Corruption is way of life in India

Coomi Kapoor, The Star, Asia News Network/Selangor, Malaysia

India's image as a corrupt nation stands doubly reinforced.

A recent study has concluded that a staggering sum of money is paid annually by ordinary people in bribes for various public services.

The sample survey, India Corruption Study -- 2005, was commissioned by Transparency International.

Its findings make for very gloomy reading for anyone concerned with good governance and honesty in public dealings.

Quite predictably, the uniformed police force heads the list of the most corrupt public servants. Lower courts and land revenue administration come next on the corruption chart. Public hospitals too are hotbeds of corruption.

Kerala, a 100 percent literate state, is the least corrupt among the 20 states surveyed. And not surprisingly, Bihar tops the list of the most corrupt with the national capital New Delhi coming somewhere in the middle at number 10.

Schools, believe it or not, emerged as the biggest sources of corruption. A huge chunk of bribes every year goes to school managements for securing admissions or to pass examinations.

Even in the recruitment of teachers and menial staff, school managements are known to make illicit money.

Over 14,000 respondents were polled by the survey. Nearly two- thirds said that they had experienced corruption first hand.

Over 30 percent felt that the incidence of corruption was on the rise. But most of them were skeptical whether the evil could be eradicated from the country.

The findings of the survey made headlines though no one was surprised, as Indians seem to have become quite stoical about corruption.

Of course, ordinary Indians hold their politicians guilty for the spread of what a leading commentator recently called "Public Enemy Number One".

The people at large have come to believe that all politicians are corrupt or as they put it, is hamam mein sab nange (everyone in the bathtub of politics is naked).

One may find it hard to believe that no politician in India has been convicted of corruption, even though it is public knowledge that all of them barring a rare exception or two have made tonnes of money.

India's Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav is the son of a shepherd, but he and his wife, Rabri Devi, are accused in an Rs8 billion (RM691 million) animal fodder scam.

Their trial has been on for more than a decade without an apparent end.

Because politicians make money, the malaise infects all branches of government. You have the police suppressing serious criminal cases due to political patronage or bribes. In an illustrative case, a couple of years ago a super-rich brat mowed down eight unskilled workers under the wheels of his BMW.

The police connived with the defense allowing the boy to roam free, certain in the knowledge that the case against him had been "taken care of". His father even paid off the relatives of the deceased to ensure they do not create trouble.

To sell or buy apiece of land, house or shop, you have to grease many palms.

Corruption has been more or less institutionalized with the rates of bribes duly fixed.

For instance, in Delhi and most other states, there is a 1 percent under-the-table charge on the entire value of the transaction.

Corruption is pervasive in India. Spurious medicines, adulterated petrol, diesel, edible oils, foodstuff, fake computer software, you name it and the unscrupulous dealer has it.

Even a well-known pharmaceutical multinational was caught only last week for selling medicines well past their expiry date.

The short-point is that the hydra-headed monster call corruption holds sway over every facet of life in India.