India, the land of 121 crore inhabitants, is witnessing a new dawn of moral awakening in the wake of countrywide agitation against corruption. It is welcome that the Prime Minister has agreed to a debate in the Parliament on the proposed Lokpal Bill.
After much well-meaning enthusiasm on the public front and sound and fury also, it is slowly dawning upon level-headed opinion makers that a mere Act, however draconian it may be, would not cure the chronic disease of corruption.
It is not only financial corruption under which the country is crushed. There is a greater need to address the moral and ethical corruption we are suffering from. There is a bit of such corruption in every one of us. This is because of, you can argue, the long spell of corruption-ridden national life, and also owning to inherent human weakness in every person. Only God-consciousness and piety can cure this, plus a firm conviction that Allah is watching upon us always and we are His responsible slaves, therefore answerable to Him for every action of ours. Thus all pervasive sense of responsibility is basically what India requires.
Further, corruption in its various forms in the corporate sector, NGOs, media, judiciary and in lawyers, doctors and other professionals also should be addressed. A nationwide moral, social and no-holds-barred campaign is needed for this – a comprehensive jihad to get rid of this multi-headed monster.
The national debate on corruption has also brought home the thinking that communalism, marginalisation of certain communities and sections, discrimination and resort to undemocratic means are also great dangers which are doing utmost harm to the country.
The Muslims, who are one-sixth of the nation, have stressed the point, and it has been taken note of, that they, who have been on the receiving end for decades, would extend their support to every good cause, provided that communalists are kept from national campaigns.
At the same time there is a need that the Muslims become conscious of their status as Khair-e-Ummat (the ideal community) and act more aggressively to support every good cause and fight every evil.
Let us hope and pray that the month of Ramadhan, the month of moral rearmament, gives us enough strength and courage to rededicate ourselves to the cause of achieving freedom from corruption, both moral and material, for us and for the whole nation.