Is there any compulsion to be corrupt?

On August 9, 2012, in Uncategorized, by Sanjeev Sabhlok

I get a good number of UPSC aspirants on my Facebook account who try to seek career advice from me. I tell them that I'm NOT a career adviser.

If they persist, I disconnect them. I simply don't have the time to discuss UPSC/ IAS.

However, here's a question that has some broader interest, so I'll address it, but will request the writer of the question to NEVER write to me about ANY UPSC ever again, on pain of immediately being disconnected from my account.

Question:

i'm upsc aspirtant. sir, u may find my doubts silly but plz consider & reply 2 me asap…

but i afraid to start planning thinking about wide spread corruption in system, politician-officer nexus, whistleblower's murder.

is there any way out of that. can an officer sustain in system without being bribed.

My response:

Dear Prashant

In the end whether you are corrupt or whether you come under pressure of corrupt politicians is entirely up to you. Your character is what matters. There was NOTHING under the sun that could have even remotely 'forced' me into corruption, and so while I do talk about economic incentives and systemic issues, I'm also clear that in the end each individual is responsible for his actions.

Please note that whistleblowing should not be attempted without thought. The aggrieved can react – sometimes violently. It is perhaps best to leave the system and (like me) fight it from outside at the systemic level, than to try to blow the whistle against seriously violent/corrupt politicians. The task of fixing India's mammoth problem of violent corruption is not to be dealt with lightly.

On the other hand, you should not waste time on such thoughts, since these will be irrelevant unless you get into the IAS. You will have plenty of time to think about such matters after you become a civil servant. You will be trained for two years at the Academy and will NOT manage any office of significance in that period. You will be become well trained in law and get to understand your powers fully. After that you can use your judgement to act against corruption, as appropriate. You will have an IMPORTANT role in fighting corruption.

You will be able to ask this same question in greater detail from your teachers at the Academy who will run you through numerous case studies of how corruption can be successfully fought. I taught at the Academy and such questions are common. However, it is premature for you to worry about such things.

Since this was a general topic, I've addressed it. But after this, please don't EVER write to me again about any UPSC issue (and thus show disrespect for my time). As indicated, I will immediately disconnect you if you do that.

But best of luck in your exams.

s