Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Fighting corruption

The article “Fighting the cancer of corruption” (Jan. 25) has eloquently highlighted the issues of corruption. But I differ with the view that a fight against corruption cannot be left to the government alone and that civil society and the media have a tremendous role to play. The media and civil society are made up of people who are as fallible as those in the government. The media are more interested in improving their TRP ratings by exposing cases of corruption. They create a myth that they are bringing a change in the system. Market forces drive the media. So is the case with civil society and NGOs. Many of them are becoming breeding grounds of corruption. What we need is a multi-pronged strategy to fight corruption.

Alok Kumar Gupta,

Jodhpur

Right from top state functionaries to the man on the road, everyone talks of corruption and its ill-effects. But no one seems to have a solution. I recall an instance when I had a waitlisted ticket from Nagpur to Thane. The ticket examiner allotted me a berth without entering into any ‘negotiation’ with me. He even personally came to my compartment to wake me up at 5 am. Such courteous behaviour was quite common during the Emergency. After it was lifted, I have rarely had such an experience. It is no secret that while the Emergency was opposed politically, the common man was happiest during the brief spell. This is not to say Emergency should be imposed again but tough steps are needed to root out corruption.

Vivek Sathe,

Pune

That the cancer of corruption will eventually pave the way for social unrest is something politicians and government officials know. Yet they are unwilling to do anything about it. A common reason attributed to corruption among government officials, low pay packets, is unacceptable. Taking money is an attitude, a habit. It is not a one-off gesture. There are many poor people who do not long for other people’s money. And, there are many rich kleptomaniacs.

Raghu Seshadri,

Chennai

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