HVK Archives: Canker in the soul
Canker in the soul - The Observer
Editorial
()
19 July 1997
Title: Canker in the soul
Author: Editorial
Publication: The Observer
Date: July 19, 1997
Kudos to Mr Suraj Mandal for his profound comment: That corruption is
irrelevant. True, the term corruption is no longer relevant for the
conscience of those who practise politics in this country. In this
fiftieth year of the country's independence, corruption has become
synonymous with politics more than ever before. We are indeed grateful to
Mr Mandal, vice president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Soren), for
forthrightly enlightening us about the fact that "everyone is corrupt".
Corruption, late Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi had said, is universal.
What better example to illustrate this statement than our very own
political fabric, which is now defined by an unending cavalcade of scams.
In fact, with most of our politicians - including former Prime Ministers,
cabinet and chief ministers - getting tarred with the brush of corruption,
it is difficult to decide who should be awarded the coveted title of the
'most corrupt politician'.
It is not as if corruption is a new phenomenon. Instances of depravity and
decay have been part of human history, particularly the political history.
But perhaps the founding fathers of this nation had thought that it was
possible to close all past chapters, of faults and frailties and begin
afresh. Hence, in our historic tryst with destiny fifty years ago, the
first Prime Minister of the nation, Jawaharlal Nehru, had made the promise
of hanging the corrupt from the nearest lamp post. Not all dreams come
true, and that historic promise - like many similar ones - is long
forgotten. Even those who were witness to that promise, did not care to
fulfil 'it. Hence the spectacle of a leader of Jagjivan Ram's stature
evading income tax for more than two decades.
In the past four or five years, the list of people who have violated the
initial oath of honesty that the nation took at the midnight of freedom,
has become quite long: Sukh Ram, Kalpnath Rai, Narasimha Rao, Laloo Prasad
Yadav .... But perhaps, politicians alone cannot be blamed for the
degeneration of the entire society. The political scenario is but a mirror
of what is happening to the society at large. For one Narasimha Rao or one
Sukh Ram in politics, there is a Harshad Mehta or a Runu Ghosh in the
financial sector or in the bureaucracy. It is time for us to ponder about
the root cause. The society has time and again indicated its inability to
define what it considers as 'corrupt'. The general attitude is marked by a
disinclination to judge till the time, one is personally singed by malice,
But the moment we are individually victimised, we are ready to denounce it.
Saving our own skin is our priority, and standing up against malpractice
is a waste of time. Corruption is the result of our attitude towards the
basic moral issues. The decaying moral fabric of the society is the mother
of the degenerating political fabric of the nation. Seen from this
perspective, Mr Mandal's comment will not come as a shock to a nation which
seems to have denounced honesty.
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