Bashir speaks for many who wonder if it is a malady which has been left untreated for so long that it is incurable now
(Mr. Bashir A. Bashir, 62, was born in Srinagar. He passed his higher secondary schooling from Baghidilawar Khan, and graduated from the Gandhi Memorial College Srinagar. Mr. Bashir completed his Law
Graduation from the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in Urdu. and received his M.A in Political Science from the University of Kashmir. He joined the Bar in 1973 and was
appointed as Additional Advocate General of the J&K in 1984 till 1986. He is a practicing advocate of J&K High Court and has been recently designated as the Senior Advocate by the Hon’ble High Court of J&K.)
We The Corrupt
Corruption has rendered us rootless and lawlessness has spoilt our society. In a democratic setup people are governed by the rule of law. Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before law and equal protection of laws irrespective of any distinction of creed, cast, color, gender, religion etc but these are only golden words written in the pious book of constitution. The reality is different.
We have an Anti-corruption Organization called Vigilance Commission which aims at eradicating corruption. Has the said Department come to the expectations of the people. The answer will be a simple no, then what for is the department. Even some people will suggest winding up the department. Some percentage of the corruption might come down. The tragedy is that most corrupt are the most vocal in public gatherings against corruption knowing it fully well that it is all ritual without any seriousness or any accountable consequences. Rates of mutton are increasing every now and then and the government fixed rates are never adhered to.
Take the instance of Food Adulteration. People are being supplied adulterated food and all kinds of eatables including fruits even. But does any body bother about the quality and safety of the items we take for ourselves and our children. Do we know what do we feed them with? Have we been able to convict even a small trader in this field not to talk of any big fish who enjoy all the patronage of the powers-that-be. Where then is the law of the land. Corruption is at such a peak that one of my clients told me he had to pay Rs.17,000/- for getting a dispatch number and date written on a government letter. Posts are apparently filled by recruitment process but behind the curtain the rule book is `pay and get it’. We have drug Controller to check the spurious drugs and the costs of the drugs but we know the drugs are spurious and sold in this state with impunity. Is any body bothered even in the least. I purchased few months before a product. The MRP written on each bottle is Rs.6030/- but one bottle was sold for Rs.2350/- and the other for Rs.2500/ and the third one for Rs.2700/. This all happened within a span of five days and all three cash memos are with me. For any innocent person MRP written of Rs.6030/could be easily charged when the actual price is much less than half of it.
That is the extent of corruption we all seeped into. The question is who will pull us back. Nothing less than a miracle. The lawlessness is at its worst and stringent measures are required to meet it. If we let it continue like this, we will be heading for a worse tomorrow.