Corruption Story 1 - Delhi, c. 1380
The Sultan of Delhi, Firuz Shah Tughlaq received a complaint from a cavalry soldier.
In those days cavalrymen had to procure and maintain their own horses, and the inspector of horses would check each horse every year before accepting it as fit for duty. The inspector was asking the soldier for a bribe of a gold coin to pass his horse.
The Sultan considered the complaint about the inspector. And the most powerful king in India, instead of punishing the corrupt inspector, handed the soldier two coins - one for that year's bribe and the second in case the soldier faced the same issue the next year!
Corruption Story 2 - London, 2011
The UK Anti-Bribery Act was implemented in July 2011, a consolidation and modernization of multiple existing laws. By October 2011, the new law had seen its first conviction- the offender being an employee of a county court, a young man of "desi" or South Asian origin, who was taking bribes from motorists to delete their speeding offences from the court records.
This enterprising youth made it a point to tell his customers that he provided his service only to 'Asian brothers".
The saving grace was that it was one of these same Asian brothers who reported the crime.
Corruption Story 3 - Pune, December 2023
A friend and I met for breakfast on a Saturday morning, and we came out of the restaurant to find that my friend's vehicle had been clamped by the traffic police for a parking violation. There was another car parked nearby that had met the same fate.
The traffic police crane showed up soon and the official took out a snazzy tablet device, tracing the vehicle details and informing us that the same offence had been repeated within a span of 12 months, thus doubling the quantum of the fine. But there was another way! We were told in a low voice, that if we 'paid directly' then the fine would be reduced!
My friend ignored the suggestion. The same snazzy device was used by the official to accept our card payment and to print a receipt. The vehicle was then unclamped and we were free to go.
The other motorist, in the meantime, had paid off the official and driven off in a minute, without getting his traffic offence on the books!
No-Corruption Story - Pune, January 2024
I needed to renew my driving license. In theory, the process was simple - fill out a form, submit a medical certificate, pay the renewal fee and submit the original license to the authorities. However the RTO (Road Traffic Organization) office has been associated in my mind with chaos, crowds and corruption, where nothing can be done without a helpful 'agent'.
I completed the online process from home (pleasantly surprised that the process had been digitized!) and then set out for the dreaded next step- visiting the RTO in person to submit the original documents and the expiring license. The RTO was just as dusty, crowded and confusing as I'd experienced in years past. I asked one of the many agents and was guided to the renewals desk.
And here was the surprise - no chaos, no confusion, just a small and fast-moving queue at the counter! My documents were scrutinised carefully and accepted, the documents not needed were handed back to me, and relevant entries were made in the RTO computer system. I was told by the cheerful and efficient official that the renewed license would reach me by post. Step 2 of the renewal process had worked, and worked lightning-fast. I was free to go within a minute!
From rampant petty corruption to No-Corruption
India (and in a wider sense, all of South Asia) has long been associated with petty corruption. As in the first story, even a king with vast powers didnt dare to confront corruption. The second story showed South Asians in a poor light in foreign countries, a youngster tempted to misuse his powers to make a quick buck. And the parking violation story shows that while technology in the form of many "Digital India" initiatives has brought in massive efficiencies, crooked officials can find a way around the system - and there are enough people around who don't mind feeding corruption, to save themselves some time and money.
But the RTO experience to me was a revelation. What a dramatic change from an opaque, difficult-to-understand organization, to a transparent, fast and dare I say, customer-focused one! I hope that through these technology-driven changes, petty corruption continues to to rapidly recede from the mainstream to the fringes.
Will we eventually see a zero-corruption nation? Now that is something no technology can ensure - it is up to each one of us.
6 comments:
Loved the examples Ranga; especially the historic ones. The Sultan’s thought process behind his action is intriguing. As an optimist I feel like things are getting better slowly but surely
Captain... Loved this entire write up
Nicely written. Yes things are definitely improving but it would be quite some time before it reaches nil/a very low number. Don't expect it to vanish fully but harassment to common people will definitely reduce substantially
Shrirang , am writing this comment from South Africa which now has endemic corruption as it undergoes a transformation as a young Democracy after a long period of apartheid. India has had more time to mature as a democracy and build a 300 million strong middle class with better sensibilities of integrity and other belief systems. I too went to the Pune RTO in Dec 2023 to pick up an International driving licence and found the process smooth. All of us now get our Income tax refunds digitally with no speed money demanded from us. Octroi curruption is a thing of the past with GST coming in and we hear that underprivileged Indians get their subsidies without having to pay off the village patwari. We should all be proud of how our country is evolving. Tughlak would be happy.
I had exact same experience with RTO. Wanted to renew my address on the DL. Online application and a quick submission of documents at RTO facility in person and it was done. Only thing is it took almost 5 months for the DL to get shipped. But still...much improved process.
... and just to close off the loop, the license reached me within 15 days, it was automatically updated in Digilocker the day the old license expired, I was able to track each step online and after it was dispatched.
Post a Comment