Z for Zero : Zero Laxity towards bending rules

Two friends were on a bike early in the morning. They were rushing towards the Y K M Hospital on the other part of city- their friend from their native place was battling some head injuries suffered last night in a drink and drive situation. Though the guy in the driver’s seat stopped at a traffic signal, he was itching to jump the signal after carefully noticing no traffic cops on either side of the road, the time being early in the morning. The friend in the pillion objected to it strongly. An argument ensued. The driver guy was trying to justify breaking the rule only once for the sake of their dear friend who is in dire need of blood which can be ensured on them reaching the hospital early. The other person stood his ground and refused to ride along and make other arrangements in case the signal is jumped. While it might not cause any danger to anyone for them to break the rules in that instance, it would set up a wrong notion and example to everyone else stopping in the light. Their value system, their education, their upbringing – all would be questioned in people’s mind and someone else somewhere repeating the act might end up taking someone else’s life. In the middle of the continued argument, the onward signal became green and they moved on.

Is this not a very common sight for all of us?

All of us, committing a wrong thing or felony only once, will collectively add up to a large number of such cases putting the society in danger and push it one more step towards peril. 

Many of us have might have taken help of “someone else”, in exchange of money, having connections internally in different government departments in the case of getting a driving license or khata transfer (document for house mutation). It did not take much of our time to get the things done in the right and just way when we approached the authorities directly helped with the much simplified processes put in place along with electronic systems. There are very many good people inside the system who are ready to help when approached directly. Another very good example is passport application through the online appointment system. Right now, that is the only system and we all patiently wait and budget our time in the absence of previously available so-called helps.

With all these, the point I am trying to make is we, the educated lot of the country, need to be sincere and earnest about zero laxity towards corruption and rules.  Even doing it once does not justify the cause, rather one becomes the part of them who often take law in their own hand to curb it the way they liked it -in their own ways.

Let us give it a push at our individual level towards taking our country out of these menaces. In that way, our hands will be stronger, our voices will be heard with utmost care before we point fingers to others.

Corruption - Let's Chuck it

Are not systems in some countries, top to bottom, heavily dependent on somethings extra outside of the regular process, along with the “chalta hai “attitude? 

Instead of this being a deviation, these extras are so deep ingrained in the system that they have secured their deep-rooted place in the normal process and no one, us included, think them as not normal.  I shudder to think how commonplace and usual it has become to pay small extras or big kickbacks to get something done -not triggering the slightest bit of repentance in the giver and receiver’s mind at all. In fact, it is commonplace that without those tit-bits, tips or out-of-the-way service charges, things won’t move at all and they are part of the overall plan to get something done.

While most of us think and talk about it with disdain, we do take resort to these practices someway or other in the increasingly crunched lifestyle bereft of time we have it for ourselves- to do our own work.  I do believe that until and unless requirements and processes have been made simple enough and electronically accessible, this crap can’t be cut however much we protest against them.  There is an urgent need of removing the human intervention and the processes need to be driven in self help mode that is reachable anywhere and everywhere- just like in more developed countries.  If people do not need to stand in the queue for filling up a form or getting document delivered or do not need to physically run around for mundane jobs – costs according to me to get something done, I strongly believe these evil practices will be gone out of the window in a significant way.

Cost (mainly in terms of time and hassle and not the actual fee/money) of getting something done has to be less than the cost (actual money paid) of the bribe – this is the only succor to the problem at hand.

IT thing happened to India. With all the other benefits that India as a country has achieved, I also see this as something that prevented a bulk of populace of the current working generation from taking bribe- am assuming here that we, the IT folks, have not resorted to these practices.

I do not want to sound pessimistic as I see changes are in the offing- electronic stamp paper being one of the many.  While more and more people like you and me – the common people are taking interest and getting involved in main stream politicking, corrupt people have taken a note of the fact that escape routes are slowly and surely being plugged and the remaining ones will soon be buried.  The changes in terms of systems and processes are happening but need to gather momentum.  Let’s put all effort,with resolve and determination, not to yield for these extras to get something done in a hurry – easier said than done.