Confidence, a weapon against corruption
Posted on May 25, 2011
Commandment 1: Be confident
Imagine this scenario: You walk confidently into a government office. You politely demand a service. If the official makes excuses, you are assertive in asking for reasons and getting replies on paper. You make sure your work is done without compromises.
Now imagine another scenario: You walk into a government office frustrated and resigned to your fate. You stand around submissively and refer to the official as `Sir’. You let yourself be talked into any excuse that he comes up with. You give in helplessly while seething silently.
Between these two scenarios which is more likely to help you in getting your work done? While Scenario Two is most likely to get your work done (or so we think) Scenario One is what will make us leave the office feeling good about ourselves, with right on our side. The first scenario is not used as much as the second, but if it were, then we would be taking on the system, not giving in to it. It would pave the way for a new process of engagement.
The first commandment that ipaidabribe promotes in resisting corruption is BE CONFIDENT. It is your right to demand services in a government office as these are services that a government must offer to its citizens as mandatories. The first step to saying NO to corruption is to be confident in your demeanour.
Ipaidabribe has received bribe reports which talk about confidence that helps fight corruption. Here are two such instances that will hopefully provide you with the encouragement and inspiration to be confident and deny the next request for a bribe.
“Being a young Chartered Accountant, I filled my father's returns for the first time and sent my father just to get the acknowledgment on a self copy. By mistake he handed over the second complete copy of the returns that were already filed. The receipt clerk hinted at us for a fine to get the returns back but I resisted and was confident that we have done nothing wrong. Later he even threatened us sayingt the case may be taken up under scrutiny but I was unafraid to appear before the tribunal even if called up. Well nothing actually happened as there is no harm in filing a copy of a return already filed. Was aware of the provisions for Income Tax and knowledge is power.” (Edited for grammatical consistency only)
"It was in the year 1977, we had constructed a new two-room house and were forced to shift into the house as we had no other place to stay, and the house had no electricity. We were my mother, three sisters and me- then a 17 year old student. My father was working in some other city. We did all that was required to get this connection, running in circles to get all the necessary papers in place, and if one has ever lived in UP one will realise how difficult it is to get even one paper through the bureaucrats, but after this too the connection was not done. Then someone told us that we would have to pay a bribe otherwise they will not connect. The reason given by the elect department was “we do not have the wire to make the connection”. That is when my mother took me along to the SDO office and took him on. I still remember what she said, "if I throw money at your face within minutes you will have the wire and connection done. I am staying alone with three girls in this house without electricity and you do not even have any shame, but i am warning you that by this evening if the connection is not done then you will see what happens to you" and that man said, "no what you are saying is wrong etc." but the fact is that by evening the connection was done and after that also they troubled us a lot but still no bribe was paid and we survived. I salute my mother who took this stand without any fear." (Edited for grammatical consistency only)