No Society is Corruption-Free Society

Lemwang Chuhwanglim

In a religious institution, corruption remains invisible or concealed when a political leader brings huge amount of corrupted money in the form of tithes and offering for it can be baptized into a sanctified blessing. However, preaching on sin and righteousness continues in every worship hour that no one denounces it believing that it is the house of the Lord. In political term it is corruption and corruption-free. Such practice encourages lay people to feel that “Money can even buy God”. Now, if such is the phenomenon, corruption is equally promulgated by religious institution and political field, and inevitably remains invincible that no society ascertains any eminent corruption-free in the planet earth.  

A politically capable son campaigns for his supported political candidate. His entire family voted for the political leader and elected as the cabinet minister. The mother said “ami laga bacha para taike vote dibo kowa para vote dise. Election din te itu minister pera ami ke ene ga koi se “Aunty, apeni mon chinta nekori bi dey, ape ni laga bacha ke ami LDA job pass howa logot logot te dibo”, hoili bi aji tak tai laga LDA job ami laga bacha ke diya nai”. The mother waits for the promised LDA jobs for her son until today and the next election is knocking at the door. Had he not given such promise, she would not wait for her son to get LDA job from the candidate. The preceding real stories instigate to relook and rethink rigorously to identify the root cause of high corruption. Is it the mother who expects the LDA job for her son or the political leader who promised to give LDA job or is it the son who works to elect the candidate expecting the LDA job? And can any political party assure to bring corruption-free society?  

Any political party in Nagaland that claims or promises of corruption-free society is embedded in the realities mentioned above, who claim something that people would not believe anymore. Corruption is an inherent social phenomenon that exists from generation to generation. Every society and community begins in association with corruption; it is embedded in the formation of community as it is formed by human being who is born with corruption. Corruption is a battle; it is an inborn as a child fights against the surrounded womb to come out from it. Hence, corruption is predominantly a mode of ideology which remains contagious wherever human mind flows.  

Corruption is in fact an ingredient for the growth of good society. In business, profit itself is corruption for there are numerous hidden strategies throughout the process those consumers cannot see them. Religious institution is corruption for it often seeks money gracefully for something or the other things. School institution is corruption; advertising as the best school to attract more enrolments moves toward seeking profit. Corruption is at home, office, school, institution, religious institution, highway, footpath, market, hospital, meeting place and elsewhere. However, it emerges as problem for human beings when its emission reaches beyond tolerance. Such as the rich becomes richer every morning and the poor becomes poorer every second. This happens implicitly in the Naga society today where corruption has gone beyond control and remains a mockery for any political party to assure corruption-free society. It has become everyday fatal disease that people neither can abrogate it nor can heal it. Therefore, any political party that promises corruption-free society instead reveals higher corruption.  

This disease cannot be prevented by any individual human being but it can either be prevented or healed by the community in large. There can be no society without corruption but corruption beyond control is a disease. The Naga community can make an effort to relegate the amount of corruption to tolerable corruption or accept the intolerable corruption to determine its destiny by time and space.