Irony of life?

Just read a news article of another Wikileaks exposure about a bribe which a Congress MP gave to some other MP’s regarding a vote of confidence in the Indian parliament. The online article which was posted 3 hours ago had been commented on by around 350 people each of who have shown their discontent at the abject state of affairs.

I am a proud Indian who has always stayed in India and has travelled to every single state (seriously) in this huge country. I am also an entrepreneur having a small but successful business running in one of the fastest growing metropolitans of this country. I have also served as a manager in an MNC and have had my share of trysts with the various government agencies – whether it was for a registration or some certificate or a water connection or any other thing under the sun. Never have I seen an official not asking me for money.

Any Indian road will have traffic offenders passing by at the rate of a dozen per minute. Stop anyone and ask what he will do if caught and the prompt reply will be, “A Rs.50 note can take care of it”.

My question to the 350 comments in that column: If you are an Indian, have you never paid a bribe? I agree that Tata’s possibly might say that they have not, but then they don’t need to. They are too big for a government official to mess around with. What about the millions of others?

I seriously believe that India is one country which can never be rocked by stock markets or economic meltdowns because of which all the economists get their bread and butter. Our parallel economy is too big and its all because of these bribes.

I am in no way approving this very wrong phenomenon. What I am asking is: WHAT GIVES US A RIGHT TO COMMENT ON OTHERS WHEN WE ARE NOT COMING FROM HEAVEN OURSELVES? Movies like Lage Raho Munnabhai were seen, appreciated, given some Filmfare awards (I think) and forgotten to be shown again by some TV channel on the next Gandhi Jayanti but when will we start doing what we preach?

I agree again that I am myself to blame as well but I do have a business to run for which I give my share of bribes. But if I refuse to, what will happen to the people who are working for me? They have a family to feed as well…right?

I wish I had a solution to this menace. But this solution has to come from the politicians who unfortunately are the last people who will try to find a solution. Why else will they be willing to spend crores of rupees to get a seat in the government? Definitely not for the measly salary which they get. Right?