“What may be the tag Or title given to this odious practice – Chai, Mithayi, it is illegal and unethical.
Persons involved in corruption or bribe giving different titles to this act to fulfill their unending greed are hiding their corrupted identity. Though there are well-established agencies and strict laws to curb this menace at all levels but the sorry state of affairs is that it has been showing an upward trend with every passing day. A tragic incident took place at a premier government hospital in Srinagar in which a new-born baby became the victim of the corruption. He lost his precious life only because his father’s inability to fulfil the undue demand of the employees on duty. What may be the tag Or title given to this odious practice – Chai, Mithayi it is illegal and unethical. This particular episode is reflecting how this social menace is deeply rooted in our society. There is hardly any public office where a common person is not facing such odd situations.If a retired employee applies for his genuine dues, i.e., pension, to complete the formalities he/she has to pay a bribe to complete the list of formalities. Even the student who successfully passes an examination is forced to pay bribe in the name of ‘Chai’ to get their Marks sheet or qualification certificate. Public works like the installation of electric poles, transformers, construction of drains, roads, etc are priorities depending upon the amount of bribe or Chai. Earlier this social menace was restricted to the government sector but it has now also spread to private sector. This rapid expansion of corruption everywhere has now become a hurdle for people to do any sort of work in Jammu & Kashmir.
Various reports or surveys revealed that people in Jammu and Kashmir are among the worst sufferers of corruption as far as their access to public services is concerned. Our ancestors faced a lot of hardships in their life but they never compromised on moral values. They have a little religious and worldly knowledge but they were God-fearing people. They considered corruption as a major sin but today cheating, corruption, bribing is no more an unusal practice at work places. In the last couple of years, several initiatives have been taken to improve the delivery of public service like installation of CCTV’s, establishing of grievance cells, notifying the toll-free numbers, etc. but the benefits of these measures have not reached people at the grass roots. The reason is obvious that we are giving undue favour to those who are involved in unlawful and unethical acts. We do not register a complaint against those wicked persons indulging in any anti-social practices. We generally hesitate or we say “Wan Chah Ma Kutmuth” Do I bear all the responsibilities? but this attitude will further deepen its roots day after day, month after month and year after year. The situation demands that we should take collective efforts to eradicate this social menace that has made our life miserable. In this regard, our active and responsible role can change the scenario. If anyone demands a bribe-Chai, we must stand against it boldly. In addition to this, family, Educational, Religious institutions can play a significant role. They can impart moral education to our young generation. There is a need to awaken our collective consciousness so that we show responsibility in discharge of our social duties. Let us play a responsible role in eradicating the growing menace of corruption.
(The author is a teacher by profession. Views are exclusively his own)
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