People who have paid bribes sometime or the other in their lives form a considerable chunk of Anna’s supporters outside Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
Give or take, bribe is an offence, the Bombay high court recently said. And giving or taking bribe in India is not something new. So, while the government of India and Team Anna fight over whose Lokpal would be stronger and more effective in curbing corruption in all forms, people who have paid bribes sometime or the other in their lives form a considerable chunk of Anna’s supporters outside Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
All these people, fed up with paying bribes, want Anna Hazare to succeed because next time when someone asks for a bribe they can refuse bluntly without having to worry that their job would get stuck for want of the right kind of grease.
Rupa Ray from West Bengal pays Rs50 every month to a man who owns the ration shop she frequents. “I have to pay to get my monthly entitlements,” she said. “My husband suggested that we leave our three-year-old baby with our neighbour and reach Delhi to join Anna’s supporters outside Tihar Jail.”
For thousands like Ray, bribe adds to the financial burden. “How do I run my house if I am the sole earning member and I have to pay bribes every now and then. I want to get what I am entitled to without paying any bribe. This is why Anna is so important to us.”
And there are hundreds like her in the crowd. Vishnu Sharma, a retired railway employee, wants his daughter to be a teacher. “My daughter cleared all the exams for a job in a government school,” he said.
“But the clerks want me to pay Rs10 lakh. So, I am here to support Anna Hazare and secure a bright future for my daughter.”
Santosh Singh from Delhi pays an extra “baksheesh” to the local electricity supply official to get regular power supply to his home. When he heard about the Lokpal and Anna’s fight, he saw a ray of hope. A daily wager, Singh took time off from work and reached Tihar to join the supporters.
And then there are the children, who know that someday they might have to pay a bribe. So, they too want to do their bit for Anna. Dressed like Mahatma Gandhi, 10-year-old Tushar said he had read everything on the Lokpal Bill when his father told him that he might have to pay a bribe for his college admission.
“I don’t want him to pay any bribe anymore. My father told me he was forced to pay Rs50,000 as bribe for my school admission,” he said. “If Anna has his way, all this might end.” Listening to Tushar speak makes one hopeful that Anna’s Lokpal might benefit his generation — maybe bribes would become a thing of the past.
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