India, the second largest concentration of human beings on earth, has successfully completed 64 years of freedom. It has a respectable place in the world for its democracy, scientific achievements, economic growth and what it has done for uplifting its citizens from depth of poverty and ignorance.
Yet we have many shortcomings. Still there is a large segment of population which has been left out of growth, denied human dignity and even basic facilities required for a dignified life.
No doubt the country is showing a continuous growth of over eight per cent for last several years but the moral degeneration, greed for money and misuse of power has condemned millions and millions of citizens to poverty, penury and deprivation.
One of the basic causes for this state of affairs is the rampant corruption in the national life from top to toe. Except a handful of moralists, who may be dubbed as moral police by some of the commercialised journalists, no one else seems to be concerned.
Corrupt methods and practices in the economic aspect of our life have become widely acceptable. The common man thinks that nothing can be done without greasing the palms of clerks, officials and police personnel. Same is a must in educational institutions and health establishments. Even judiciary is not free from this malady.
The common man had been suffering because of widespread corruption for long. Now the sufferings have crossed all limits of tolerance. In recent months several scams have been exposed in high places. Common Wealth Games scam surpassed all previous ones and Spectrum-related scandal, involving a loss of Rs. 176,000 crore to exchequer has topped all of them.
Checks and balances, streamlining of processes and other measures work no doubt, but only partially. The Lokpal and the Lokayukta can stem the rot but only to an extent. The need is to awaken the inherent goodness of man by reminding him of his status as the highest creation of God and His vicegerent on earth. Reminding him of his responsibility and inculcating in him the sense of accountability before God for all acts omission and commission.
This special issue of Radiance Viewsweekly is examining and analysing this gigantic problem which is striking at the very roots of our national life and civilized living. This is our humble contribution towards solving the problem. We hope our readers would appreciate this and do their bit to pull the nation out of this moral abyss.