the things you mentioned actually take place in our society ,i am very happy to see your post ,you ate doing a good job

  24. yuvasree

    It is more useful for me guys i try this for my country

  25. jothi

    I am really agree your words about corruption and it is very usefulfor my GD thankyou

  26. TIJJANI DAMBAM

    these contributions are very contributive shouid they be implemented. pls Guys
    I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE OR ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN ASSIST ON HOW LANGUAGE especially Arabic CAN PLAY VITAL ROLE IN NATION BUILDING AND FIGHTING AGAINST CORRUPTION.

  27. GOPLACES

    The only way to end corruption in my opinion is to make all Approval processes simple and IT driven and open to public access and scrutiny ! Take for example customs and PF DEpt which were considered very painful to deal with and corrupt ……today they are seen as much improved !

    Make the processes transparent and also fool proof and corruption will get killed significantly….for example we land up paying huge prices for bust tickets because railway tickets can get blocked online and released just before the date of journey with minimal charges ! Just increase the cancellation charges and the lead time for cancellation and see what happens ! Make traffic rules simple and Licensing an online affair and you will have minimum corruption there too!

  28. pk

    Believe reduction of corruption need to be done from highest level of power and authority. Like parrents need to have good values to have good values for the family.

  29. harshu

    i think this educational system is not correct here students are just byhearting the lessons but it is useless there is no analysis of a subject to understand the subject there has to be a practical learning

    1. Virender Singh Prajapati

      You are right Harshu, if education is right everything will be right because almost all fields start within education like judiciary,police,doctors,teachers etc.

  30. pranshu kharkwal

    Needed some info for school essay.
    Thanks a ton 🙂

    From
    Inspire Buddy

  31. NISHANT SHARMA

    Ohk so finally got all in one article that i was looking for 🙂
    Thank you
    From
    UPrepareLaw

  32. Devaraj H Mallikarjuna

    It’s very helpful.. I’m sure I see before voting I will see them history and I will vote thank u

  33. Manan Jindal

    I pledge that I never in my whole life time give a way to corruption. Also, whenever I would see any public servant promoting corruption would

    1. Manan Jindal

      Also, whenever I would see any public servant promoting corruption I would tell Anti Corruption Bureau(ACB) on their helpline number- 1800222021

  34. Marna Tut

    Okay so finally got all in one article that I was looking for good luck

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An ambassador and trained facilitator under Eco Femme (a social enterprise working towards menstrual health in south India), Sanjina is also an active member of the MHM Collective- India and Menstrual Health Alliance- India. She has conducted Menstrual Health sessions in multiple government schools adopted by Rotary District 3240 as part of their WinS project in rural Bengal. She has also delivered training of trainers on SRHR, gender, sexuality and Menstruation for Tomorrow’s Foundation, Vikramshila Education Resource Society, Nirdhan trust and Micro Finance, Tollygunj Women In Need, Paint It Red in Kolkata.

Now as an MH Fellow with YKA, she’s expanding her impressive scope of work further by launching a campaign to facilitate the process of ensuring better menstrual health and SRH services for women residing in correctional homes in West Bengal. The campaign will entail an independent study to take stalk of the present conditions of MHM in correctional homes across the state and use its findings to build public support and political will to take the necessary action.

Saurabh has been associated with YKA as a user and has consistently been writing on the issue MHM and its intersectionality with other issues in the society. Now as an MHM Fellow with YKA, he’s launched the Right to Period campaign, which aims to ensure proper execution of MHM guidelines in Delhi’s schools.

The long-term aim of the campaign is to develop an open culture where menstruation is not treated as a taboo. The campaign also seeks to hold the schools accountable for their responsibilities as an important component in the implementation of MHM policies by making adequate sanitation infrastructure and knowledge of MHM available in school premises.

Read more about his campaign.

Harshita is a psychologist and works to support people with mental health issues, particularly adolescents who are survivors of violence. Associated with the Azadi Foundation in UP, Harshita became an MHM Fellow with YKA, with the aim of promoting better menstrual health.

Her campaign #MeriMarzi aims to promote menstrual health and wellness, hygiene and facilities for female sex workers in UP. She says, “Knowledge about natural body processes is a very basic human right. And for individuals whose occupation is providing sexual services, it becomes even more important.”

Meri Marzi aims to ensure sensitised, non-discriminatory health workers for the needs of female sex workers in the Suraksha Clinics under the UPSACS (Uttar Pradesh State AIDS Control Society) program by creating more dialogues and garnering public support for the cause of sex workers’ menstrual rights. The campaign will also ensure interventions with sex workers to clear misconceptions around overall hygiene management to ensure that results flow both ways.

Read more about her campaign.

MH Fellow Sabna comes with significant experience working with a range of development issues. A co-founder of Project Sakhi Saheli, which aims to combat period poverty and break menstrual taboos, Sabna has, in the past, worked on the issue of menstruation in urban slums of Delhi with women and adolescent girls. She and her team also released MenstraBook, with menstrastories and organised Menstra Tlk in the Delhi School of Social Work to create more conversations on menstruation.

With YKA MHM Fellow Vineet, Sabna launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society. As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

Read more about her campaign. 

A student from Delhi School of Social work, Vineet is a part of Project Sakhi Saheli, an initiative by the students of Delhi school of Social Work to create awareness on Menstrual Health and combat Period Poverty. Along with MHM Action Fellow Sabna, Vineet launched Menstratalk, a campaign that aims to put an end to period poverty and smash menstrual taboos in society.

As a start, the campaign aims to begin conversations on menstrual health with five hundred adolescents and youth in Delhi through offline platforms, and through this community mobilise support to create Period Friendly Institutions out of educational institutes in the city.

Find out more about the campaign here.

A native of Bhagalpur district – Bihar, Shalini Jha believes in equal rights for all genders and wants to work for a gender-equal and just society. In the past she’s had a year-long association as a community leader with Haiyya: Organise for Action’s Health Over Stigma campaign. She’s pursuing a Master’s in Literature with Ambedkar University, Delhi and as an MHM Fellow with YKA, recently launched ‘Project अल्हड़ (Alharh)’.

She says, “Bihar is ranked the lowest in India’s SDG Index 2019 for India. Hygienic and comfortable menstruation is a basic human right and sustainable development cannot be ensured if menstruators are deprived of their basic rights.” Project अल्हड़ (Alharh) aims to create a robust sensitised community in Bhagalpur to collectively spread awareness, break the taboo, debunk myths and initiate fearless conversations around menstruation. The campaign aims to reach at least 6000 adolescent girls from government and private schools in Baghalpur district in 2020.

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A psychologist and co-founder of a mental health NGO called Customize Cognition, Ritika forayed into the space of menstrual health and hygiene, sexual and reproductive healthcare and rights and gender equality as an MHM Fellow with YKA. She says, “The experience of working on MHM/SRHR and gender equality has been an enriching and eye-opening experience. I have learned what’s beneath the surface of the issue, be it awareness, lack of resources or disregard for trans men, who also menstruate.”

The Transmen-ses campaign aims to tackle the issue of silence and disregard for trans men’s menstruation needs, by mobilising gender sensitive health professionals and gender neutral restrooms in Lucknow.

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A Computer Science engineer by education, Nitisha started her career in the corporate sector, before realising she wanted to work in the development and social justice space. Since then, she has worked with Teach For India and Care India and is from the founding batch of Indian School of Development Management (ISDM), a one of its kind organisation creating leaders for the development sector through its experiential learning post graduate program.

As a Youth Ki Awaaz Menstrual Health Fellow, Nitisha has started Let’s Talk Period, a campaign to mobilise young people to switch to sustainable period products. She says, “80 lakh women in Delhi use non-biodegradable sanitary products, generate 3000 tonnes of menstrual waste, that takes 500-800 years to decompose; which in turn contributes to the health issues of all menstruators, increased burden of waste management on the city and harmful living environment for all citizens.

Let’s Talk Period aims to change this by

Find out more about her campaign here.

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A former Assistant Secretary with the Ministry of Women and Child Development in West Bengal for three months, Lakshmi Bhavya has been championing the cause of menstrual hygiene in her district. By associating herself with the Lalana Campaign, a holistic menstrual hygiene awareness campaign which is conducted by the Anahat NGO, Lakshmi has been slowly breaking taboos when it comes to periods and menstrual hygiene.

A Gender Rights Activist working with the tribal and marginalized communities in india, Srilekha is a PhD scholar working on understanding body and sexuality among tribal girls, to fill the gaps in research around indigenous women and their stories. Srilekha has worked extensively at the grassroots level with community based organisations, through several advocacy initiatives around Gender, Mental Health, Menstrual Hygiene and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) for the indigenous in Jharkhand, over the last 6 years.

Srilekha has also contributed to sustainable livelihood projects and legal aid programs for survivors of sex trafficking. She has been conducting research based programs on maternal health, mental health, gender based violence, sex and sexuality. Her interest lies in conducting workshops for young people on life skills, feminism, gender and sexuality, trauma, resilience and interpersonal relationships.

A Guwahati-based college student pursuing her Masters in Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bidisha started the #BleedwithDignity campaign on the technology platform Change.org, demanding that the Government of Assam install
biodegradable sanitary pad vending machines in all government schools across the state. Her petition on Change.org has already gathered support from over 90000 people and continues to grow.

Bidisha was selected in Change.org’s flagship program ‘She Creates Change’ having run successful online advocacy
campaigns, which were widely recognised. Through the #BleedwithDignity campaign; she organised and celebrated World Menstrual Hygiene Day, 2019 in Guwahati, Assam by hosting a wall mural by collaborating with local organisations. The initiative was widely covered by national and local media, and the mural was later inaugurated by the event’s chief guest Commissioner of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Debeswar Malakar, IAS.

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