Local newspapers regularly publish news regarding arrests of corrupt government officials who fall into the net of anti-corruption agencies and get caught red handed. Most of the times the officials are of very low ranks while as the reality is that the issue of corruption in Jammu and Kashmir is much bigger than Patwaris and clerks. It is huge and needs a top to down approach not the other way round. Hunting small fish and leaving the crocodiles roam free is not the proper approach to curb the menace. The net is to be widened.
Corruption is the menace that hampers the progress and development of any society in the world. When the corrupt practices become a normal, the society as a whole is destined to fail economically and rot morally. Deserving get neglected and those not deserving are benefitted thus disturbing the equilibrium of the society. Corruption breeds injustice and injustice triggers unrest which in no way is good for any healthy society. This menace, unfortunately is wide-spread all over the country, Jammu and Kashmir being no exception.
The UT administration has been, time and again, asserting that it has waged a full-fledged war against corruption but there will always remain some ifs and buts which the administration needs to take care of. Corruption has all along been rampant in Jammu and Kashmir, so rampant that unfortunately it has, by and large been accepted by the populace as something inevitable. This acceptance has, in a way, provided a social sanctity to this menace. The situation has reached a stage where the most corrupt are the most respected ones.
It feels good to read that the UT administration is committed to curb the menace but it goes without saying that the task is not so easy. The main organization that deals with the menace – Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) – needs to be strengthened. The administration should identify the upright and honest officials with integrity to run this organization. The administration needs to have ample circles of checks and balances to ensure the organization that is assigned to fight corruption, doesn’t have any scope for any corrupt practices within.
That said, the society, as a whole, should raise its voice against corruption in public life and offices. Like drug abuse, corruption too is eating up the very vitals of our society. Thus it is the responsibility of the society to raise voice against this menace. The religious and social leaders have to take lead in this fight. The religious leaders during Friday prayer sermons should talk about these kind of issues and make people aware that how Islam looks down upon corruption and the corrupt.
