The Choice – An essay on corruption
By Md Ayaan Ahmad
XII Science B
As I walked down the Indian streets under the vibrant Indian skies. I passed the dust of the labour's
life, through the tired wind of the day. I know a man whose canopy is the night sky and his son's
blanket is he.
Two anonymous souls vanish in the cold anonymity of darkness. The rich and the poor are equal in
the eyes of death.
How will you sleep tonight, knowing that in every corner of this Nation, there is a boy whose pain of
hunger is unbearable and he knows he doesn't have anything to end it, does not have anything to
eat. What a world have we created. A child must not know this, helplessness.
Why have they stolen the childhood, the dreams, the lives of these souls?
When poverty strikes, the wall between right and wrong becomes thin. Some prefer to live, to steal,
and some prefer to die heroes.
Why is this wall between the rich and poor so high?
The labour that builds the skyscrapers, can never imagine to live in it. One person owns a private jet,
and the other sleeps outside the airport. Those who always have lavish dinners to eat, never know
the pain of hunger.
Something is being bought all the time in all the counties of this country. With every passing second
the digits of the taxed amount are increasing.
But I do not see it in the hospitals deprived of medicines, nor in the schools without benches. I see it
somewhere else, somewhere it shouldn't be.
"A thousand crore budget for water supply!" said the headlines. But the pipes don't even give water.
Where is the money?
Understand that there is a funnel, in which a thousand crore goes and pennies come out.
From the highest bureaucrat to the lowest official in charge, when the bag of money is passed down
along this ladder of officials, it goes decreasing in size, as the pockets get filled at every level, in
every department.
And if someone questions, it is severely hated. For they do not like the living to question, or those
who question to live.
Most of the people who filed RTI to unleash these malpractices of institutions were murdered or
harassed.
This is the scene of corruption in our country.
This creates a cycle of mistrust between the people and the government. As a result, 99% Indians do
not file taxes according to data.
But these people in in the government, in the institutions come from among ourselves. In this
democracy, the leaders were meant to represent us, weren't they?
Ask yourselves have you ever paid bribes?
I know the answer. 1 in 2 Indian paid bribes to access facilities according to a 2019 report.
India will not change until we keep saying "India cannot change."
Corruption is an individual problem as much it is a collective problem. All of us, collectively
constitute this corrupt nation.
Next time instead of saying "India is corrupt" rather say "I am corrupt."
Every issue, every problem in this world my dear friend breaks down to a simple objective decision, a
choice between right and wrong.
Corruption is a problem deeply rooted within the morality of the individual.
But we cannot leave this problem to the morality of a man, for mankind cannot be trusted. That's
where the purpose of Institutions and law comes in.
This world is imperfect and it will ever be. But whenever I see a child crying, it is my duty to wipe his
tears.
We cannot eradicate corruption, but we can lower it to great levels, thus liberating a lot of people
from the chains of poverty and giving them access to the amenities that they rightly deserve.
We can and will do this, and if you don't stand up I will, and when I will the masses will. We can
achieve this by educating the masses. If you see some factory workers doing work in adverse
conditions which affects their health, then tell them about the government schemes to deal with
this, tell them where exactly can they go and get free treatment. Take them there, and most
importantly befriend them.
We must utilize the constitution, the schemes already there to help us. We need educated willing
citizens to participate in nation building, in new creative ways of their own.
Next time you see a woman crying for her sister's health, or poverty depriving small boy from his
right to be educated, STAND UP AGAINST INJUSTICE! A lot of faces are waiting to smile.