Flights Of Fantasy
[ M Panging Pao ]
Corruption has existed in societies throughout history. Corruption existed in the Egyptian dynasty, the Roman empire, ancient India, and persists in all countries around the globe.
However, it has only been in the past 30 years that corruption has been analysed seriously. Among the most common causes of corruption are the political and economic environment, professional ethics, morality, and, of course, habits, customs, and traditions.
Corruption has always existed in societies; however, the proliferation of media has put the spotlight on corruption. Widespread corruption has been reported in Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, China, Italy, Russia, USA, etc. As per Transparency international, corruption is more prevalent in developing countries, especially in South Asia, Africa, and South and Central America. It implies that there is lesser corruption in developed countries vis-à-vis developing countries. Therefore countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, etc, rank high in corruption.
Within India also, as per Perception Index, Kerala is ranked least corrupt and Arunachal the most. The Northeast and Arunachal have witnessed many cases of corruption and nepotism. There were big scams in Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, etc, including in public service commissions. Arunachal also witnessed many corruption cases from the very beginning.
Since most states of the Northeast, including Arunachal, have lagged behind in development indices like education, infrastructure, industries, economic development, etc, it is perceived to be more corrupt compared to other developed states of India.
Most people of Arunachal have recently been exposed to many types of material benefits like RCC houses, vehicles, TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, etc. Therefore, there is a craze among the people to become rich faster. Need to become rich faster could have led to more cases of graft and corruption.
As per studies, the present spotlight on corruption and the perceived higher cases of corruption in Arunachal could be a transitional phase in the process of development and civilisation. Once more people get better education and are more exposed to other cultures and civilisations, the amount of corruption and nepotism could reduce similar to other developed societies.
The perceived higher cases of corruption could also have been caused by the wide proliferation of electronic, print and social media. New media platforms are mushrooming every day and each are competing for viewership and eye-catching news. There are also reported cases of paid news and news platforms propagating certain types of leftist, centric or rightist ideologies.
Recent cases of corruption and nepotism, like the APPSC exam, the APSSB, etc, may also be part of the transitional phase of stages of civilisation and development. This ‘corruption high phase’ may be a nadir for Arunachal and like other states and countries, and cases of corruption and nepotism are expected to reduce with time as we develop more.
However, can we blame the leaders, politicians and officials only for nepotism and corruption? Aren’t the common people also soliciting jobs, favours, monetary help, contracts, etc?
To paraphrase Gandhi “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” (The contributor is retired Group Captain, Indian Air Force)
