Curruption

NOVEMBER2012

Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man [& woman], pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we’re tired of hearing promises that we know they’ll never keep RAY DAVIES

CORRUPTION Niketu Iralu

It is not necessary to explain what corruption is to anyone in Nagaland, nor to anyone elsewhere in the world.

Indira Gandhi impatiently and famously dismissed and rationalized corruption as “a global phenomenon” when a journalist touched on certain scandalous scams of her close associates.

It revealed the doctrine of politics and governance she followed to consolidate her power base to rule India and to pass on her dynastic legacy to her sons, and for them to do likewise. The nation discovered that none of the scams directly implicating her and her family could be investigated by the CBI. The Bofors case revealed this reality and the rest is history.

On November 8th President Hu Jintao of the People’s Republic of China, sternly told the 2270 specially chosen delegates attending the Communist Party Congress in Beijing for the once-in-a-decade leadership change process that corruption in the ruling party could prove “fatal” to its 63-year-long grip over the country: “If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party, and even cause the collapse of the state”.

In the background of his report on the State of the Republic was the trial and sacking of two top ranking leaders of the Party, Bo Xilai and Railway Minister Liu Zhijun on shocking charges of corruption. Also ahead of the Congress a New York Times investigative report revealed that Premier Wen Jiabao’s family had accumulated at least $ 2.7 billion in “hidden riches” during his ten-year rule.

Everyone knew who the President was referring to when he talked of “Leading officials at all levels, especially high ranking officials” sabotaging the balanced growth of the nation by their unrestrained greed and grab.

China risks the deepening unrest in the nation going out of control. But Hu Jintao could only talk about “unremitting efforts to combat corruption”.

“It was a conservative report. But there is nothing there that suggests any breakthrough in political reforms”, stated Open Magazine, an independent Hong Kong publication specializing in Chinese politics.

Indeed corruption is a global phenomenon. India, the world’s largest “democracy”, and “Communist” China with the most stirring slogans for the down-trodden, the two emerging Asian super powers, are equally paralyzed by corruption. What Titus Livius said of his decadent society under the Roman Empire correctly describes the crisis of the two giants: “We have reached the point where we cannot bear either our vices or their cure”.

“For evil to succeed it is only necessary

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for good people to do nothing”, said Edmund Burke.

And people like Anna Hazare, Kejriwal, the Bhushan brothers, Kiran Bedi, and so on, are shining examples of good people caring and daring enough to do something to defeat evil. And these good people are discovering how tough it is to defeat evil.

In a recent discussion on TV with industrialists and bankers, Deepak Parekh, economist and highly regarded Chairman of Housing Development Finance Corporation, said “Corruption is not going to go away from our country. I think the manner Kejriwal is going about is not right.”

The justification and protection of corruption by the Parekhs of today’s India and their readiness to deny space to voices of dissent and protest against injustice from crusaders like the ones already mentioned because the manner they are “going about is not right” shows how complicated and hazardous the battle is for anyone taking it on.

What are we to do then? Is it at all worth trying “to be the change you want to see in the world”?

Aldous Huxley said, “Those who crusade, not for God in themselves, but against the devil in others, do not succeed in making the world better”. Our endless discussions on corruption tend to be no more than crusading against the devil in others. But instant interest and hope are aroused by anyone who shows what crusading for God in oneself means and can do.

I had the privilege of knowing Gottfried Anliker, a Swiss businessman, and taking part in some missions with him, in my work in Moral Re-Armament, now called Initiatives of Change.

Anliker inherited from his father a struggling construction company in Lucerne, Switzerland, about 60 years ago. By the time he handed it over to his successor, his daughter, it was the leading company in the field in Lucerne and one of the top in the nation, known for its unmatched achievements in economic terms as well as in how management and labour brought the best out of one another.

I shall give his story as he had it written out in English for his visit to Nigeria some years ago.

Accountant enabled me to understand the complicated connections in the financial world. But above all it enabled me to cheat heavily on the income tax. We had three balance sheets: one for the tax authorities, that was completely crooked; one for the shareholders which was fairly crooked; and one for myself that was correct. Every year it took two months to establish these three versions. I was successful and yet I missed the essential which makes life worth living. I was bored and empty.

I had to take pills to be fit and more pills to sleep.

One weekend I met the organization called Moral Re-Armament. It turned me 180 degrees around. I was fascinated by the idea of living to transform the world instead of only for my own success. I was struck by the freedom of people I met who were totally committed to a world aim. It became the most expensive week-end of my life. I made up my mind to take stock of my whole life. I wrote down 20 points that would have to different.

We have reached the point where we cannot bear either our vices or their cure TITUS LIVIUS

“At the age of 25 I worked very hard and took the Swiss Federal Diploma in Accountancy. I started 50 companies. They were so interwoven that no one but I knew what belonged to whom. My training as a Chartered

Family: I had to get honest with my wife. It was terribly hard. I thought she would divorce me.

But she was most generous and merciful and forgave me. It actually saved our marriage.

Income Tax: I decided to go and see the Minister of Finance. He was totally perplexed to meet an honest businessman. He told me that I had to pay no fine. But the unpaid taxes from the past amounted to roughly 500,000 Swiss Francs, a big amount for our small firm. My father scolded me fearing I would ruin our building firm. But I stuck to the dictate of my heart. The amount we had to pay in taxes has naturally multiplied many times. Since that initial payment the State has received millions of Swiss francs which it would not have if I had not made that turn around in my life.

But there is another side. Because of my honesty I saved two months I used to use before for defrauding the tax authority. During these two months I earned a great part of the money our firm had to pay in higher taxes. So I experienced this – cheating results in cheating ourselves, while honesty very soon leads to a sound economy. And so our firm grew rapidly from 50 to 500 workers over and above our office staff.

New aim – the important thing was that I got a new concept of my job as an employer. My

aim became to satisfy the real needs of people. For decades we have given priority to low-priced housing. We refused to speculate with our reserves of building land. If we had indulged in such speculation we often could have made bigger profits than by building houses ourselves. Through our new policy we built a few thousand housing units at low cost.

It is true that as a consequence the profit margin became smaller. But in spite of that the income of the firm increased.

Trust: Honesty is costly, but in the long run it pays. It creates trust. There was a period of recession because oil price trebled. Quite a few building firms closed down but we always had enough contracts – some of them from the State because of our reputation.

Revolutionary teamwork: One day I proposed to the Works Council to share 50% of the profit with the workers. They were speechless. We kept our promise but did not give them cash and instead invested the money in social benefit funds. One fund was for cases of accident and sickness, another was a very generous pension fund. We were 20 years ahead of the legislation of the Swiss Federal State. This team work resulted in many valuable suggestions from the workers for the practical running of the firm, especially in the field of security.

Philosophy of our enterprise: 1. We put people before profit. 2. Service is more important than getting. 3. He who gives much receives much. 4. We commit ourselves to offer the best value for a fair price and we regard it as our duty to make an effective contribution to the economic development of our country.

All this amazing developments grew out of my decision to take every morning enough time to reflect and listen to find new direction and to go back to the basic source.

Through honesty I have found that undreamt of powers are liberated in me which formerly were blocked by a bad conscience. I experienced the truth of the words of Christ: “The Truth shall make you free”.

Conclusion: I find it fascinating to be an employer in the present day period of difficulties.

We are called to be tools to show ourselves useful to others and so it is with our possessions. From this point of view I do not see myself as an owner of our firm but as a temporary steward of it.”

“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and not tried”. - GK Chesterton.

Opinion is a theme-based supplement published on the third Saturday of every month. Here you are the artist, the writer, the photographer, the storyteller and the creator of your own opinion.

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ILLUSTRATION by SÜNGKÜM

“Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist” Edmund Burke

REBEL AGAINST

CORRUPTION Jennifer RIP Lesthat Hayden It is true, there are people, that don’t really care They go on with life and ignore the bad news But just remember some are simply unaware Some information still needs time to diffuse There are some people that simply choose to act blind They watch the world through candy coated glasses Know that there are others that were just left behind Much of what we learn is from our school’s classes We have been taught to live but not how to react We hear something so wrong we do not believe Some people are so lost they deny what is fact Despite all the truth some things we can’t perceive So proud some are to play the part of the hero In truth many actions proved erroneous The falsity scores many, while truth scores a zero Some things start nice and then end felonious Let the free criminals pay all their rightly dues Now it is our turn to make a wrong a right Even those holding power, don’t let them abuse Never allow truth to take away your sight Be a rebel and tell the world all that is wrong Even if you’re mean, persuade that you are right Research to find the truth and you will become strong Change their brainwashed minds so all may shed some light Source: http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/life/poems.php?id=998626

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CORRUPTION The Root Of All Evil Marcia Sekhose Nagaland, the state I was born in, rich in culture, welcomingnatured people, is unfortunately drowned in corruption. Anyone would say corruption is a common phenomenon in politics, but what I see in my state is more like a drug which has been abused to its core. It has been 41 years since Nagaland received its statehood, but till now not much development has taken place.

Starting from electricity to roads and educational institutions which come later, the condition seems to be almost the same as it was ten years back.

Nagaland is considered a backward place and we are really live up to this. The electricity problem is probably the worst problem we are facing right now; this year the residents have faced the worst conditions ever. The occurrence of the problem as we read seems to be due to the damaging of the electrical towers, but there were some rumors as to why the problems really occurred. I don’t even know what to say about the roads. The only time the roads get fixed is when some ‘eminent’ person comes to visit our state. After that it’s back to broken roads, potholes, etc.

The main purpose of joining the government is to improve the conditions of the state, but here people join to steal the huge amount of money it receives. The developing states receive much more than the other highly developed states for improving the state from the Centre. Sadly, all this money is going to the pockets of the ‘great’ leaders we trust so much that we give our vote to them for leading us. The other states show so much hate and mockery towards us and instead of replying to them by showing that we can do better, we are only giving them more chances to do so.

Our forefathers have fought

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so much for the pride of our state and it us up to the current leaders to retain and preserve what they fought for. The leaders are supposed to work together for the benefit of the state. Of course there is corruption in every government, but if we look at the other states, their leaders are developing the state that the question of corruption does not rise at all.

Nagaland is known for being a Christian state. There are so many programs held at our state and outside commemorating Christianity that prevails amongst us Nagas. It is also visible that in any political event that always starts with a prayer and the rest of the program follows. It is a shame that calling themselves Christians and following so many traditions, they are actually doing satanic works behind our backs. The money they use to live their lavish lives and show too, are not hard earned money, but money stolen which they do not deserve. Where is the Christianity in that?

It is very shameful and embarrassing for the students aspiring to study and learn more that have to go somewhere else to seek education. Many students including me, face situations where we are laughed at, mocked at for coming from a ‘backward’ area. Had our leaders thought about the state, all these things would not happen. Then again, it would not be right to put the blame entirely on the government since it is us, the general public who has chosen them to lead us. We cast our vote for them so it is not justifiable that we just sit and complain about every bad condition in our state.

It is our land so we should stand on our feet and do something about it. If one voice speaks and the others follow, it will surely make a difference. The rest of the world is advancing at such a rapid speed and here we are still worrying about our roads and electricity problems. Time is less, we should act soon.

Who Will Weed Out Corruption?

Liba Hopeson, BTC, Pfutsero Today, the rampant corruption prevailing in our society is plainly recognized and extensively discussed by us. I have heard many people expressing their views with much burden and discontentment against corruption. As I think about our life today, the wave of the ‘blame game’ that transpired in the ‘garden of Eden’ in the beginning of human history is still sweeping across us and affecting us. We often point at others forgetting that, three fingers are pointing at us. We daringly say, politicians are corrupt, contractors are corrupt, bureaucrats are corrupt, village leaders are corrupt, business people are corrupt, underground workers are corrupt and consider that we are clean and free from corruption. I don’t mean that these groups of people are not corrupt, they might be, but we lambaste and condemn them to be the worst corruptors or sinners, albeit many others are worse than them.

As I mentioned in my previous write-up, “Everyone Is Expert in Defending Oneself”, we do not smell our own excreta, but smell only others excreta. Sadly, many a times, we fail to realize that, we push others to corruption, but criticize them when they go wrong. For instance, we talk a lot about the village leaders and say that they are badly corrupted. But in today’s world it’s amusing sometimes when we consider the way or system on how they are elected. In the past, almost everyone was reluctant to become the chairman or secretary or finance or a member of the Village Council, but today, the trend is quite different.

Many are quarrelling and fighting for the Village Council posts.

Recently, I heard that there was election of leaders in a small village, and interestingly, few students and workers who were in New Delhi were brought home to cast votes for the Village Council candidates.

Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, those persuaded guys came by flight, paid by the candidates. And I was stunned to learn that the candidates spent some lacs of rupees in the election campaign. So, in this situation, the villagers are sure that when those candidates are elected, they will certainly siphon off the money meant for the village through village funds, NREGS and others. So, will it be apt or right for the villagers to criticize the village leaders if they take village money more than they have spent in the election? Can’t we say that villagers directly or indirectly signal the candidates that they can be corrupt? This is the situation we are facing today.

Consider about demanding money for jobs! Many often grumble saying, it’s very hard to get job today, we cannot get jobs without money, jobs are bought with money, so on and so forth. But imagine if all the people who apply for jobs decide not to give any money to the officers demanding, will they say that without money nothing will be worked out? We say politicians are corrupt, but how much money do we demand from them before election?

How much do we spend in foods and drinks? Why do we run after different candidates for money? We criticize them, but when we are in need of money, don’t we elevate them very high and treat them like kings even in the Church worship services? Are the people of the community more corrupt or the politicians?

Many often complain about chasing the worshippers who have occupied the front benches when some important personalities come to attend Church service or Jubilee or other important programs. In fact, this is

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tangible evidence that we are not true to ourselves and we play games with our tongue and actions.

Now, where does corruption come from? I opine that it starts from the grass-root level. Much corruption starts from the public.

Frequently, we are involved in corruption because we want to get our work done very hastily or just because we love our life more than truth. I’m bringing out all these ideas because, to do away with corruption, we need to know the nature of corruption and the factors leading to it. I reckon that our understanding of corruption is also very narrow. Generally, when we talk about corruption, we mean bribery, fraud, extortion, exploitations, etc. But, corruption includes many elements, even those things which we consider to be alright.

I cannot boldly say that the politicians or the contractors or the bureaucrats are the worst corruptors because I find corruption exists even in my own institution. Here, please don’t take me wrong, thinking that I’m trying to defame the reputation of my college or expose the weaknesses of us, but it’s a fact. I believe all the institutions have some kind of corruptions If you can tell me the name of an institution is totally free of corruption, please let me know, I would like to pay a visit.

Corruption exists even in the Church and I believe you will agree with me if your understanding of corruption is not narrow. For instance, we see many Churches with closed doors and, in fact, they cannot keep them open because there is corruption. In a hostel, students do not keep eatables or some handy things on the table and go out for a stroll with doors open, because there is corruption. Perhaps, these ideas appear to be silly or insignificant when we deal about corruption, but we ought to first dig out the petite things that lead to corruption. Sometimes, when I read my published articles, I come across silly spelling errors in a word or grammatical errors in a phrase which I have overlooked, and hence, I had a remorseful experience reading them. Just because of a single mistake in a word, the idea of the whole sentence went wrong.

I regretted thinking, if I have read through more times seriously, that should not have happened. But undesirable situations occur when we are careless. Remember, “A rotten potato will rot the whole potatoes”!

When I think about change, I’m always reminded and inspired by Leo Tolstoy’s popular quote, “Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change oneself”. In fact, we often think and say that the politicians, bureaucrats, contractors, business people, underground workers and other leaders are corrupt, while considering ourselves to be righteous and good. Although, not trying to lift up the head of these groups of people, I would like to say that they are corrupted to a great extent because of the public. For instance, if a lazy student gets admission in a very good institution and studies there and she/he finds everyone studying hard, that student will not be comfortable or free to go on living with his sluggish habits.

He will be immensely influenced and dragged down by the environment, where all the students work hard to achieve their goal. Likewise, if all the people around a Government Officer in a locality are good and truthful, the officer will find hard to be corrupt and deceitful.

Many boldly are involved in corruption because they know that they can stand because the people around them are also not truthful.

They know that the people are also loose and corrupt. The root of corruption is from small matters which we consider to be trivial and insig-

nificant. There is a notion that, if we are aware and somber about small temptations, we can with stand the big temptations. But if we neglect and brush aside the small temptations, we will stumble even when we face big temptations. Similarly, if we are not serious and truthful in small matters, we cannot be in the big matters. When we uproot the plants in our campus or surrounding, we should not be idle to uproot the small plants thinking that they are not clearly visible, for they will grow and become big one day and trouble us again.

Corruption, as I believe, starts from minute things, which we often take it lightly. For instance, in some simple paper work where a signature is signed by some Government servants, we give some amount to them, say rupees ten or twenty or fifty for a signature. But, it can trigger even bigger corruptions, since they have the taste of getting money in a very small work. Then when it comes to giving employment or a big contract work or big projects, they will demand a larger amount of money. So, according to my opinion, in order to weed out corruption, everyone should be serious and careful about small matters.

As I interacted with some of my friends, asking their view on how to do away with corruption, they shared their opinions which were similar to my view. That is, everyone should change oneself before we point at others who are corrupted. A friend of mine opines that everyone should check and examine one’s life and transform oneself to have a corruption-free society. It doesn’t mean that we never talk about others mistakes or judge others, but we should never consider that we are free from corruption. In fact, this is one of the most important things we have to do in order to weed out corruption in our society today. Sometimes, it’s worth criticizing and condemning oneself. We should not always expect others to change and be complacent with our lives.

Change will not come from politicians, Government officers and leaders alone; it will come from all of us. We should be constantly reminded by the phrase that, ‘everyone is a leader’. Indeed, there are many things – schemes, funds, projects and others that the illiterate people do not know, so they can be taken advantage of and siphoned off by the knowledgeable or educated people easily. Consequently, in such matter, we need some erudite and wise leaders who can mobilize and tell people about these, educate them, assist them and ensure that they enjoy the privileges.

I wish some wise leaders would emerge to influence people that would not to give money to anybody for any job so that the system will be clean and fair one day!

I wish everyone recognizes and realizes that to do away with corruption; one’s life should be positively changed. I would like to say that if we examine our lives and be transformed, and live a truthful and faithful life, truth and faithfulness will hunt all those who are corrupt and change them. But, if we are not faithful and truthful, those who are corrupt now will get bolder and bolder, and become more corrupt in the future. If we are still overruled by the concept that corruption will be stopped when the bureaucrats, contractors, politicians, UG groups, business people and other leaders change their lives, I opine that there is a long way for us to go to remove corruption. Who is corrupted? Who will weed out corruption? I believe corruption can be removed when everybody is concerned about one’s life and change. “Corruption starts from us and thus we have to weed out corruption”.

ILLUSTRATION by ATONG ROTHRONG

The fight for justice against corruption is never easy. It never has been and never will be. It exacts a toll on our self, our families, our friends, and especially our children. In the end, I believe, as in my case, the price we pay is well worth holding on to our dignity FRANK SERPICO

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Voice of the People on

Corruption The sting of corruption is so powerful and strong that it has destabilized our society, demoralized it in all the fields. From the perspectives of our ancient times, our forefathers were head hunters but not corruptor, they were honest and peace lovers.

Our land needs salvation from this corruption and our faith resurrection.

Who can save us from this? Nothing but Love!

Corruption is a major issue to be considered. It affects polity, economy, and society. Throughout the years corruption has been rising and has reached feverish heights.

KIKILI ASSUMI

AKAVI N. CHOPHI

From the word ‘Corruption’ itself we know that it is a moral deterioration and impurity to our society. Our voices should be heard before this plaque becomes incurable.

Corruption, corruption, everywhere, it produce its results and affects the administration in any stream. Corruption arouse from the hearts of human within those who are vile and wicked, corruption is also the enmity to alcohol in a family, society between the partners, corruption brings destruction, disunity and prejudices in the social living. It has many dimensions related to political religious and social environmental effects, This is resulted in political sphere, public institutions in a democratic system.

They lost their legitimacy when they misuse their power in a private interest. Its results are instability, reducing political competition, criticisms and distortion finally judgement into execution.

GLORIA TEP

BASU DEV

Corruption can literally be defined as wrong doing on the part of an authority or powerful party through means that are illegitimate, immoral or incompatible with ethical standards. It often results from patronage and is being associated with bribery.

ASUNG

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Corruption hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.

ABOKALI AWOMI

Corruption exists everywhere from an individual to the highest body.

Campaigning against corruption will not reduce the practice of corruption. Since the survival of the fittest is the reality in this populated world, the easy way of life is the desire of many people.

Dishonesty is the common practice in our society. Illegal behaviour is also one of the factors that formed among the people. The only way to reduce corruption to the minimum level is to enforce strict law and regulation against corruption which need the cooperation and support of the common people.

The concrete mechanism to check corruption is the Act of Right to Information. It has brought some changes and transparency in the usages of funds and job appointments in our state as I have read in the local papers. But my question is,” is this act being fully utilized?” Are all common people aware of this Act? Has it initiated to make the concept known to the people to know their basic rights?

AKHAYII KOMOU

AKHRIENOU

Corruption lies beyond imagination in many departments but most visible corruption is in educational department and political field respectively. The main causes of the corruption are the love of money. We are living in a world where corruption cannot be hidden anymore.

Corruption is a strong as Death. It has engulfed our society like a fire, thirsty after coal. It is raping our society and gives birth to many evils such as unemployment, bogus, potholes, darkness and many factions. It is not to be shocked but corruption has found its place to breed even in worship place, the heart of our society. The word ‘Corruption’ has nothing bad in itself it is the people who in there corrupted increase when people loose their moral and integrity. O Nagas let us hunt down this evil like our fore fathers did to tiger when it becomes a thread to the society.

ECHEM KONYAK

EASTER YANTHAN

Every one of us talks about the society, Govt and ministers being corrupted, but as good citizens each one of us are responsible for it.

We should make a change within ourselves first, as it starts at home first, we should not except corruption. For eg:Bribing to get jobs etc…

If none of us bribe then perhaps it would help to make a change.

Corruption is the Abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption in any form is also treated as an incurable disease, a cause of many social and economical evils in the society and it damages the moral and ethical fiber of the civilization. Corruption often results from patronage and is associated with bribery.

The worst situation is when the ruler extorts without giving anything in return.

GAIL AYEMI

KAMBUIGA RONGMEI

Corruption starts in the individual self and in the family. It may start and appear in small as well as big things. There are many social corruptions which hampers one and all around us.

Though the external authorities try hard to stop corruption the internal mindset has to be changed first. As it is rightly said, external corruption can be checked but a corrupted mind cannot be checked.

KUNUSAYI RHAKHO

Corruption is the willing of an individual to act dishonestly in return for money etc….. Corruption is caused by demand for money in the form of donation during job or admission applying. Eg:- if a brilliant student with poor financially background goes to a medical college, he is unable to get admission as he can’t effort the money donation. But other students from strong financial background get admission with the help of money donation. This is the reason why so called corruption existed or prevalent to our society.

We always talk about corrupted politicians, corrupted government but do you ever think about who elects them in the first place? Bribing our way through college, bribing someone to get your work done ahead of time, paying someone to get your license, selling something above MRP rate, buying it, closing your eyes to those practices are not only done by government officials or politicians, it is also done by us-The common people. Corruption begins with us and unless we change ourselves, we are only adding more to it.

As corruption is a great hindrance in the path of progress and prosperity, the million dollar question being asked is how should we respond to corruption?

The fight for Justice against corruption has never been easy but not impossible. Laws and rules have to be implemented with strictness and if needed, the outdated ones should be amended in order to check the acts corruption. Judiciary should be given more independence. The NGOs and media can come forward to create awareness against corruption in the society and educate the people to combat this virus.

Corruption “Power doesn’t corrupt people, people corrupts” by William Gaddis. As such politician plays a key role in corruption eg ; soliciting or offering bribes in the form of office maintenance, purchasing votes etc.

Lastly but not the least greediness/selfishness is the main factor that has given rise to corruption.

NIKITA ENGHEEPI

SHYAM THAPA

PATRICK RENGMA

Corruption starts from within ourselves when we are not sincere with our duty, roles and responsibilities. Nagaland being a Christian state can easily eradicate corruption if we practice our faith faithfully. I still remember Moral Science Q. Where is God? Answer: God is everywhere.

MASANGWANG JACINTA

M. BANGNYEI KONYAK

In philosophical, theological or moral discussion, corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal path.

Dictionary says “Corruption as dishonest or immoral behavior, usually by people in position of power”. We are familiar with the term corruption which includes bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement.

Corruption poses a serious development challenge. In the Political realm, it undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes.

LOYEM CHANG

Corruption is deviation from moral value to meet one immediate need or circumstances by deleting the truth and common social norms and expectation.

Corruption is multifaceted ranging from finance, service, favoritism, nepotism, tribalism etc. It brings development dwarftism. Its remedy could be in truth without expecting any return from common mass.

MAIRILEMANG ZELIANG

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CORRUPTION Dr. E. Renphamo Lotha, Activist

MEANING The Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners defines, “Corruption as dishonest or illegal behaviour by officials or people in positions of power, especially when they accept money in exchange for doing things for someone. In brief, corruption means bribery, dishonest, immoral which is criminal act to reduce a person to commit illegal act against the public”.

Corruption in India Corruption has become a household name in India today.

Unfortunately, India has ranked at 95 in the perception Index among 183 countries in the world in 2011. Despite the name of the country being a religious country with honesty as the best policy, the country has become well known for massive corruption from top to the bottom.

Having realized the magnitude of the menace in question, India Against Corruption led by Anna Hazari and party has been campaigning intensively for corruption free India by introducing Lok Pal Bill in the Parliament which is yet to become an act provided that there is a real political will.

As we introspect over the years after independence, we have witnessed scam after scam, involving thousands of crores of tax payers’ money slashed in foreign bank accounts of politicians. Cases like bofors scandal, the Urea scam, the cash for cash for votes scandal, laundering of money over 4,000 crores by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madha Koda, etc are just the tip of the iceberg. The recent 2G Spectrum case that involved the Telecom Minister, A. Raja and the Common Wealth Scam involving a number of government departments have rocked the country more than ever before. Most politicians are concerned only with their own personal gains when it comes to making money without work; they forget the so called ideals they often preach.

Corruption-a common concern Now, people have come to recognize the fact that there are corrupt forces not only among politicians, bureaucrats, government employees, underground factions even churches are not exempted. Corruption has flowed down to the 75 percent of India villages. Private establishment big and small and amongst the non-government organizations and social activists have been infected by the epidemic of corruption. Thus, corruption is spreading

like wild fire! The Supreme Court has therefore regards corruption as a human right violation.

Corruption in Nagaland Nagaland with 95 percent Christian population who propagate honesty as a Biblical concept are supposed to be the cleanest State in India. But unfortunately, she could not escape the scourge of corruption in all levels.

Recently, while observing the vigilance week with the rest of the country, the Government and the Chief Minister acknowledged saying, “This trend pin points to the disturbing fact that the rate of corruption is on the increase year by year….” It may be recalled that the previous Congress Government could not allow the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe corruption in the State.

The Democratic Alliance of Nagaland is continuing to follow their legacy.

Due to exemption of income tax in the State, the amount of Wealth accumulated by politicians or bureaucrats could not be checked. It is learnt from a reliable source that some ministers under the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland Government have built more than twenty palatial buildings and purchased lots of landed properties with crores of rupees within ten years. Further, the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland has refused to allow Lokayukta to function in the State for fear of being exposed.

Thereby, both, the Congress and Democratic Alliance of Nagaland are equally guilty for not eradicating corruption in the State. The Morung Express while commenting on the network of corruption on 22nd October 2012 rightly pointed out.

“In Nagaland, the bureaucracy especially at the top tend to serve their so called political masters more than the public. It is open secret that this nexus is behind misused of power and corruption. Furthermore, this unholy nexus has led to the common practice of corrupt officers who get postings while the honest officers often get punishments transfers, as in the case of Mr. Khemka of Haryana. It is clear that there is a powerful nexus concluding to cheat the system. What is lacking is not the reforms but the political will to implement them”.

In the nutshell; political will supported by the will of the public to cleanse systematic corruption is considered the need of the hour. The crux of the critical question before us is. “Who will bell the cat?”.

Corruption – A Hindrance in Our Society Loyem Chang In a philosophical, theological or moral discussion, corruption is a spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal path. The dictionary says, “Corruption as dishonest or immoral behavior, usually by people in position of power”. We are familiar with the term corruption which includes bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft and embezzlement. Corruption poses a serious challenge to development. In the political realm, it undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes.

Here I would like to focus on the present context of Nagaland. We, the Naga intellectuals, are materialistic in nature. When we look upon our state’s scenario we can see corruption in our daily walks of life. If I am not mistaken, there is not even a single department in Nagaland whose head does not involve corruption. Most of the office holders (obviously not 100%) moved out of their house in the latest car (bought through corruption) and reached their office (gotten through corruption) where they waited for the easy money to come. They earn prestige, fame and live a luxurious life at the expense of an innocent and poor public.

It is a known fact to every Nagas, even to the fetus in the mother’s womb, about the corruption in Nagaland. We better rename Nagaland “a land of Corruption” in lieu of “the land of festivals”. We could see corruption in every field. Why is it mandatory in Nagaland to witness agitation after every public examination? Why do many educated and talented Naga youth go astray? Why is there no development infrastructure in most parts of our state? Why are there divisions among the Nagas? Why are there “isms” within the same Naga family? Why do the rich become richer and poor become poorer? The reason to those many why’s is obviously – Corruption.

Remember the proverb stated by Sir Issac Newton which says that “to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”.

According to your concept you may think that the action you are performing may be quite fine, but just imagine the consequences (reactions) you will be facing tomorrow from the receiving the easy money. The money that you are earning without your real labour will surely vanish in vain. The hard earned money of the poor public that you bribed would be a curse and is a sin before God. So, I think it’s high time for every concerned individual to fight against corruption to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor in order to ensure a brighter tomorrow.

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CORRUPTION IN INDIA Dr John Celes In the sacred land called Bharat Corruption has become a habit.

From top brass in authority To the lower sections and aam aadhmi!

But the menace has gained strong roots Into every sphere and profession; All the good that is being done Is offset by corruption.

Blame corruption for many evils And vices that plague society; It is the cause for democracy Being unable to deliver its fruits!

It is reason for rich becoming richer, And the poor turning poorer; It is the cause of price-rise, And taxes exorbitant!

It is why black-money grows And black-marketing prevails; This is why India remains quite poor, And under developed among world nations!

If only corruption can be curbed, India will become a paradise; A billion souls can live in peace, And prosperity will dwell upon all!

Source: http://www.proud2bindian.in/corruption-india/4449poems-corruption.html

CORRUPTION I. Unokali Assumi, Journalism Honors, Lady Shri Ram College

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Corruption has somehow become or adjusted its way into our lives. It’s everywhere, slowly and rapidly spreading, somewhat incurable like cancer. We either choose to fight it or ignore it. If we try to fight it we are oppressed and so, sadly most of us play along with it and keep deliberately ignoring it. If we continue to feed the corrupt and bring them to power, are we progressing toward

development?

It’s sad to point out that we are just pawns in this big cycle of corruption. We shove this in the sideline thinking there’s nothing we can do about it. Little do we know that we are indeed playing a big role unknowingly or knowingly. I cannot and am not stating that we can completely remove corruption from the system. However, trying to help decrease the level of corruption will definitely help improve and boost the confidence of all of us striving to have a corruption free atmosphere. Our Nagaland state, all Nagas dearly love and are proud of is sadly one of the leading contenders in this corruption race. Today it’s very shameful to see the very attitude of the corrupt, not shying away from openly practicing corruption, while the common man helplessly tries to ignore it.

This present apathy shows the degradation of how low our values have reached.

The existing corruption in the system is shockingly very pathetic and has evolved to such an extent that we don’t even really see any wrong in it. The level of corruption has escalated so much that it’s effected the youth directly or indirectly through expressions of frustration, anger and confusion. Keeping in mind that the youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, preparing them for a cleaner and brighter future must be our top priority so they do not follow in the footsteps of some greedy money spinning politicians, bureaucrats, NGOs, etc. The examples we set now are definitely going to effect our tomorrow.

Thinking about the situation today I sometimes feel it has reach to a point of no correction. If this is true, imagine the horror of what is going to happen in the future. When the sun goes down and it is time to come home, all our youth studying or working outside will return to Nagaland. I It will be so disheartening for us to see that even after decades of independence, the state is crumbling and infested with corruption and there is hardly any development.

Corruption undoubtedly has seeped deeply into every corner of our system and there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel. On the bright side, I am proud to point out that the youth today are taking the responsibility seriously for making and bringing change. Every inch of our thoughts and action matter, if we want to tame and combat corruption. Especially with our state elections coming around, I just want to encourage everyone to vote for the person who we think can serve and represent us well, forgetting about all the ‘at the moment pleasures’ we face during elections, choosing someone with goals, ethics, ideologies and ideals is far more important then someone who just wants to buy our vote. The public should stop fooling themselves. As a youth, I applaud, appreciate and fully support the campaign for free and fair elections initiated by NBCC (Nagaland Baptist Church Council).

This is a step forward into a better future.

Think about the future; think about what example we will be setting up for the future generations by choosing a selfless and good leader. They say a pen is mightier than a sword, so today who so ever reads these articles about corruption will affect all of us. Our voices do matter so we have to think and really start bringing our thoughts into action. We have to be ready to cooperate to fight for a cause of bringing down corruption. We can all either join hands and fight against it or live under the tyranny of corruption like helpless victims when there is and will always be a chance to fight it.

Waiting for the Waiting Shed, for more than 4 years…..

Photograph by Temjen Longchar

A Thought on Corruption Kambuiga Rongmei, Student Activist Now a days corruption can be seen everywhere. It is like a cancer in public life, which has not become so rampant and perpetuated over the course of time. When we talk of corruption in public life, it covers corruption in politics, state Governments, Central Governments, business, industry and so on. Public dealing counters in most all government offices are the places where corruption is most evident. If no one pays for the work, it is sure the work won’t be done. Corruption is seen even in the recruitment agencies where appointments are ensured through reliable middleman.

People have grown insatiable appetites for money and go to any extent to get it. These cries for money can be seen in the Officers who are deputed to look into the matter of corruption that turn out to be corrupt.

Some Leaders too are no less corrupt. Thus, the network of corruption goes on as usual and remains undeterred.

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The Race Against Corruption “Corruption endangers the morals of the entire country”

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CORRUPTION Ato Yepthomi, Aghunato Town

Shyam Thapa

India is a country of paradoxes. On the one hand, she boasts of a high economic growth, on the other hand, she has the world’s largest number of poor people. Corruption has seeped into the very bone marrow of human beings and is damaging the whole society morally, ethically and economically. Billions worth of funds meant for uplifting the poor are being illegally siphoned off. Trillions of dollars of black money are lying in Swiss banks. The list of scams and scandals in the country is endless. To name a

Corruption is the Abuse of entrusted power for private gain; corruption in any form is also treated as an incurable disease, a cause of many social and economical evils in the society and it damages the moral and ethical fiber of civilization. Corruption often results from patronage and is associated with bribery. The worst situation is when the ruler extorts without giving anything in return.

It is you and me who should take a steps to correct the situation overall. A notion comes to my mind for a very effective way to end the corruption is to reduce the use of money power in elections, declarations of property and assets of the government employees. Routine surprise inspections and raids could be conducted at certain intervals. Though it will be very difficult to control corruption, it is not impossible. If there is joint effort it can be eliminated and to start we must have some high principles to follow so that we may be models for the coming generation. Let us take a view to create an atmosphere free from corruption that will be our highest achievement as human beings.

few – the Cement Scandal, the Bofors Payoff Scandal, the Hawala Scandal, the Sugar Scandal, the 2G Spectrum Scam and more recently the Adarsh Housing Society Scam, the Commonwealth Games Scam and the Coalgate Scam. One can thus conclude that India has earned the degree of Masters in Corruption (M.C.)

As corruption is a great hindrance in the path of progress and prosperity, the million dollar question being asked is: How should we respond to corruption? The fight for justice against corruption has never been easy, but it is not impossible.

Laws and rules have to be implemented with strictness and if needed, the

– Karl Kraus

outdated ones should be amended in order to check the acts corruption.

The judiciary should be given more independence. The NGOs and media can come forward to create awareness against corruption in the society and educate the people to combat this virus. Furthermore, it is our duty and responsibility to promote honesty, integrity and ethics in our societies, inspire our younger generations and try to change the mindset of corrupt people. No matter who we are, where we are and what our positions are, let us gird up our loins in the fight against corruption for our own survival, as well as for the sake of our future generations.

“The duty of youth is to challenge corruption” Kurt Cobain

Corruption is everywhere; however I will opine about us (Nagas) rather than talking about others. Killing, raping, etc., are an open expression of corruption. But, on the other hand the modern concept of corruption that is present in the current scenario among Nagas begins right from the Top Ministerial, Official, etc., to bottom employee/ workers.

As of now-a-days In the Offices of Nagaland, you won’t see any Officers before 11.00 A.M, who come along with bribery, nepotism and partiality, etc. You won’t able to move files swiftly if you don’t give any tips to peon or any 4th grade class or dealings. Imagine what a fourth grade staff can expect from you (e.g.: Rs 500) to look after the file then what will be the higher ups’ share.

Then comes the Ministerial level where they make law and break it. Every matter for them involves politics and money even after their election, so how can they work fairly without any chauvinism towards all Nagas irrespective of ‘ism’?

The present actions of some freedom fighters also impacts Nagas. Their taxes cause many unwanted practices to crop up even to the extent of demands, kidnappings and extortions, etc.

Hence, in Nagaland corruption has taken a deep root almost in every sector which has become like a traditional styling of “Pay & Get”. Though there are some few honest and dedicated workers in any quarter, yet their dedication, honesty are curtailed and overshadowed by major corrupt comrades. Even though Nagaland is deemed to be a 90% Christian State, yet we are faced with 101% corruption. If only we follow true ideology, philosophy and true meaning of Christian teachings and faith, only then corruption will be alleviated in Nagaland.

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An Anti-Corruption Graffiti sending out a strong message to fight corruption in Nagaland. This graffiti was part of the AntiCorruption Graffiti Competition at Japfu Christian College during College Week, 2012.

Submitted by JCC Students

We are drunk: Under the influence of corruption Mazie Nakhro In the olden days in our Naga society, a corrupt person was considered undesirable and unacceptable.

People with integrity did not want to socialize with people from corrupt families nor have their children married to them. What happened to those ancestral values?

Today our Naga people have lost our collective moral conscience.

Or we have become so stupid and blind that we cannot even recognize what is corrupt. So here’s a reminder: corruption, as defined by the World Bank, is the use of public office for private gain. Thus, any person using public office to accumulate personal wealth, to promote oneself, or to show nepotism can be considered corrupt. Some of us, however, have come to accept such acts as having done nothing wrong.

Indeed, corruption has not only become an accepted norm, it is almost welcomed. Our political values have plunged so low, that it doesn’t take courage to do wrong; it takes a lot of courage to do right. Flouting of rules is considered a demonstration of ‘macho’ (masculine gut). Abuse of power often impresses the gullible.

A false lifestyle gains respectability.

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Ends become more important than means.

Some politicians seem to think that it is okay to bend the acts of government to fulfill their selfinterest. For such devious persons, the crooked path may look straight.

In Nagaland not only are the honest people fed up of them, but even they may also be getting fed up because they have to contend with even bigger cheats and crooks from other parts of India. Or aren’t they getting tired yet of following their corrupt role models?

Corrupt politicians are worse than prostitutes. A prostitute sells her own body for existence, survival or out of need. But a corrupt politician steals funds meant for the needy... out of pure greed, and yet acts as if he has wronged nobody.

The corrupt are a part of the human race with a human face, but they lack humanity. Through their corrupt acts, they violate the public trust and destroy the social fiber.

Because of corruption, the morale of a society gets adversely affected.

Consequent to widespread corruption, people become demoralized and stop working hard. Corruption is like a cancer that eventually eats up the social order from within. When it goes unchecked, people become hostages to the corrupt system.

Those who suffer the most are the weak and the poor. All good people

get disgusted, frustrated, and angry.

And as their stress level increases, they try to protect themselves and their future by migrating from such a corrupt environment. We see that in Manipur; we see that in Nagaland; and we also see that in other parts of India. For instance, 50 percent of IIT students in India leave for other countries every year because they don’t want to live under a system that punishes the honest and rewards the crooks.

Corruption is anti-poor. In India 31 percent of food grains and 36 percent of sugar meant for the public distribution, especially for people below poverty line, get diverted to the black market. As for public funds, the late Rajiv Gandhi said that out of every rupee meant for the poor people, only 15 paisa reached the intended targets. When this is how public wealth is distributed in a society, should good people say nothing on behalf of the deprived? Is it morally right to take away funds which are meant to help the poor? Is it justifiable for public servants who are already on the government payroll to expect additional ‘cuts and commissions’ for their services? To quote from Bertholt Brecht, “Those who take the food from the table teach contentment/those for whom the taxes are destined demand sacrifice/ those who eat their fill speak to the hungry of wonderful times to come/

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Those who lead the country into the abyss call ruling too difficult for ordinary people.”

Corrupt politicians are to be feared more than convicts who are behind bars. In a corrupt society, the real criminals are the corrupt politicians and not those who are suffering in jails. The corrupt politicians will continue to live off you, whereas those in jail cannot do you any more harm. In the commercial world, when a person makes a promise and doesn’t keep it, he is considered to have committed a fraud which is punishable under law. But when a politician makes a promise merely to get votes and does not keep his commitment, what’s the penalty? None.

Why don’t we play by the same set of rules for everyone? Regarding a politician who does not keep his word, somebody may contend that people would punish him by not voting him back to power after five years. My question is: Aren’t five years long enough time for corrupt politicians to destroy our society? We take a very tolerant view of the misbehavior of our leaders.

Granted, corruption has devastated many other societies and countries too. And yet, there are also many examples of nations that have beaten it and created enlightened environments. For example, England, Sweden, Hong Kong and Singapore are such countries. So

what’s stopping our Naga people from overcoming corruption?

Perhaps many of us feel as if we are unable to do anything about corruption. But if we don’t do anything about it, our rapidly thinning moral fabric that once held our society together will disappear with disastrous consequences.

Fighting corruption is about what is good for us as a people. This is about ridding our society of the cancer that is growing day by day and making sure that we become morally whole and socially healthy once again.

To clean up corruption in our society, where should we begin?

Some may suggest that the Church should take the lead because corruption is a moral issue. Others seem to think that it is often the ordinary members of the society that encourage our public leaders to become corrupt and therefore, change must start from the grass-root level. These answers have some validity. However, the issue of corruption involves our entire society and resolves around our political system of government.

Hence, the starting point where corruption is to be tackled is in the area of political corruption. That is where the center of gravity is – which influences everything and from which everything flows. As such, it is also the root cause of all other kinds of corruption in our society.

Issue Theme for December:

CHRISTMAS AND NAGAS

Deadline for Submission: December 12, 2012 Date of Publication: December 22, 2012

The Morung Express monthly supplement ‘Opinion’ will be published on the third Saturday of every month. In the Opinion, you are the storyteller. Please share your story by responding to the theme of the next issue: “Christmas and Nagas” Contributions can be in the form of photography, illustrations, photos of artwork, essays, first-person accounts, poetry, reported articles, and any other form of expression that can be printed.

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