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An Essay: Corruption in India : Introduction

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

It is not easy to define corruption. But in a narrow sense, corruption is mostly concerned with bribery and it takes several forms. Corruption is a global phenomenon and it is omnipresent. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our society.

National scenario
Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between Bureaucracy, politics and criminals. India is now no longer considered a soft state. It has now become a consideration state where everything can be had for a consideration. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be counted on fingers. At one time, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time.

Effects of corruption
Indian administration is tainted with scandals. India is among 55 of the 106 countries where corruption is rampant, according to the Corruption Perception Index 2004 Report released by Transparency International India. Corruption in India leads to promotion not prison. It is very difficult to catch big sharks. Corruption in India has wings not wheels. As nation grows, the corrupt also grow to invent new methods of cheating the government and public.

Causes of corruption
The causes of corruption are many and complex. Following are some of the causes of corruption. Emergence of political elite who believe in interest-oriented rather than nation-oriented programmes and policies. Artificial scarcity created by the people with malevolent intentions wrecks the fabric of the economy. Corruption is caused as well as increased because of the change in the value system and ethical qualities of men who administer. The old ideals of morality, service and honesty are regarded as an achronistic.

Tolerance of people towards corruption, complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of strong public forum to oppose corruption allow corruption to reign over people. Vast size of population coupled with widespread illiteracy and the poor economic infrastructure lead to endemic corruption in public life. In a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials compel them to resort to the road of corruption. Graduates from IIMs with no experience draw a far handsome salary than what government secretaries draw. Complex laws and procedures alienate common people to ask for any help from government. Election time is a time when corruption is at its peak level. Big industrialist fund politicians to meet high cost of election and ultimately to seek personal favour. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery by politicians buys votes. In order to get elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who are slogging for two times meal.

Measures to combat corruption

Is it possible to contain corruption in our society? Corruption is a cancer, which every Indian must strive to cure. Many new leaders when come into power declare their determination to eradicate corruption but soon they themselves become corrupt and start amassing huge wealth. There are many myths about corruption, which have to be exploded if we really want to combat it. Some of these myths are: Corruption is a way of life and nothing can be done about it. Only people from underdeveloped or developing countries are prone to corruption. We will have to guard against all these crude fallacies while planning measures to fight corruption. Foolproof laws should be made so that there is no room for discretion for politicians and bureaucrats. The role of the politician should be minimized. Application of the evolved policies should be left in the hands of independent commission or authority in each area of public interest. Decision of the commission or authority should be challengeable only in the courts. Cooperation of the people has to be obtained for successfully containing corruption. People should have a right to recall the elected representatives if they see them becoming indifferent to the electorate. Funding of elections is at the core of political corruption. Electoral reforms are crucial in this regard. Several reforms like: State funding of election expenses for candidates; strict enforcement of statutory requirements like holding in-party elections, making political parties get their accounts audited regularly and filing income-tax returns; denying persons with criminal records a chance to contest elections, should be brought in.

Responsiveness, accountability and transparency are a must for a clean system. Bureaucracy, the backbone of good governance, should be made more citizen friendly, accountable, ethical and transparent. More and more courts should be opened for speedy & inexpensive justice so that cases don linger in courts for years and justice is delivered on time. Local bodies, Independent of the government, like Lokpals, Lokadalats, CVCs and Vigilance Commissions should be formed to provide speedy justice with low expenses. A new Fundamental Right viz. Right to Information should be introduced, which will empower the citizens to ask for the information they want. Barring some confidential information, which concerns national and international security, other information should be made available to general public as and when required. Stringent actions against corrupt officials will certainly have a deterrent impact. t

Conclusion

Corruption is an intractable problem. It is like diabetes, can only be controlled, but not totally eliminated. It may not be possible to root out corruption completely at all levels but it is possible to contain it within tolerable limits. Honest and dedicated persons in public life, control over electoral expenses could be the most important prescriptions to combat corruption. Corruption has a corrosive impact on our economy. It worsens our image in international market and leads to loss of overseas opportunities. Corruption is a global problem that all countries of the world have to confront, solutions, however, can only be home grown. We have tolerated corruption for so long. The time has now come to root it out from its roots.

INTRODUCTION:
Air Pollution is one of the most worrying problems of our time. This problem surfaced during the industrial revolution. The great industrial revolution brought about many positive changes to the world; better transportation, cheaper products, and a better life. However, with it s riches came the price, pollution. At the beginning of the industrial revolution, no one paid any attention to the problem of pollution. As the science, progressed people started to realize this problem.

REASONS FOR AIR POLLUTION:


Air pollution arises from many sources. The burning of gasoline in automobiles produces harmful gases and incineration of products. From various factories come millions of particles that are carried off in the air. Chemical plants produce gaseous by-products that are toxic when their concentration is high enough. As parts of the world become more industrialized, air pollution has generally increased and new health hazards have developed. Air pollution can result from causes that we can not control. For example, forest fires, dust storms, and volcanoes.

ACID RAIN:
Acid rain is one of the products of air pollution. Acid rain is created when raindrops combine with the polluted air. Acid rain causes erosion of buildings, destruction of crops, and other assets. Air pollution also causes global warming. . According to some predictions, significant alterations in climate patterns could become apparent in a few years. Estimates of global average temperatures have projected an increase of as much as 9o F before the year 2100.

KINDS OF AIR POLLUTION:


Two kinds of sources of air pollution indoor and outdoor air pollution. The indoor air polluters include many products, from cleansers to furnishings, which release harmful organic compounds into the air you breathe. The EPA has measured levels of organic compounds in both rural and suburban homes that range from two to five times the levels of outside air. Another indoor pollutant is called mold, a microscopic organism, can grow at any surface; it grows at any place where humidity is above 70 percent. These molds create spores that can go inside a human body and cause many complications. According to the American Lung Association, mold triggers allergic reactions, including asthma. A study by the Mayo Clinic states that mold is the cause of nearly all chronic sinus infections. It can lead to serious complications, including breathing difficulties, memory and hearing loss, and bleeding of the lungs. As serious as the indoor pollutants are, they are minimal compared to the outdoor pollution. This pollution includes from factories to volcanoes. Gases are released in the air because of the fissile fuel burned by the factories ships, automobiles, ships, and trains. Every industry process exhibits its own patterns of air pollution.

Both sulfur oxides dissolve in atmospheric water droplets to form acidic solutions that can be very damaging when distributed in the form of rain. It is thought that sulfuric acid is the major cause of the acidity in acid rain, which is not only damaging forests in the Northern Hemisphere but also causing fish, to die off in many northern lakes as well. Acid rain is also corrosive to metals, limestone, and other materials. The possible solutions to this problem are expensive because of the difficulty of removing sulfur from coal and oil before they are burned. Carbon dioxide is not as lethal as carbon monoxide, sulfur oxide, or nitrogen oxide, however Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major pollutants in the atmosphere. Major sources of carbon dioxide are fossil fuels burning and deforestation. Industrial countries account for 65% of carbon dioxide emissions with the United States and Soviet Union responsible for 50%. Less developed countries, with 80% of the world s people, are responsible for 35% of carbon dioxide emissions, but they may contribute 50% by 2020. Carbon dioxide emissions are increasing by 4% a year. In 1975, 18 thousand million tons of carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere, but the atmosphere showed an increase of only 8 billion tons. The ocean waters contain about sixty times more carbon dioxide than the atmosphere. If the oceans can no longer absorb this much carbon dioxide, then more carbon dioxide will remain into the atmosphere. As water warms, its ability to absorb carbon dioxide is reduced.

EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION:


Air pollution affects all spheres of the earth, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and the sphere of life, the biosphere. When pollutants are released in the air, they contaminate the atmosphere with the deadly gases like Carbon monoxide, Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide, Sulfur dioxide, and so on. When these gases come back down to earth the fell into the water, since 70 percent of earth is covered with water , when these hazardous gases fell in the water they contaminate the hydrosphere. In addition, these gases drop on the land and pollute it. Consequently, all of these polluted spheres lead to the pollution biosphere, so every sphere is contaminated by pollution. Air pollution effects land, buildings, and human health. Air pollution erodes land and buildings, India had 2 billion dollar loss in productivity because of soil erosion because of acid rain land becomes unfit to produce good crop. Soil erosion has consequences that are more serious; Ethiopia loses not 2 billion dollars but 2 billion tons of soil every year. This is much more serious, losing $ 2 billion is conceivable, but it is hard to understand 2 billion tons of soil eroded away every year. It is one of the consequences of the air pollution and acid rain. In addition, many building around the world are mostly made of a rock called limestone, limestone reacts with acids. Consequently, the buildings will start to erode because of acid rain. Effects on humans, air pollution causes many respiratory diseases. It is the leading cause of asthma, an estimated 24.7 million Americans have been diagnosed with asthma, according to the American Lung Association; the disease costs the nation $12.7 billion yearly. From 1980 to 1994, asthma cases increased by 75 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Theses are startling statistics but they should not be, because from 1980 to 2002, there have been more factories, more forest fires, and countless automobiles. All of which have been contributing to the air pollution. In addition, to the current air pollution the pollution from before 1980 era is still in the air, the environment can not absorb any more gases.

The governments of the world s nations are taking measures to solve this problem. Many countries have passed Clean Air Act, which have reduced the air pollution. However, these laws are not enough to protect the environment. The citizens of these countries have to take steps to help solve this problem. For example, getting the car tuned more frequently so it will create less smoke. For factories, owners, to use resources that produce fewer pollutants, for example instead of using coal, use natural gas, because it produces less pollution.

CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, imagine a scenario, a Red Cross truck pulls into a small community and starts handing out bottled water to people in dire need of pure safe water to drink. It is hard to imagine this kind of event water very important for our life. However, if the air pollution problem continues there might come a day when we have to breath out of an oxygen tank. If the problems continuous like this, that day might not be a thing of the distant future. All I can do is do my part to save the environment and hope for a solution to this problem.

INTRODUCTION:
Childhood is the most innocent phase in human life. It is that stage of life when the human foundations are laid for a successful adult life. Many children, instead of spending it in a carefree and fun-loving manner while learning and playing, are scarred and tormented. They hate their childhood and would do anything to get out of the dungeons of being children and controlled and tortured by others. They would love to break-free from this world, but continue to be where they are, not out of choice, but force. This is the true story of child labor.

CHILD LABOUR:
Innocent children are employed by industries and individuals who put them to work under grueling circumstances. They are made to work for long hours in dangerous factory units and sometimes made to carry load even heavier than their own body weight. Then there are individual households that hire children as domestic help and beat and physically torture them when they make a mistake. The children are at times made to starve and are given worn out clothes to wear. Such is the story of millions of children in India painful and yet true.

REASONS:
The two primary reasons for the ever-growing social malice of child labor are poverty and lack of education. Poor parents give birth to children thinking them as money-making machines. They carry infants to earn more on the streets from begging. Then as they grow they make them beggars, and eventually sell them to employers. This malady is rampant across the length and breadth of India. According to the United Nations stipulation in article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Labor Organization, child labor is to be considered if "...States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development."

WHAT IS CHILD LABOUR:


In other words, child labor is any kind of work children are made to do that harms or exploits them physically, mentally, morally, or by preventing access to education. However, all work is not bad or exploitive for children. In fact, certain jobs help in enhancing the overall personality of the child. For example, children delivering newspapers prior to going to school or taking up light summer jobs that do not interfere with their school timings. When children are given pocket money earning oriented tasks, they understand the value of money, as well as respect it even more.

Though eradicating the menace seems like a difficult and nearly impossible task, immense efforts have to be made in this direction. The first step would be to become aware of the causes of child labor. The leading reason is that children are employed because they are easier to exploit. On the other hand, people sell their children as commodities to exploitive employers to have additional sources of income. Most such employers pay a lump sum for the child and then keep him or her imprisoned within the factory unit till the child cannot work due to deteriorating health as a result of harsh living and working conditions. Lack of proper educational facilities is another reason that forces parents to send their children to work.

India accounts for the second highest number of child labor after Africa. Bonded child labor or slave labor is one of the worst types of labor for children. This system still continues in spite of the Indian Parliament enacting the Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act in 1976. It is estimated that approximately 10 million bonded children laborers are working as domestic servants in India. Beyond this there are almost 55 million bonded child laborers hired across various other industries.

A recent ILO report says that about 80 per cent of child laborers in India are employed in the agriculture sector. Generally, the children are sold to the rich moneylenders to whom borrowed money cannot be returned. 'Street children' is another type of child labor where children work on the streets as beggars, flower sellers, etc, instead of going to school. Sometimes they are made to go hungry for days together so that people feel sorry for them and give alms. Among the industries, glass and bangle industry is estimated to employ around 60,000 children who are made to work under extreme conditions of excessive heat. An equal number are estimated to be employed in matchbox factories, where they are made to work over twelve hours a day, beginning work at around 4 a.m., everyday. The brass and the lock industries also employ an estimated 50,000 children each. However, it is the carpet industry in India which employs the largest number of children estimated to be more than four lakhs. The statistical information regarding child labor cannot be taken to be precise, as there are areas where no accounting has been done. There are innumerable workshops and factories that have cramped up rooms where children work, eat and sleep. No one from the outside world would even know that they are working there. However, people working towards the welfare of child laborers, with the tip-off from insiders, have been able to rescue a number of children from such units. It also entails further identification of additional occupations and processes, which are detrimental to the health and safety of the children. Government has accordingly been taking proactive steps to tackle this problem through general strict enforcement of legislative provisions along with simultaneous rehabilitative measures.

CONCLUSION:
To bring the social malady of child labor under control, the government has opened a special cell to help children in exploitive circumstances. These cells comprise of social inspectors, as well as other administrative personnel, employed specifically to deal with child labor issues. Also, in recent years, the media has helped unravel what is happening in certain industrial units with journalists visiting such places with a hidden camera. The efforts made by sections of the government, social workers, nongovernment organizations and others to rescue and rehabilitate the children must be applauded.

In addition, each individual should also take responsibility of reporting about anyone employing a child below the age of fourteen years. However, considering the magnitude and extent of the problem, concerted efforts from all sections of the society is needed to make a dent. Measures need to be taken not only to stop this crime against children, but also to slowly, steadily and surely provide every child a well-deserved healthy and normal childhood.

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