Corrupt, Corruptus, Corrumpere

The Anna saga is finally over, at least for the nonce, and one can breathe a sigh a relief - relief that the government did not allow the 74 year old, apparently still pristine, avatar of Gandhi to just die, relief that the Parliament behoved themseleves creditably albeit under duress, and relief that the media demonstrated early signs of objective debate. And what was it that was achieved? One suspects, not much as most of us may realise once the fatigue of celebrations and rejoicing settles.

So, what is corruption? Understanding this, is by no means an academic exercise as it affects many. Is it a function of opportunity or value systems or both? Corruption, some credible tomes suggest, is abuse of power or resources for personal gain. And the word corrupt, literally speaking, refers to a person who is utterly broken, in more facile terms refers to moral decadence. Plato and many others of his cult believed that humans are inevitably corrupt. Evidently, Anna, the simple yet very dogged septuagenarian is yet to be introduced to the complex intellectual.

Look at it this way - is not a vast majority of us engaged in relentless pursuits for personal gain and are more often than not wont to misuse or leverage or manipulate the opportunity to suit. It does not matter if the gain is in terms of currency or for power or for anything more or for creating false perceptions or just for gaining an upperhand in a spiteful conversation.In that sense, is not Anna's revolution nothing more than a boyish dream serving to delude the bountiful yet misplaced energy of the youth brigade. 75000 people or more, they say, took a pledge with Anna, to not give or take bribes. Any which way you look at it, its insignificant or scarcely meaningful in a nation of 1.2 billion.

With the Parliament having passed the resolution, a small (giant or historic as per many) step has been taken and one is loathe to take away any credit or sense of achievement from Anna or his coterie. The Lokpal bill, with its protagonists' noble intentions, aims to address instances of corruption in government and as many institutions and individuals the wise men in Parliament will finally allow, and further hopes to curb the evil of corruption that plagues our being today. While it is true that the fear of punishment can drive mitigation of evils to a certain extent, the real significant change is yet to germinate. It is perhaps convenient, to paint the government and the politicians in one colour as human angst seeks a distant subject for its vent. The real metamorphosis will happen, when we challenge our imperfections as individuals and seek to rise to an identity one can go to the grave with, without any regret or shame.

Can Anna help the corrupt, corruptus, corrumpere?