Corruption flows from the top: Anti-corruption Day

The topic in the house is “Corruption flows from the top”…

Corruption, a term first used by Aristotle, and later by Cicero, is the deviation from the ideal or the impurity of thought and intention. It is one of the most dreadful, overlooked and yet the most prevalent social evils inherent to a society; and also a root cause of many others. The great Persian ruler, Noshervan once said to his people that,

“The foundation of cruelty was very small in this world, but it grew as such acts increased. I fear that if I pluck an apple free of cost from a peasant’s tree, my army might pull down his entire garden!”

Corruption, thus, begins from a wee bit of an action. A free lunch, a free drink, a free ride, a friendly favor, a polite act to help your dear ones… and BAM! You enter the corruption boom... But it usually begins without intention and invokes a chain reaction; as Ernest Hemingway says,

“All truly wicked things start from innocence.”

This society is, analogically, like a human body. Its head is the powerful elite. M.G. Chitkara, in his book Corruption and Cure, says that Corruption flows from top to bottom. True, it flows from the head to toe! It is because a corrupt man at the highest, or relatively higher post, will certainly open the doors of corruptions to all those under him. He may compel his subordinates to do as he wishes; and in Milgram’s obedience theory, might is right! So those under him will be bound to obey him. And as we are living in a world of blind followers, the “sheeple”, who follow every act they deem to be personally beneficial for them, corruption trickles down from top to bottom with the increase in imitation at lower levels.

Generally, it is seen that the man in power is always on the top; and it is commonly stated that power corrupts man. But then, I came across these words of George Deacon that changed my views, “If ultimate power corrupts you absolutely, where does that leave God??” So it is not the presence of power, but actually the fear of losing it, which makes a man oppressive and corrupt. So being on the “top” is not in itself responsible for corruption. It is actually the mind, the very thought, that corrupts the entire system. Our cognition controls the actions that we perform. It will not be wrong to say that corruption takes birth when the first evil thought rises in our mind.

We don’t need to go very far in search of instances for corruption, rather we can find them around us, within us; right here, right now. We shun classes, corruption, we borrow things and don’t return them, corruption, we waste our time in useless activities, corruption, favoritism, corruption, plagiarism, corruption, cheating, corruption, and so on!

Unfortunately, today we experience too much corruption in every field. Corrupt minds, corrupts acts, corrupt police, corrupt preachers, corrupt educationists, corrupt officers, corrupt media, corrupt leaders, corrupt politicians, thus everyone and everything seems to be filled with corruption to such an extent that nothing seems pure now. Though sarcastically, but Henry Kissinger rightly said that,

“The corrupt politicians make the remaining 10% look bad.”

There is no use mentioning all the data of the World Bank Monetary Corruption Statistics because of two reasons; 1. It will be merely a source of gloom and hopelessness, and 2. I didn’t search for any... that’s corruption on my part!  Even the noblest acts that we see are cemented with a hidden layer of corruption. You HAVE TO do corruption to avoid corruption. It’s like,

Lay k rishwat phans gya tha, day k rishwat chhoot gya


(I got trapped after taking bribe, and got released after giving bribe)

So we’d roll over the causes of corruption; from the demonic thoughts to greed, to inadequate facilities, to unimplemented laws, to unchecked favors and swindles, to unquestioned oppression, to justified bribery, to unnoticed fraud, to nepotism, to misuse of funds, to illegitimate taxes and inflation, to inauthentic accusations to irresponsibly omitted duties to unverified statements and the list goes on.

Corruption has the most adverse effects on the society; turning it into a hell full of human-faced Satans. Dr. Israr Ahmad says that even the Satan seeks refuge from the crown of creations today…

Kuch jhijhakta hai, na darta hai, na sharmaata hai

Nit nayee fitna garee roz hi dikhlaata hai

Ab ye zalim mere behkaway me kab ata hai

Me bura sochta rehta hu, ye kar jata hai

Kya abhi is ki mureedi ka irada kar loon?

Sochta hu k ab insan ko sajda kar lu…!
(He doesn't hesitate, neither fears, nor shies
He shows new chaos every day
Now this tyrant doesn't pay heed to my enticement
I keep on thinking evil, and he does evil

Should I become his apprentice?
I think I should bow before the human being now! )

It afflicts every social institution in one way or another. It was very long ago when corruption started trickling down from the top; today it seems to be having seeped through the roots and is flowing upward too! Iqbal says,

Jamhooriyat ik tarz-e-hakoomat hai kay jis main

Bandon ko gina kartay hain tola nahin kartay

(Democracy is a way of government in which
Men are counted, not weighed)

But the social fraudulence has faded this pro-democratic vision too; today humanity and the humans themselves have been trodden under the “personal benefit” stampede.

If corruption is to be uprooted, then we should begin from the purification of our minds. Mahatma Gandhi said,

“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.”

So first of all, we need the strength of our OWN thought and character to prevent any corrupt act at our end. We should avoid corruption and try not to follow others doing this. It requires the training of the INNER side to cure the outer epidemic of corruption. We started from bad, it turned worse and then became the worst; I don’t think we want to invent an ultra-superlative degree for it… It’s high time that we should repent, lest we shall be damned!

Ayy taaer-e-lahooti us rizq se moat achi

Jis rizq se aati ho, parwaaz me kotaahi(Oh! Heavenly birds!! Prefer death on such a subsistence

Which creates obstacles in your flight (towards Allah))

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