No doubt that there are many such
incidents happening in other states of our country, yet I mention Maharashtra
for the mere fact that this pertains much to the fact that I myself eye
witnessed and also this being the land of the Anti- corruption crusader the
incidents disturbed me much. I started to question, “How can we go on fighting
against corruption everywhere in the country, while my own state and
particularly my surrounding is full of that particular social evil?” Though many
politicians have been put behind the bar, the real crooks who never fear
bribing are a few police men and women who keep this evil existing for their
vested interest. The main duty of police is to protect the people and of course
help the citizens of this nation experience the true democratic values. Sadly
they themselves have turned up to be the violators of laws and destructive
evils of our democracy. Often times they play the second fiddle for those who
in power and take great pride in serving the politicians and bureaucrats.
Most of the time, the victims of
corruption are the ordinary citizens. They are frightened by the mere look of
the police and somehow highly hesitate to question them when the police bribe
them. Even the educated ones come under the umbrella of those who are bribed.
Recently, I went with my educated friend to Pune city in his car along with two
other friends from Austria. Just in the middle of the road, around 8 o clock in
the evening as we expected the traffic police men stopped us and we had to pay
him fifty rupees for not having his belt on while driving. When I asked my
friend, “why did you bribe him? Why can’t you face it legally?” He said, “They
themselves asked me to pay fifty and go or to pay Rs.300/- with the receipt and
I found it easy to bribe him and get going.” I did question my friend for
bribing. But I was much hurt to see many traffic police men and women
collecting bribe in the middle of the road. I told myself, “How can we
eradicate corruption, when it happens publically like this?” Yet another event also took place in the same
Pune city and this was shared by my friend from Tamil Nadu who dared to
question the police yet fell prey to the tricks of police and finally paid one
hundred rupees. When enquired about the incident he said, “I did follow the
traffic rules. But the police woman there accused me falsely and tried to bribe
me. Since I couldn’t understand Marathi she somehow succeeded in cheating me
with one hundred rupees.” Saying this he added, “These are BEGGERS IN UNIFORM.”
Though in the beginning I felt sad to call the police as beggars, yet another
same event gave me a certificate to call them with the same name.
During the recent vacation we,
around forty five young college students went to Aurangabad for our educational
tour to enjoy the rich ancient heritage of our glorious land. I personally
admired the rich heritage of our glorious land but all these were overshadowed
by consequent incidents that happened in the tourist place while the guards
there received money and sent the visitors illegally. While so many were
standing in the queue, I could see a few rich men and women paying some money
and getting into the historical places easily. Even the guards there were ‘beggars
in uniform’. While our journey back home, early in the morning another event
took place. Two police men who were suppose to do their traffic duty stopped
our bus and bribed us with Thirty rupees without any reason. Though I wanted to
question the police man, the language barred me from doing so. While asked my
Maharashtrian friend, he said, “If you question the police they will create
false accusations and you cannot carry on with your work. So better, pay and
escape.”
All these incidents truly
saddened me and made me think more on the fear that has entered into the minds
of the citizens of our country. Where is our freedom of speech and expression?
How can we ever talk about democratic values and anti- corruption when we don’t
dare to question? If this situation continues how can we ever think of an India
that is free of corruption? This is not only the cry of one individual rather
it is a continuous cry of our country men who truly want to experience true
democracy. When the men and women in uniform act as beggars along the roadside,
how can we expect that they would help us to carry on with our anti- corruption
initiatives even if there is a strong Lokpal? If we really want to get rid of
this evil from our country, we need to get rid of the beggars in uniform who
are in the road side. I strongly believe
that Indian Currents being a journalism with a soul will continue to stir the
souls of the readers to act against corruption and the whole media being a
powerful weapon can take the anti- corruption crusade ahead hoping to see a New
India.
