Mithilesh Kumar Sinha
Retired Professor, Nagaland University, Lumami
Currently, corruption is pervasive in every aspect of society. It infiltrates contaminated milk that endangers infants before they are even able to articulate their needs. It hides among artificially enhanced vegetables—polished to appear fresh—while diseases quietly infiltrate human bodies. It exists alongside ruthlessly produced counterfeit medications. It courses through stolen electricity, falsified documents, fraudulent contracts, manipulated tenders, and inflated invoices. It is present on roads constructed through corrupt practices—roads that crumble during rainfall, entombing innocent individuals beneath concrete and avarice. It permeates hospitals where vulnerability is exploited for profit. It murmurs within examination syndicates that obliterate the aspirations of diligent students in an instant. It dwells within recruitment processes where merit is overshadowed by recommendations, caste dynamics, political affiliations, and financial influence. Amidst all this, society pretends to be astonished.
The regular discovery of crores of rupees in the residences of public officials and politicians underscores the entrenched nature of cash-based corruption in India. In spite of significant policy changes such as demonetization, digitalization, and more stringent anti-money laundering regulations, substantial caches of cash continue to be revealed during raids conducted by agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax (IT) department.
Corruption in India is pervasive across both public and private sectors, impacting everyday life through minor bribes for essential services as well as significant political and corporate scandals. The depth of corruption in India is such that for 90% of government-related tasks, one must offer a bribe. If one declines to pay a bribe, employees simply refuse to perform their duties. This corruption manifests in the form of facilitative grease payments for basic services, extensive procurement fraud, and systemic political kickbacks. Individuals frequently encounter demands for illegal fees from local administrative offices to process routine documentation such as identity cards, driver's licenses, ration cards, and land titles. The widespread corruption in India, coupled with the Indian state's reluctance to address it, is evidenced by the fact that approximately 46.2% (251 members) of Indian parliamentarians are recognized as highly corrupt individuals. Additionally, 20% of judges in the higher judiciary in India are corrupt. There is not a single state-run institution in India that has escaped corrupt practices. India ranks 91st out of 182 countries, with a score of 39 out of 100 on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.
Impacts: The pervasive corruption in India significantly undermines economic growth, weakens governance, and exacerbates social inequality. It poses a substantial challenge to India's future as it undermines institutional systems, erodes public trust, distorts developmental pathways, and disproportionately affects the poor and marginalized segments of society. Furthermore, it leads to systemic delays, misallocation of public resources, and imposes a heavy burden on citizens. It hampers the effective execution of welfare schemes, the public recruitment process, education, health services, public procurement, political financing, and institutional accountability. While digitalization and legal reforms may offer some assistance, they cannot substitute for transparency, citizen empowerment, independent institutions, timely justice, and robust political will.
India has implemented various acts and penalties to combat corruption, including the Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 and the Whistle Blowers Protection Act of 2014. However, corruption remains widespread due to factors such as sluggish judicial processes, significant bureaucratic authority, and political interference, which render illegal activities low-risk and high-reward. Although there are convictions of corrupt officials in India, the issue of corruption continues to persist.
This raises the question: why does corruption endure? In India, corruption can be defined as a combination of monopoly and discretion, diminished by accountability (C = M + D - A). When the government exerts control over all aspects and oversight mechanisms are weak, corruption flourishes. Political campaigns often rely on undisclosed funds and donations. Investigative bodies frequently lack complete independence from political figures. Influential individuals leverage their power to evade punishment. The public does not fear legal repercussions due to the slow pace of justice, resulting in a limited number of final convictions.
In summary, eliminating corruption necessitates the enhancement of both individual and societal moral standards, as ethical values serve as the fundamental defense against the misuse of entrusted authority.
