Analysis On Corruption

From January we are in Q.
1.It took nearly 26 days to get the Death Cert.
2. It took 70 days to get Legal Heirship cert.
3.It took nearly 5 months to receive patta of the house changed in the names of myself and my children
4. We are still in Q to get building plan approval.
Pandemic situation has added fuel to fire.Intermittent bandhs have caused further delays.
People and authors have expressed various views.
It is very often argued thus.
Analysis on corruption in India does not address its cultural aspect. We see nothing peculiar about corruption in India (except that it is everywhere). We see many corrupt individuals in a system unable to correct itself.
Our media reports corruption episodically. One independent incident of greed follows another.

Let us set all that aside and look at it differently. No race can be congenitally corrupt. But can a race be corrupted by its culture? To know why Indians are corrupt let’s look elsewhere. What patterns and practices distinguish us?

First: Religion is transactional in India.

We give God cash and anticipate an out-of-turn reward.

In the world outside the temple walls, such a transaction has a name: “bribe”.

In India God accepts cash from us, not good work, for which there is no reward.

Why does the wealthy Indian give not cash to temples, but gold crowns to ensure his gift isn’t squandered on feeding the poor. Our pay-off is for God. It’s wasted if it goes to man. See what this has produced!

According to the temple’s website, Tirupati got 3,200kg silver and 2.4kg of diamonds in just one year.Those who gifted a kilo of gold, worth over Rs. 21 lakh, got “VIP darshan” (which means cutting the queue) of the idol.

In 2007, Vellore’s Sripuram temple was built with 1,500kg of gold. By weight alone it is worth Rs. 325 crore.

In June 2004, Business Standard reported that Tirupati couldn’t melt down 8,000kg of gifted gold ornaments because devotees had stuck precious stones to their gift. This 8 tonnes of metal, worth Rs. 1,680 crore but actually useless, was gathering dust in temple vaults.


What will they do with all this metal? Gold-plate the walls of the temple (lending new meaning to the phrase “India Shining”). This work was halted by the Andhra Pradesh high court in December. Not because it was wasteful—such things aren’t vulgar to Indians—but because it might have damaged wall inscriptions.

When God accepts money in return for his favours, what is wrong with my doing the same thing? Nothing. That is why Indians are so easily corruptible. Our culture accommodates such transactions morally. This is key. There is no real stigma. The demonstrably corrupt Indian leader can harbour hope of a comeback, unthinkable in the West.
Our moral ambiguity towards corruption is also visible in our history.
Books on Indian history tell us of the capture of cities and kingdoms after guards were paid off to open gates, and commanders paid off to surrender.
This is unique to India. We read of battles won after battalions evaporated.

In India fighting wasn’t needed, bribing was usually enough to see off our armies.

The invader willing to spend a bit of cash always brushed aside India’s kings, no matter how many tens of thousands peopled their infantry.

Little battle was given at the “Battle” of Plassey. Clive paid off Mir Jaffar and all of Bengal folded to an army of 3,000.

There was always a financial solution to taking our forts.
This is the way arguments are placed forth.

But my knowledge also indicates that the gold and wealth collected through donations in Thirupathi Devastanam is used in forming educational institutions including Medical and Engineering colleges as also charitable Medical Trusts. Only a small part thereof is used in gold-plating and decorating walls and temple premises. Thirumala city is also a self-sustaining township built on Thirumala Hills, whose entire administrative and municipal machinery is entirely managed and funded by the Devasthana Trust.
Even Shirdi Shri Sai Sansthan collects substantial donations including huge quantity of gold, but its allocation is also for charitable and good causes, after taking care of the temple expenses.
Though some corrupt and sinning business honchos might be liberally contributing to the treasures, it may only be an insignificant percentage. Most of the donors are well-meaning true devotees. Now that the country and its population have prospered so much, having such liberal and genuine big donors is not surprising. In any case, the atmosphere, ambience in the temple and devotion to the deity certainly cleanses an individual to a large extent.
If we call donating gold or big money as a display of affluence, but how will we discount submissive gesture of donating hair to Lord Balaji, even by many rich and poor handsome youths and beautiful ladies.
Incidentally, the Devasthan also gets good revenue by auctioning the devotees’ hair, instead of throwing them as garbage so that the money so obtained is put to productive use. Auction of coconuts and other “samagari” are other major revenue sources.
Offering to God in prayer should not be compared with
speed money of corruptive transaction. Generally offerings
to God are without any expectations--though
at times they are associated with certain wish fulfillment.
Mostly it is a way of thanking God.
Anyway at least Thirupathi Devastanam has put the money
into good use in improving environment, giving free food
and building up educational institutions
-may be medical care also. The same cannot be said about
corrupt money -which goes into conspicuous consumption
and promoting black economy.


All persons offering something to temples by way of gratitude
cannot be deemed to be undeserving. Even people working
hard make prayers that their hard work should yield the best
results they deserve and they should not face hurdles in
making the best possible attempts.

Corruption is prevalent in all the nations and the magnitude
and nature differs.

The theory that' when God himself accepts gifts ( bribes)
why can't man?'is not an acceptable one.

Only a handful offer in gold. Common people suffering from
severe illness ,physical or mental, or suffering from social
injustices have the ultimate solace in God.

It is true that huge quantums of gold lying idle in the
temple vaults should be put to proper use without
political prejudice and suitable laws should be
framed for the purpose.

God cannot be held responsible for human weakness.

Jayasala42

 

Thank you for the beautiful response.Legalizing has so many
comfort zones to many.Yesterday I was talking to a professor of Economics ,a great author.He said categorically"the only way to reduce corruption is to demonetize all currencies of the world
without offering any compensation and to nationalise all resources."
It made me introspect a lot.
jayasala 42