Three days ago I read a story in the Times of India (Times) about two students, twelve and eleven year old Aniket Bhoir and Monali Adari of Ambika Nagar, Bhawindi, India. They are from poor families. Aniket's parents are what the Times called daily wage labourers meaning low wage unskilled labour and they work when they can get it. Monali's father is a security guard with a municipal corporation and mother works as "domestic help," says the Times.
One day on their way home from school Aniket and Monali found a bag full of 80,000Rupees in cash and some documents. They asked their parents to trace the owner. The documents contained the owner's cell number. Monali's father does not own a cell phone, a mobile as they call it in India. He borrowed one from a neighbour and made a "miss call" to the owner. The owner called back and was happily reunited with his cash and documents. The students received thanks and 100Rupees each from the owner and recognition from local politicians. The Times ran the story and 72 hours ago I shared it a few times on the social networks.
The story transported me back to the days in India when at the end of 1964 I had deserted it for the greener pastures abroad. The revolutionary fervour of the Independence movement had begun to wane. The rot of corruption was just setting in. Today the rot is complete. I have always been noticing it from afar and worried about it. In the past I have commented on it during my many visits to India, sometimes getting into trouble for my bluntness.
I have led a reasonably busy Canadian life and Canada has been good to me and my extended family. But because India is a country of my birth and my ancestors and it nurtured me into my late teens my connection with it is eternal. I have always felt its pangs of pain and joy in my heart and soul. The Times story gripped my mind. This story would be important even in Canada but not as important as it is in India. What makes this story more important in India is the complete moral and ethical abyss India seems to have fallen into. These poor young students showing India the way gave me hope.
I have read thousands of pages of writings on corruption in India. Many have talked about its causes and solutions. Briefly the alleged causes include poverty, lack of education and awareness of one's rights, lack of transparency and accountability, lack of proper laws, lack of speedy apprehension and prosecution of offenders and so on and so forth. One commentator from the US says it is "simply the lack of systems". Others have talked of low wages, low job opportunities. Then there is the all time favourite of "the nexus between politicians, criminals and bureaucrats including police". Solutions offered include better laws, better training of bureaucrats, better investigation and prosecution of the offenders.
While all of this may have a kernel of truth, it is a very small part of the larger truth; the larger truth that has been missing from the corruption debate in India. It is this larger truth that the Times story brought into focus, perhaps somewhat unwittingly. The story ran under the headline "Honesty in poverty", the implication being it is more difficult to be honest in poverty; poverty is an excuse for corruption. Others have argued "lack of education, laws, training of bureaucrats etc" as excuses for corruption. When I was a young child in India people used to argue India will have no corruption as Indians become educated. If so why are the many educated more corrupt today than 50years ago? If poverty is an excuse for corruption, why are many rich so corrupt?
Many Indians including those of the diaspora have always argued one need only change the laws/the system to get rid of the corruption. They point to countries like Canada and credit the 'system' for the lack of corruption. They are totally mistaken. Canadians are fair, honest and just. That is why Canada is a fair, honest and just society. Even the Anna Hazare's sadly short lived campaign against corruption mistakenly focused only on change of laws, not on changing the men and women of India. Indians need to change much more than any laws. The idea is simple. If India does not have honest Indians in large supply how will it police, investigate and punish the corrupt under whatever new or old laws it may have? Any system is like a machine. If the bureaucrats, politicians, police, judges and citizens are by and large corrupt, they will feed garbage into the system regardless of the laws. Feeding garbage into the system will produce only garbage; nothing more, nothing less: Garbage in, garbage out. What then?
The fact is more than changing any laws India needs Indians to change to be honest, fair and just to build a corruption free India. Any Indian can be honest. It is easily done once we set about doing it; one does not have to be rich to be honest; one does not have to be educated to be honest; one does not have to be rich or educated to challenge the corrupt and corruption. Each one of us has the power and the obligation to do it.
To build an honest India the Indian has to be honest. To make India a just society the Indian has to be just. To make India a fair society the Indian has to be fair. To build an inclusive India the Indian needs to be inclusive. To build an honest, just, fair and inclusive India the Indian needs to be honest; just be honest.
Mahatma Gandhi was once asked if he was trying to build a new India. "No, I am trying to build a new Indian", he had said. Remember, it is the Indian in each one of us we need to change and make anew. Nothing else will work. This truth, Mahatma's truth, has been missing from the debate on corruption in India. For India to become truly corruption free this truth must be acknowledged and acted upon by each and every Indian.
To build a corruption free India the Indian has to be honest. Be Mahatma's new Indian. Be Aniket and Monali. Just be honest.