The Scourge Of Corruption In Kashmir

Kashmir which is known as the Switzerland of Asia and hogs the crown of the Indian Union, being the land of reshis, saints, sadhus, pirs, fakirs, etc. is today under the grip of looming corruption which has assumed the form of an unholy perpetuating institution, under the facade of false sensuality of power and attained the form of a growing malignancy which refuses to cow down in the current times, due to indifferent attitude of the government and permanent silence of the masses of democracy. According to a recent survey, J&K state featured among top five corrupt states in India.

Kashmir which was once an abode of highest morality and ethical standards is unfortunately driving towards a state of moral waywardness under the garb of which those in power misuse their authority for their selfish gains and put a common man in a state of despair and official apathy.

Every department of the government is rusted with this problem. The problem has taken the form of administrative corruption, medical corruption, educational corruption, buearacratic corruption, revenue corruption, tax evasion, other corruption, etc. making our social fabric woven under the corruption culture.

There are people who indulge in corruption in every governmental department. Although, all cannot be measured in the same balance. But, as a matter of fact, black sheep’s flock in every community.

According to Vito Tanzi, corruption is the intentional non-compliance with the arm’s length principle aimed at deriving some advantage for oneself or for related individual’s from this behaviour.

Corruption flourishes due to improbity of the system, where the ultimate interventions flow and lead to victimisation of the innocents by the corrupted officials. It is due to lack of fear and respect for law that gives a free hand to the exploiters to exploit others.

Government must act tough against these people who not only misuse their authority, but also put the life of the common men in perils. Even, other people who ask for money from the needy people should be put to trial The recent outcry over the social media over the functioning of government recruitment agencies due to leakage of question papers has raised eyebrows over them and the respective system failure. The people who seek the official and legal public services are victimised by the system. Are these officials, demi-gods who have no fear of the law of the land?

However, since the collapse of the coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, thereafter under the auspicious aegis of former Governor N.N.Vohra’s rule, there has been a growing and an emerging tendency of the system to curb this menace of corruption, although in its stage of infancy.

Today, when the politicians of the valley indulge in petty politics over small issues, where is their conscience when the emergent issue of corruption is known to one and all? What sort of action have they undertaken down these year’s in the legislative assembly? This is the burning question of the common masses which is etched to their memory in a renewed form as of now when the KVIB and CET scams have invited the ire of one and sundry in the society.

For the overwhelming mass majority, corruption is antithetical to morality and ethical conduit. Being an evil of macroscopic magnitude, it should by fought by one and all. Unfortunately, the government and policy makers are paying insufficient attention to corruption. Public awareness is vital aspect to combat corruption.

Together, we can wage a moral war against this demon. People are power in a democracy. Next time, a person asks for bribe, it should generate an inner voice of conscience in oneself to report it to the higher echelons of power, mass media, anti-corruption agencies, etc. to show- off them a right path and create a subsequent fear of law in them. This way we can vie for other secondary things, being primarily moral to oneself and the whole society.

Kashmir can today be equated with a body diseased with the ills of corruption. The only reliable antidote is the political intervention in the form of a strong law and people’s perception of practical non-compliance with the corrupted officials.

When the twitter handle of the former Governor, N.N. Vohra received multiple complaints regarding cases of corruption, it evoked a response. Even, CPI (M) general secretary and MLA Kulgam has recently appealed Governor to curb the menace of corruption in order to restore people’s faith in the system. Fortunately, the former Governor N.N. Vohra took stock of the situation and acted nicely as the head of the state, being a noble soul of integrality and impartiality. Nowadays, the People of the state have pinned great hopes from the Excellency of new Governor Satya Pal Malik.

Actions should be taken by the respective government to reduce this persisting problem of corruption. The government of J&K must pass an ordinance in the Legislative assembly with a strong lawful foundation to arrest the problem of corruption in Kashmir at the very genetic roots under the provisions of which a common man would be able to live in a corruption-free state.

Those indulging in corruption should be dealt strongly under the provisions of law. This will entail a society free of corruption within the ambit of good governance as Corruption is immoral and antithetical to moral virtues of the societies. This will erase the bad name of the state where the question of integrality and impartiality has been diluted due to corruption in vogue.

Coalescing the parts into whole, the problem of corruption will manifest day in and day out and persist as long as the system doesn’t change and to keep silence is also equivalent to the commitment of crime. In order to combat the problem of corruption, we have to revert to the great saying of Mahatma Gandhi that, ‘be the change you want to see in the world’.