All luxury corrupts either the morals or the state.

- Joubert
Corruption is most commonly defined as the misuse or the abuse of public office
for private gain (WorldBank, 1997, UNDP, 1999). It can come in various forms and a
wide array of illicit behavior, such as bribery, extortion, fraud, nepotism, graft,
speed money, pilferage, theft, embezzlement, falsification of records, kickbacks,
influence peddling, and campaign contributions. Corruption destroys or ruins the
society. A corrupt society stops valuing integrity, virtue or moral principles. It
changes for the worse. Such a society begins to decay and sets itself on the road
to self destruction. Corruption is an age old phenomena. Corruption is ubiquitous
and unlimited. It has became all pervading, a world phenomenon. It has increased by
leaps and bounds worldwide, in direct relation and proportion to our moral
degradation, destruction of character, devaluation of human values and lust for
power and money. There is no country immune from it. There might be a difference of
degrees, but as far as its quality, gravity and pervasiveness are concerned, there
is hardly any difference.

Corruption in the Indian society has prevailed from time immemorial in one form
or the other. Corruption in India is a result of the connection between
bureaucrats, politicians and criminals. Earlier, bribes were paid for getting wrong
things done, but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time.
Further, corruption has become something respectable in India, because respectable
people are involved in it. The major cause of concern is that corruption is
weakening the political body and damaging the supreme importance of the law
governing the society. Tax evasion is one of the most popular forms of corruption.
It is mostly practiced by Government officials and politicians who lead to the
accumulation of black money which in turn spoils the moral of the people.

Corruption cannot be divorced from economics. Inequality of wealth, low wages

and salaries are some of the economic causes of corruption. Employees often strike
corrupt deals to supplement their meager incomes. A licence-permit regime or
scarcity of basic commodities promotes corruption. In societies where traditional,
religious, ethical teaching and standards of morality are weak, corruption often
thrives. These values should be revived among their congregations and subjects and
in this effort religious leaders and chiefs have an important role to play. Of
late, the media has carried out a large number of stories of prophets who misuse
offerings and traditional healers who abuse their patients. The consequences of
corruption for social and economic development are bad. Corruption hinders economic
growth and deters investment. The impact of development assistance is reduced and
natural resources are overexploited causing further harm to a countrys
environmental assets. Resources are diverted from sectors such as education and
health to less important sectors or personal enrichment. The rule of law is eroded
and the people no longer respect or trust the state. A few people manage to get
rich at the expense of society as a whole, while the poor suffer terribly. In the
long run unchecked corruption pushes more and more people into poverty which often
destabilizes a society.

The extent to which corruption may flourish in a particular country, depends

largely on the attitude of the public, which in the case of India is one of apathy.
In fact public apathy is the unconscious sanction of Governmental corruption.
Corruption in public administration is something not peculiar to India. It exists
in all the countries, and India is by no means the worst in this respect.
Corruption needs only two prerequisites- first, there must be a predisposition on
the part of an individual to accept gratification, and second, he must have some
discretionary power to affect some sections of the public. When both these factors
combine, corruption most prevails. No wonder that the Independent India is a
fertile ground for corruption. In the good old days, corruption was confined only
to officialdom. But since the dawn of Independence, the non-officials, who have
been associated with the administration, have also joined the trade in a big way.
The reason for this is not far to seek. In the most advance democratic countries,
most of the non-officials, who join the administration, for their elective terms,
are men of integrity who already have some standing in business or one of the
profession. In India, the public men are the people, who are politicians by
profession. There are some notable exemptions, no doubt, but the rank and file of
politicians consist of gentlemen who have no other ostensible means of livelihood.
In India, the only criterion for an average politician is that he should have a
loud voice and should be able to speak a lot of nonsense on any subject for any
length of time. As this "profession" has vast potentialities in a newly independent
country, it has attracted a horde of self-seekers. Anti-corruption Departments in
the State are the hot beds for corruption. Wherever, the Departments are free from
corruption, they are not free from political interference which means an indirect
encouragement and protection to the corrupt. These departments specialise in
catching the small fish to keep up the facade of departmental efficiency, but
conveniently drop the big catches which prove too hot to handle, or are just
allowed to slip through the net. The political executive keeps the reports of the
Anti-corruption Department officials in cold storage till the time is ripe to
blackmail them into carrying out its whims under threat of exposure. The Vigilance
Commissions, which are in a better position to function freely, merely pass on
their findings to the State Governments for suitable action which they seldom take.
The result is that the majority of cases come to a dead end. Since Independence,
the political executive has systematically taken over the power of the officials
and reduced them to mere scape-goats for their own acts of omission and commission.
Many cases have come to light, where officials had to take the rap, though its
common knowledge that they had acted under instructions.

The main reason for the steady growth of corruption in India is the advent of
get rich quick professional politicians on the scene. They make hay while the sun
shines as also encourage corruption among the officials to suit their own ends. The
only remedy, therefore, lies in separating the function of the politicians and the
officials. The work of the politicians should be confined to laying down policies
and they should not have anything to do with routine day-to-day administration,
except to see that the policies laid down are effective. It is also important that
eminent men of standing with a spirit of dedications should come forward to replace
the professional politicians so as to make for a cleaner administration. There is
also need for the Government to give up its penchant for controls. In certain
circumstances, controls on the distribution of foodgrains and other essential
commodities in short supply are essential but their continuance long after they
have outlived their usefulness simply perpetuates corruption. It results in
harassment to the public, which is the breeding ground of corruption.

Corruption is of many types:

Systemic corruption: As opposed to exploiting occasional opportunities, endemic
or systemic corruption is when corruption is an integrated and essential aspect of
the economic, social and political system, when it is embedded in a wider situation
that helps sustain it. Systemic corruption is not a special category of corrupt
practice, but rather a situation in which the major institutions and processes of
the state are routinely dominated and used by corrupt individuals and groups, and
in which most people have no alternatives to dealing with corrupt officials.

Sporadic (individual) corruption: Sporadic corruption is the opposite of

systemtic corruption. Sporadic corruption occurs irregularly and therefore it does
not threaten the mechanisms of control nor the economy as such. It is not
crippling, but it can seriously undermine morale and sap the economy of resources.

Political (Grand) corruption: Political corruption is any transaction between

private and public sector actors through which collective goods are illegitimately
converted into private-regarding payoffs. Political corruption is often used
synonymously with grand or high level corruption, distinguished from bureaucratic
or petty corruption because it involves political decision-makers. Political or
grand corruption takes place at the high levels of the political system, when
politicians and state agents entitled to make and enforce the laws in the name of
the people, are using this authority to sustain their power, status and wealth.
Political corruption not only leads to the misallocation of resources, but it also
perverts the manner in which decisions are made. Political corruption is when the
laws and regulations are abused by the rulers, side-stepped, ignored, or even
tailored to fit their interests. It is when the legal bases, against which corrupt
practices are usually evaluated and judged, are weak and furthermore subject to
downright encroachment by the rulers.

Grand corruption: High level or grand corruption takes place at the policy
formulation end of politics. It refers not so much to the amount of money involved
as to the level in which it takes place: grand corruption is at the top levels of
the public sphere, where policies and rules are formulated in the first place.
Usually (but not always) synonymous to political corruption.

Petty corruption: Small scale, bureaucratic or petty corruption is the everyday

corruption that takes place at the implementation end of politics, where the public
officials meet the public. Petty corruption is bribery in connection with the
implementation of existing laws, rules and regulations, and thus different from
grand or political corruption. Petty corruption refers to the modest sums of
money usually involved, and has also been called low level and street level to
name the kind of corruption that people can experience more or less daily, in their
encounter with public administration and services like hospitals, schools, local
licensing authorities, police, taxing authorities and so on.

The question again arises how to control this increasing corruption in our
country? There are several bodies that are working for a corruption free system.
The Right to Information Act (RTI) gives one all the required information about the
Government, such as what the Government is doing with our tax payments. Under this
act, one has the right to ask the Government on any problem which one faces. There
is a Public Information Officer (PIO) appointed in every Government department, who
is responsible for collecting information wanted by the citizens and providing them
with the relevant information on payment of a nominal fee to the PIO. If the PIO
refuses to accept the application or if the applicant does not receive the required
information on time then the applicant can make a complaint to the respective
information commission, which has the power to impose a penalty up to Rs.25, 000 on
the errant PIO. Another potent check on corruption is Central Vigilance Commission
(CVC). It was setup by the Government to advise and guide Central Government
agencies in the areas of vigilance. If there are any cases of corruption or any
complaints thereof, then that can be reported to the CVC. CVC also shoulders the
responsibility of creating more awareness among people regarding the consequences
of giving and taking of bribes and corruption. Establishment of special courts for
speedy justice can be a huge positive aspect. Much time should not elapse between
the registration of a case and the delivery of judgment. Strong and stringent laws
need to be enacted which gives no room for the guilty to escape. In many cases, the
employees opt for corrupt means out of compulsion and not by choice. Some people
are of the opinion that the wages paid are insufficient to feed their families. If
they are paid better, they would not be forced to accept bribe.