Belling the Cat

It is pleasant news that Prime Minister Imran Khan is building public opinion for a clean and transparent rule and refuses to cooperate with the corrupt. The ongoing trial of politicians on charge of involvement in corruption lends hope that the system has not totally collapsed and has resilience. Now, at this stage we can only minimize corruption if the authorities selflessly, sincerely and whole-heartedly work for it and punish the guilty without looking to the face of the individual. Corruption can be eradicated provided people from all walks of life maintain a high level of honesty, integrity and morality. But, our previous rulers appeared to be sleepy and reluctant on this subject. It may be due to the very reason that they themselves were involved in it. Who would have belled the cat then? Let us therefore adjust with the anti-corruption drive that is the only way out for the common man. We can become a nation free of corruption if the problems of poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition are addressed. There should be stringent laws in the country so that people are discouraged in taking recourse to means that are not correct. People invent new methods of cheating the government and the public. To prevent this, strong laws that have no loopholes should be enacted. At the time of elections, big industrialists fund politicians to meet high costs of election and later on seek personal favors. This is also a prime example of corruption. Similarly, slum dwellers steal electricity from the overhead electricity poles and the government and the public money gets wasted. These things can be averted provided there is a strong and proactive administration. Eradicating corruption completely will take time but nevertheless corruption can be removed. There should be zero tolerance towards people who are corrupt. And then people will hesitate to do things that are not in the interests of the country. Since human beings are made differently there will always be a mix of good human beings and bad human beings. At times good people will be more and at times the bad people will be more. The effort of any society has to be to maximize the number of good people and reduce to the minimum the number of bad people. For this the government has to make strict laws so that the corrupt cannot escape. The criminal justice system of our country is lethargic and inefficient. It has to be made quick and efficient. The departmental superiors have to ensure that their subordinates do not indulge in corruption and if they do, they are dealt with promptly and adequately. Sadly, there has been erosion of value system. This has to be rectified.