We listen, read and discuss daily about this one word more than any other word. In fact this has become a norm for us to talk about this word. From morning tea to dinner, somewhere in the world this word always remains under discussion.
We listen, read and discuss daily about this one word more than any other word. In fact this has become a norm for us to talk about this word. From morning tea to dinner, somewhere in the world this word always remains under discussion. But what Corruption exactly is? Transparency International defines corruption as:
“Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority.”
So, we always consider ourselves as sacred cows and try to put blames on others. We always keep our fingers pointed at someone else so that we can get ourselves spared and hide our wrong doings. We are like a pigeon that closes his eyes on seeing the cat. But my questions here are
- Are only Zardari, Nawaz Shareef, Imran Khan, Fazal Ur Rehman, Kayani and Altaf Husain corrupt?
- Is only civil and military bureaucracy corrupt?
- Are only public and private sector officials corrupt?
It can be in the form of either cheating in exams or bunking class. It can be in the form of dating your girlfriend or boyfriend without letting your parents know or cheating with your girlfriend or boyfriend. A professional ditching his / her boss and organization in any way or a boss not doing his / her role properly can also count as corruption. An individual violating the traffic laws or offering bribe to any person for illegal work is corruption too. It can be either in the form when a wife who pushes her husband to fulfill her shopping desires despite the fact that she knows it can’t be done in his current salary and he will have to use negative means to do that or parents telling his / her child to lie for them as and when needed. It can be in the form of either avoiding taxes or stealing electricity. Teasing others or disseminating wrong information through cell phones or internet also count as corruption. There are hundreds of other examples too.
So let’s put the facts straight, most of us are involved in any sort of moral and financial corruption but we are in state of denial. We term our corruption as mistake and others mistake as corruption. It has been said by some wise man that “Charity begins at home”, so if we want to set things right then we have to start it from ourselves. We have to make ourselves accountable first before making others accountable and only then we will be able to get rid of this ulcer from ourselves and society.
May Allah (SWT) shower countless blessings on us.