Vigilant India, Prosperous India

 

The prosperity of a country, in my opinion, is not linked to a few people who are earning billions and adding to per capita income which itself is a very vague concept of judging the prosperity of a country. The development of a country could not be considered up to the mark unless all the citizens of the country easily meet their necessities such as food, shelter and clothes and they have equal access to all the opportunities provided by the government. The apotheosis of a prosperous country will be when its citizen feels safe and happy, they have the opportunity to groom themselves with proper education, they get better health facilities, where life expectancy is more, they get favorable social and environmental habitat and, in the end, there is substantial economic growth. A country whose governance is transparent, accountable, and responsible heads towards prosperity like a bull.

In India, most of the population is facing hurdles to meet their meagre necessities as the equal opportunity seems to be an elusive idea. The rich get more resources to lead a better life whereas the poor are struggling to get a good education, good healthcare facilities and a proper economic opportunity to meet expenses for other important aspects of their life. Even though, the governments have tried to bring various reforms in sectors of the economy, health, education etc., social security is equivalent to none. So, the question is why these facilities provided by the government never reaches to the roots of this country?

The lack of probity and integrity in administration resulting in corruption is the prime reason for this problem, however, I believe there is something else in the play. The ‘greed’! The greed of having more of resources snatches the rights of others over those resources. Mahatma Gandhi also said, “The world has enough for everyone's needs, but not everyone's greed”. A greedy person compromises his morality and ethics and becomes selfish. In the blind race of acquisition of money, social status and otherworldly pleasures, a greedy man forgets the compassion and turns away the voice of sufferers. Submerged in its selfishness, a greedy, tries to break the social fabric of the country, manipulates every financial or social activity in its favor which in result ends up in disrupted social harmony. To keep a watch on this is as necessary as to bring various social and economic reforms for creating equal opportunities. This keeping a watch is known as vigilance.

In 1964, the first Central Vigilance Commission was brought in effect through an executive resolution to keep a watch over all the bodies of the governance for lack of probity and integrity. In the year 2003, it became an act after passing the law in both houses and with the consent of the President. The governments have shown a commitment to eradicate such this menace, however, the vigilance of such big level cannot be without the cumulative efforts from all part of the society. Considering this fact, citizens of the country should also be vigilant to the things happening around them. The vigilance now a day is not limited to tackling the corruption of simple forms but it also includes various economic and socio offences such as drugs, money laundering, tax invasion, terrorism, terror financing etc. As Hon’ble Prime minister said in his oration in the opening ceremony of Vigilance Week 2020 “The corruption not only attacks on every individual citizen in various financial ways but creates a challenge to social security as well. It breaks the trust itself over the body where corruption is traversed across”. The corruption impacts on the poor, the honest faces the challenges and poor are deprived of their legitimate rights. The vigilant citizen not only ensures the curb on corruption, but it also helps people who are weak to fight the injustice caused to them because of the system. A person who is not punished for the guilty of corruption inspires others to get into the same profession. The poor vigilance system makes the corrupt people heroes to others as they enjoy the benefits of illegality without any check from the law.

Vigilant India will ensure that corruption is prevented in case it did not start to happen and the corrupts are punished and the system is restored to normalcy if the corruption has already taken place i.e. primarily a preventive vigilance and then punitive vigilance. One thing that should be taken care of is that Vigilant does not inspire the ‘vigilante’. A vigilant India is not supposed to take the law in the hand but to keep a watch and inform Government of any lack of probity and integrity of any government body as well as private bodies. If the agenda at a country level is development, we need good governance to reach there. And a vigilant citizen can contribute immensely to good governance.

With integrity, a person could serve society in fruitful ways. Moral people can server honestly to the development of this country and serving honestly is not a challenge. A less corrupt country yields in a better socio-economic environment where the poor get the same opportunity of a good life as the rich. It leads to a better quality of life with more freedom to its citizen. Terror activities are often funded by the money collected through corruption. Eradication of corruption will also enhance the security systems of the society making it safer to live and work. The Vigilance brings transparency, accountability and responsibility to the governance which ensures better participation in the polity by all parts of the society. More transparent the system will, resources will be evenly utilized. Vigilant India will ensure that India will be prosperous as it would be able to fulfil the promise of equality, fraternity, dignity to all, liberty, and justice for every citizen of this country which in turn bring happiness, better human, and economic development.