- I Paid A Bribe
- 14 years ago
- 2173 views
Bribe paid to a Gurudwara Temple!
- Religious Trusts
- Temple
- Paid INR 10,000
I live in the UK but got married in a gurudwara in Jalandhar, Punjab a couple of years back. In order to get my wife back to the UK and have her application go through at the visa office I needed the certificate from the gurudwara. On the day of the marriage they told us to come collect it two days later. They were an absolute pain in the backside and made one excuse or another. They actually threatened us when they said it could take another month! It was sickening..... These people who are meant to be men of God were an absolute joke! Anyway we paid the bribe and it was done within 30 mins. It put a very sour taste in my mouth about India and it's religion system there....
It did not stop there though! When we went to have the marriage registered at the local court system they wanted us to wait a month too! Even though we had prebooked to be there to have it done on the day. They knew I had to be back in England within two weeks. Anyway.... They were asking for something in the region of 25000 and I point blank refused and they judge literally threw my papers at me on the desk. Lucky for me our family there had connections and a call was made to a very high ranking official within the government within 10 minutes of me leaving there. The call was made to the head of the Jalandhar City court and I can happily say our papers were ready within 45 minutes. I remember going back to the judge to collect them and he did not once look me in the eye. I smiled at him and asked him if he had change for a 500 rupee note so that I could buy him a cup of tea.
I will say that I have not been back to India since and I am in no hurry to return because every single time I have been I have been forced to pay bribes everywhere starting at ********** Ghandi international airport! It is so sick in that place that what they do is let you go through a green light at customs and then have someone wait outside to say if you don't pay them the police will call you back and go through all of your bags charging you a lot of money. The customs official is usually standing a few feet behind watching his friend take the money who then goes back into the airport to share they new found money. Honestly these officials in India are a sick and evil bunch of men. I have even been told that they officers actually pay to have a job with the police etc just so that they know they will make many times more in bribes.
India you are a beautiful country but your people tarnish your face.