Dr. Daleep Pandita
Every year Central and State Vigilance Commissions issue instru-ctions to their departments to celebrate vigilance week with full enthusiasm. This mere symbolic tokenism for such a short period has been continuing for the past several years without much sustained efforts all along the remaining year. Insurance sector is no exception to such efforts. Does this short period exercise yield the desired effects at ground zero and produce appreciable results palpable by a common man remains fact to be pondered with?
Addressing this vital issue seriously that is actively eating our work places in particular and nation at large assume utmost and urgent importance. Counting on accountable governance, people expect concrete steps, to have mass awareness against this evil that produces more importantly a deterrent effect rather than punitive results.
Prevention of corruption by creating sustained public awareness campaign is an exercise where not only Government departments and their employees get to be involved but people en mass need to play their responsible role for ending up this mission with great success. Zero tolerance policy towards corruption is the need of hour which must be fully activated immediately. Organisations need to be serious in its commitment towards implementation of anti corruption measures by regularly sensitising their employees continuously throughout the year. Commissions associated with vigilance need to be equipped with complete infrastructure and provided with well trained and proven honest manpower who are dedicated towards the cause. Stress must be laid on granting them more legal powers and adequate judicial authority rather than empowering them with vast administrative jurisdiction. Vigilance department need to be more accountable and result oriented so that people have faith and develop confidence in such institutions. At the same time, there is need to have proper check and balance on their functioning, so as not to misuse such agencies for settling personal scores and taking political vendetta.
Media in particular has tremendous responsibility to deliver anti corruption message to all classes of people. Both electronic and print sections must not only act as a watchdog over the functioning of Government departments particularly dealing with finances but also need to ensure sustained and result oriented efforts at all levels of society by creating wide spread awareness against corrupt practices those are prevalent in our day to day activities. Voluntary citizens and Non governmental organisations, who work with limited resources and strive for creating awareness against corruption must be encouraged.
Role and responsibility of a common man to create vigilance awareness for eradication of corruption menace can not be undermined. It simply needs to be activated and channelised properly with the co operation of government, particularly educational institutions and law enforcing authorities.
Before we tackle this evil, we need to understand the types and genesis of corruption for dealing it more specifically rather than generally. Normally corruption in our society is perceived to be financial fraud or economic crime. Actually corruption is much more broader term having wide ambit and different ramifications. It ranges from intellectual corruption to physical corruption, to sexual corruption, to moral corruption, to social corruption, to religious corruption, to ethnic corruption and many more, all having negative implications on our growth and development of the society. Basically corruption comes in to existence either by need or by greed and both these modes are directly related with the mindset of an individual. It is fundamentally connected with moral and ethical values those develop during the upbringing of a person, society only shapes such ethos.
Vigilance has two ways in battling against corruption. One aspect is punitive vigilance that deals with creating much needed awareness so as follow thumb rule of ” prevention is better than cure. It not only creates fear in the mind of corrupt due to horrible end results but also builds morale against unfair and illegal practices that ultimately lead to self satisfaction of a person. All actions under this exercise are aimed to create deterrent effect in the mind of a common man that creates sense of discipline and responsibility in him. This approach is purely educative, informative and propulsive in nature.
The other part of vigilance activity is punitive vigilance that provides punishment after committing the crime or acts of commission or omission. It is reformative that corrects human aberrations and serves lesson for others. Having major drawback of being misused as a tool for victimization and vindication, so in practice it is less encouraged practice of prevention for corruption.
Together with the government, we need to change our mindset, feel consciously responsible and fight for our rights by creating much needed vigilance awareness to fight against corruption menace prevalent in our society. Compromising with our moral and ethical values by succumbing to this evil for our petty gains, destroy us and our society, which we can not afford anymore.
( The author is Senior Divisional Manager with Govt. of India Insurance PSU at Srinagar )
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