Corruption in India

A foreigners take on India's endemic corruption:

Corruption in India:

A New Zealander's view on reason for corruption in India:

Indians are Hobbesian (Culture of self interest)

Corruption in India is a cultural aspect. Indians seem to think

nothing peculiar about corruption. It is everywhere.

Indians tolerate corrupt individuals rather than correct them.

No race can be congenitally corrupt.

But can a race be corrupted by its culture?

To know why Indians are corrupt, look at their patterns and practices.

Firstly:

Religion is transactional in India.

Indians give God cash and anticipate an out-of-turn reward.

Such a plea acknowledges that favours are needed for the undeserving.

In the world outside the temple walls, such a transaction is named “bribe”.

A wealthy Indian gives not cash to temples, but gold crowns and such baubles.

His gifts can not feed the poor. His pay-off is for God. He thinks it

will be wasted if it goes to a needy man.

In June 2009, The Hindu published a report of Karnataka minister G.

Janardhan Reddy gifting a crown of gold and diamonds worth Rs 45 crore

to Tirupati.

India’s temples collect so much that they don't know what to do with

it. Billions are gathering dust in temple vaults.

When Europeans came to India they built schools. When Indians go to

Europe & USA, they build temples.

Indians believe that if God accepts money for his favours, then

nothing is wrong in doing the same thing. This is why Indians are so

easily corruptible.

Indian culture accommodates such transaction

First: Morally. There is no real stigma. An utterly corrupt JayaLalita

can make a comeback, just unthinkable in the West.

Secondly:

Indian moral ambiguity towards corruption is visible in its history.

Indian history tells of the capture of cities and kingdoms after

guards were paid off to open the gates, and commanders paid off to

surrender.

This is unique to India.

Indians' corrupt nature has meant limited warfare on the subcontinent.

It is striking how little Indians have actually fought compared to

ancient Greece and modern Europe.

The Turk's battles with Nadir Shah were vicious and fought to the finish.

In India fighting wasn't needed, bribing was enough to see off armies.

Any invader willing to spend cash could brush aside India’s kings, no

matter how many tens of thousands soldiers were in their infantry.

Little resistance was given by the Indians at the “Battle” of Plassey.

Clive paid off Mir Jaffar and all of Bengal folded to an army of 3,000.

There was always a financial exchange to taking Indian forts. Golconda

was captured in 1687 after the secret back door was left open.

Mughals vanquished Marathas and Rajputs with nothing but bribes.

The Raja of Srinagar gave up Dara Shikoh’s son Sulaiman to Aurangzeb

after receiving a bribe.

There are many cases where Indians participated on a large scale in

treason due to bribery.

Question is: Why Indians have a transactional culture while other

'civilized' nations don't?

Thirdly:

Indians do not believe in the theory that they all can rise if each of

them behaves morally, because that is not the message of their faith.

Their caste system separates them.

They don't believe that all men are equal.

This resulted in their division and migration to other religions.

Many Hindus started their own faith like Sikh, Jain, Buddha and many

converted to Christianity and Islam.

The result is that Indians don't trust one another.

There are no Indians in India, there are Hindus, Christians, Muslims

and what not.

Indians forget that 1400 years ago they all belonged to one faith.

This division evolved an unhealthy culture. The inequality has

resulted in a corrupt society, in India every one is thus against

everyone else, except God and even he must be bribed.

__BRIAN from Godzone

NEW ZEALAND

Sadly....yes !

(Incidentally, New Zealand is one of the least corrupt nations in the world.)

Beyniaz Edulji