I met somebody from the public works department who said that out of every Rupees 100 spent on road repair in my town, only 20 Rupees is actually spent on the roads. The rest of the money goes into bribes paid to the local politician, government engineers and the contractor's profit. How pathetic?
And Indian leaders keep parroting about us on the way to being one of the world's largest economies. Yes, our sheer size may catapult us into that enviable position. But, can we ever become a country where as Gandhi wanted it to be 'there would be no tear in one single eye'.
The present record of corruption in our society where one has to bribe one's way through virtual every facet of government work will certainly prove detrimental to us emerging as a 'great nation'. A big nation maybe, but not a great nation.
I am not sure if countries like the United States had the same problems when it's economy was on the upward spiral (The 50's onwards)? There can only be one way to stop this scourge of corruption from spreading. We as a society need to be vigilant and ask the government to be accountable to us. The government is represented to us b y the very legiuslators who we sent to the corridoors of power.
The second most important thing here is that the one who encourages corruption is as guilty as the one who received that tainted money. If I pay 300 Rs. to my RTO inspector so that he may 'clear' my driving test, I am as guilty as he is. How many of us understand this?