Corruption is one of the greatest obstacle to economic and social development. It undermines development by distorting the rule of law and weakening the institutional foundation on which economic growth depends. It is the greatest hurdle in eliminating the poverty and ignorance. But the apathy of 'the educated or well do to do people' of our country and Muslim Ummah is amazing. Rich are poor in attitudes of a true momin and they are ignorant about Huqooq Allah and Huqooqul Ibad (Rights and Obligations prescribed by the Holy Prophet). 

Muslim Ummah as a whole has forgotten the emphasis laid on honesty, kindness, justice and acquisition of knowledge and saying of the Holy Prophet that the ink of the pen of the scholar is as sacred as the 
blood of a martyr.

It is wrong to believe that the corruption is due only to the attitude of civil servants or those in public administration and law enforcement. It is the greed in almost every segment of the population which causes corruption. From milkman to flour mills owners and different traders indulge in food adulteration. Hoarding and profiteering is rampant. Manufacture of fake medicines and different brands of products is quite common. The meters of taxis are rigged. Bus conductors of public transport do not issue ticket to the commuters and thus cheat the owners. 

It is said that it is very difficult to pass driving test or even to register First Information Report with police for theft etc without paying bribe.

Bribe is usually gien to lower or middle level to escape penalty or punishment for some misdemeanor. At higher level it may be given for the sake of obtaining some licence or to speed up processing of application. But there are many good people who regard bribe as a 
great sin and do the work honestly. Similarly the honest people who can face the risk of running from pillar to post to get the job done would succeed in getting the job done if they remain steadfast in pursuing the matter according to their rights.

Corruption sabotages policies and programs that aim to reduce poverty, so attacking corruption is critical to the achievement of the mission of poverty reduction. It is believed that an effective anticorruption strategy builds on seven key elements:

1. Increasing Political Accountability
2. Strengthening Civil Society Participation 
3. Creating a Competitive Private Sector
4. Institutional Restraints on Power 
5. Improving Public Sector Management
6. Encouraging consumer protection initiatives
7. Speedy legislation to modify punishments for corruption
   according to Sharia which may be from flogging to amputation
   of hand or finger just like those for  professional thieves. 

To reduce the corrosive impact of corruption in a sustainable way, it is important to go beyond the symptoms to tackle the causes of corruption. 

Since 1996, the World Bank has supported more than 600 anticorruption programs and governance initiatives developed by its member countries. What they have done in Pakistan is not known. But let us remember that what Edmund Burk said about corrupt people: ""Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist." Is it not true?  Have we not become economic slaves?

Shah Nawaz Khan, A. C .I .I.  (Associate of Chartered Insurance Institute, London retired as General Manager and Executive Director of State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan after 30 years service and now publishes electronic newsletter and writes for them. His articles on variety of subjects appear on Internet at http://www.netvert.biz/shah
 

According to Transparency International India has been the second most corrupt nation in the world with Indonesia in the First position.

 

In this article, Sumantra Bose, Ralf Dahrendorf fellow and lecturer in comparative politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, tries to unravel the reasons why corrupt practice appears to be routinised and widespread in India, especially when compared to the West.

http://www.fathom.com/feature/122361/

From everyday experience, Indians know that acquiring a job, a place in medical or engineering school, or even a telephone, gas or electricity connection frequently entails a bribe to someone on the 'food chain'--the municipal councillor, the local political leader or legislator (or his agent), or some other official with the capacity to deliver opportunities and 
services. Corruption is endemic in all levels and spheres of public life, and has become deeply embedded in Indian society and the way it functions on an everyday basis...

If graft is the norm in India's public culture, effective investigation of offenders leading to penalties is an exception. Agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's FBI, have launched a number of high-profile investigations in recent years, and the higher organs of the judiciary (the country's Supreme Court as well as the province's High Courts) regularly issue rulings and directives designed to curb corruption in the public domain. Yet the problem is so pervasive and so routinized that a general climate of impunity still prevails. Investigations tend to be costly, laborious and lengthy, with no guarantee of success in many cases
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