They refuse to remain as silent spectators.
The incident that moved me.
That day, I was picking up mangoes from the wayside fruit vendor. A big bang forced me to come out of my mango world to the present. I turned towards the narrow road, which was a picture of chaos. People started flocking around the body of a man bathed in blood. It was very clear that the man was hit by a heavy four wheeler that already managed to escape from the scene of action.
In a few minutes, I've seen a young man, starting his scooter and rushing towards the direction, in which the vehicle that hit the man escaped. I failed to understand what the young man's intention was at that time.I joined the crowd. In the mean time, someone seems to have informed the mobile ambulance. When the ambulance arrived, four members from the crowd lifted the victim in to the ambulance.
Then I heard the sounds of the police sirens.The entire crowd turned towards the direction of the sounds of police sirens. A truck led by a police jeep stopped .And the young man, whom I have seen him rushing away from the accident spot by his scooter also reached the spot. When the police constable dragged the driver out of the truck, I could understand the entire situation. When the people thanked the police for catching the culprit driver, one of the constables said, "Don't thank us. Thank that young man. He chased the truck and alerted the patrolling police squad. It was only after his alert that we the police could intercept the escaping truck driver."
When the crowd turned to complement the young man, he was not there. Long ago, he left the place
Who is this young man?
A man in the crowd. But heads and shoulders above the crowd. They are a rare genre. Courage is his second name. They question. They question any irregularity in the society. They hold the collars of perpetrators of injustice.
And what are the others?
Majority of us are insensitive lot, who remain silent and indifferent to the exploitation and injustices happening around us. We shudder to question the perpetrators of injustice . We don't have guts to report an irregularity to the concerned authorities.
You are empowered.
For any welfare activity to be successful , its essential government and the people work as a team. That means people should utilize the rights given to them by way of many laws. These laws are meant for the common man in order to curb the atrocities and irregularities taking place from dawn to dusk in every walk of life.
Police stations alone cannot stop the incidents of thefts. People should bring it to the notice of the people who are exclusively meant to help the citizens.
Different Empowering agencies to help the citizens.
Any issue that imbalances the system can be reported to any of the following agencies. It's how a citizen can help the system in the right manner and in the right direction.
Right to information.
By specifying the department about which a citizen wants to get key information, one is entitled to get the required information from the concerned officer in charge through an application. The citizen has to ensure that the information he is seeking would help in removing the irregularities in the system.
Public Interest Litigation.
Any aspect related to the public interest, one can directly file a petition either in the High court or in the Supreme court.
Human Rights Commission.
Constitution has given the right to every citizen to live in a respectable way. And to lead a respectable life.Any violation in the human rights can be reported to Human Rights Commission, HRC.
Citizen Journalist.
Media, one of the four pillars of Democratic system offers the right platform for the citizens to report any violations in the society. This way a citizen can help in building a better society.
Lokayukta.
Irresponsibility, abuse of power,lack of accountability in the government offices can be reported to Lokayukta.
ACB, Anti Corruption bureau .
Irregularities in the state government Offices and information about a person, who possesses property not proportionate with the known sources of his or her income can be reported to ACB, Anti Corruption bureau.
Central Bureau of Investigation.
Corruption practices of the central government employees and scams can be reported to Central Bureau of Investigation.
Dial 100.
Crimes or atrocities or any other undesired activities can be reported to police by dialing 100.
Some success stories of responsible citizens.
As I said earlier,a citizen has not only rights, but also responsibilities. The most important aspect we see in a responsible person is,the trait of 'pro activity.' It means, a proactive person will take the initiative. He will not wait for the things to happen. He will make the things happen.For example, the young man who chased the truck that hit and grievously injured a pedestrian is a shining example for "ideal citizen."
While everyone was expressing their lip sympathy on the injured, the young man was busy in chasing the culprit. Because, he wanted that a culprit should not walk away unpunished . Which is why he took the initiative of chasing the culprit.We cannot see such persons everywhere in the society. They are rare.
BAKSHEESH .
It's bribery, considered as a way of life in every sphere of life. Enter an office, In almost all the offices, you will see stretched hands towards you from every seat of the staff.
This is an incident that depicts how a responsible citizen fought against the dirty custom of Baksheesh or bribe in the offices and won.
Anwar had a friend,who applied for a Bank loan to renovate his ancestral home. The loan was granted on the paper. The money is yet to come. Reasons are obvious . No dealing clerk was willing to release the paper without BAKSHEESH .Anwar, hearing this matter, accompanied his friend to the bank and pictured all the conversations through a spy cam hidden in his pocket.And the pix and videos were promptly handed over to the police commissioner of the place. Consequently threatening calls started pouring in to his friend. He approached the courts. Courts directed the administration to provide security to his friend. Ultimately
Anwar's friend had the last laugh. 36 people related with the case were suspended.
EKLA CHALO RE. Go alone.
This famous Rabindranath Tagore's song is the inspiration for an IAS officer who dared to expose the Black deeds of the son-in-law of a very top person of the ruling party. This officer had a solid proof that the son-in- law has created fake documents to encroach 4 acres of land in Haryana. He made a detailed report and sent it to the Chief Secretary of the government. Never for a moment he was scared. He is that seasoned officer who faced 43 transfer orders in a span of 20 years of his career.
Tears welled up in her eyes, seeing the plight of those orphans.
She was a teacher, leading a contented life. She's not just another teacher. She is a firm believer in the adage, "teach what you do. Do what you teach."
One day a brilliant student of her class didn't turn up. It was quite unusual of that girl student who never misses her classes. Next day and the next day after next day and for many days The girl didn't turn up. Being a devoted teacher who loves and cares for all her students, couldn't stay any longer. She went to the orphanage where the girl lives.
She was astonished to see the girl crying inconsolably the moment she has seen her teacher. The girl was surrounded by some more girls. For a long time, the girls didn't speak about what the matter was. After much persuasion and coaxing, the girls told the teacher that she was raped brutally by the warden. She was also threatened of grave consequences if she reveals the incident.
The teacher couldn't contain herself further. She employed a lawyer with her own money. She approached all the forums and revealed the nefarious activities going on in the orphanage. As usual she started getting anonymous threatening calls. But with determination the teacher proceeded further and succeeded in getting the culprits prosecuted.
Never say Die.
He was an educated poor man. He's the sole bread earner of the family. As luck would have it, an Ad has appeared in the news paper that a government owned textile mill is need of operators. He applied for the post because he had all the qualifications that the mill asked. Many days passed. Many months also passed.
Later he came to know that the operator posts were filled up. He was not convinced. He doubted foul play in the recruitment. Undeterred, he has collected all the details about the selected candidates through right to information provision. From the information he got, it was found that all the selected candidates were selected on the basis of fake caste certificates and experience certificates. Basing on these facts he fought in the courts. Courts on confirming the facts, suspended 43 officers, including half a dozen IAS officers.
Unheeded threats, uncared warnings.
His heart bled when he discovered that 35 thousand crores of rupees were embezzled in the name of different projects. Half of the cement meant for the project was swallowed by the sinister gang of greedy contractors and the government officials. The structures came out are of inferior quality. Out of them some crumbled.
These were the observations of an officer,in a particular state of India. He decided not to delay the matters further. The matter was brought in to the notice of the Chief minister . This fire like truth startled the administration . Strong efforts were made to eliminate him. He was threatened. He was subjected to immense pressure to resign. He was threatened of grave consequences. Warned. But, he never cared.
But by that time the news of embezzling Spread like wildfire in the public. The news about frantic efforts to suppress also came out. The government has witnessed a storm of public protest. The helpless government couldn't dare to proceed further.
A House wife rebels.
She was constantly pestered,harassed and subjected to pressure to sleep with the superior of her husband to gain a promotion. She tolerated for a long time. When she reached the limits of tolerance, reported to the concerned authorities. The incident created a storm in the civilized society.
The government has constituted an enquiry commission. But the evil forces framed her with the charges of forging her husband's signature and using the credit card.
Tip of the ice-berg
The above are just representative samples of different forms of corruption.There are regular happenings of irregularities in different spheres of society.
A doctor,who exposed doping in a government sports body, was driven out.
An engineer who unearthed a call racket in a private telecom services, was shown the gate.
A bank employee, who reported siphoning foreign currency from abroad was sent out.
A citizen who complained about the irregularities taking place in paying of pensions to the senior citizens was murdered.
A responsible citizen had to pay dearly with his life for exposing the nefarious activities of a Timber mafia.
An IPS officer had to lay his life for exposing Mining Mafia.
It's a never ending list. And the list goes on.
Their spirits were never dampened.
Despite the hardships on their way to expose the rotten part of the society, these Whistle blowers move ahead unperturbed and undeterred.
More and more joining in the mission, "Operation Clean. " Many IT experts, financial experts, sincere people in government offices and organizations are showing interest to wipe off the stink of corruption.
It's believed that that the most sensational 2G scam has seen the light due to an ordinary clerk.
It's also believed that the famous Coalgate scam has been exposed by the initiative of a junior level executive.
Day by day "whistle Blowers" are becoming closer and closer to the general public. They are being treated as the "boons from the blue."
It's heartening to see many of the leading government, private organizations are giving weightage to the information provided by the Whistle blowers.
If you have any kind of information that helps in cleaning the system and society, come forward and pass on the information to any of the agencies mentioned in this article and do your bit in the process of cleansing the society.
Note : All the examples mentioned in this article are real life examples Their real names were withheld for the sake safety.
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