bribing india

Bribing India

My husband and I went to Delhi several years ago on some official MCI business. We had no clue about the place or how one negotiates the mammoth building. Upon entry the signs were bewildering – every second room had a name board a designation and then in brackets either “on leave” “on deputation” or “ on suspension.”

We spoke to the all knowing lift operator. He motioned us into the elevator. For each question he wanted a “mamool.” 100 rupee notes were passé. 250 was the minimum rate. “Why do you want to negotiate in the lifts?” I asked.

“Arre “ “he said, “THEY  are so suspicious, they have fixed CC cameras everywhere else.” I did not even want to ask who the THEY were.

Finally we found a doctor who had studied in our institution.

“Perhaps he will help,” said my husband, “ at least he might tell us who to meet.”

He really was kind. He invited us to his home. On the way we stopped at a tea shop. It was the first time I saw someone having “one by two” tea. He also ate some greasy snacks. Whenever the bill amount was announced he would drop his pen or wave to someone in the distance.

Once we reached his house ( a modest flat) we met his wife.

“Did you tell them I am in the jewellery business?” said the wife.

 “I design and sell jewellery. “ She elaborated.

“Do you have a shop?” I asked.

“Oh no she said “I keep it at home. “My clients come here.”

She looked at my glass bangles. “Do you not wear jewellery?”

“Not when I travel “I said. ”Can I see what you sell?’

She looked shifty and immediately changed the subject.

“I did not know guests were coming for dinner. Let us go out.” Since she was already dressed and respellent in a silk sari and jewellery, I suspect her husband had secretly informed her that we were coming.

As we were leaving a twelve –to thirteen year old boy appeared. 

“Is he coming too?” I asked.

“Oh no, he is our domestic.”

She pushed him into a room and locked the door from the outside. “Is there ventilation in there? How old is he?” I asked.

“Oh he is from the hills. They are very sturdy people.”

I protested, “he looks like a child.”

She ignored the question and my husband pinched me. (I used to do that to my children when they misbehaved in public). I shut up.

We went to a restaurant where they ate a lot of food . Then the husband said, ”Do you mind if we pack some food? Our children are coming from college tomorrow.”

A full tandoori chicken appeared along with the bill. He rolled his eyes at the waiter  in the direction of my husband.

We spent a lot of money and achieved nothing.

Years later when the then director of MCI  was caught with disproportionate assets and our contact was caught too. Apparently he spent 3 crores on his son’s wedding ( that is what tipped off the CBI) and also had mattresses in his house stuffed with money. He also had a room FULL of jewellery and gold biscuits.

I now think he was asking me for “cash or kind (jewellery)” for information and help. My husband and I did comprehend and so did not take the hint.

He protested when he was caught. ”My wife is in the jewellery business.”

The judge didn’t listen. There were no receipts, no bills no accounts no clients, just a huge pile of jewellery and gold.

The user of child labor was arrested. I hope the boy reached home. In the melee I hope he made off with his justified wages.

why para

Why Para?

The Vyapara scam made headlines because apparently hundreds perhaps even thousands of students had cheated abd obtained admission to various professional courses. Others had been recruited for jobs for which they were not qualified or had not made it through the selection process. In the fall out everywhere you looked there seemed to be someone not quite qualified to hold the post that they occupied. An incredible 30% of the lawyers are not  qualified. 1200 teachers resigned in Bihar as the government cracked the whip and announced that false degrees would result in a prison sentence. The furor is settling somewhat and the CBI is now on the cases.

Cheating is a very old, crafty and prevalent method of getting through life. I have a friend who has never appeared for an examination without acquiring the question paper before hand. His ingenuity knew no bounds. I suspect that if he had applied the same reasoning and effort to actually studying he would have passed with flying colours. When he was in school he hired a thief, (no mean feat for someone in 6^th grade ) to break into the principal’s cupboard, steal the question paper and then return it without it being obvious that the cupboard was broken into. He was meticulous about what he did. He only studied half the questions so that he could clear the exam with 50%. He never aspired to top the class, which he could have easily done. He continued this lifestyle through his college days as well. He used a great deal of ingenuity to find out in which state the question paper had been set and by whom. Money changed hands and voila! He got his 50%.

As a medical student we regularly received questions that were rumoured to be the actual paper. Some times it was but more important 50% of the time it wasn’t. The ones whose marks were consistent were the students who did not let this influence their frantic night before cramming.

Today with the electronic age, acquiring the question paper is not that much of a priority. Fancy in ear devices are used to transmit the answers. Candidates are paid to appear for the exam and then leave the hall in half an hour with the question paper. After they reach outside the answers are transmitted to those who paid. Some are paid to “proxy” appear instead of the actual candidate.

 Marks are interchanged. A failed candidate’s marks are altered with a successful candidate. Parents who do this have very good excuses.

“I need to get my daughter married—she needs to be a graduate.”

“Anyway my son is only joining the family business”.

“Why should my son/daughter not get admission? He/She is very intelligent.”

Eventually one boy had 22 arrears of of 24. The father was very annoyed. “They are demanding rs 1000 per mark. How can I pay so much?”

Perhaps if he invested the amount in tuitions the boy might actually clear the arrears.

This is not a problem of India alone. It definitely occurs in China as well. Some of the top US universities are not above allocating seats to the perhaps intellectually unfit children of people who have “donated” millions.

What happens to theses students? If they are stay at home moms, they are incapable of guiding their children or instilling in them values of right and wrong. The “failed “ candidates become professionals like  engineers and cut corners. They either don’t have a clue , or don’t care, and there are buildings and bridges collapsing.

The cheaters are small cogs but they play a part in the machinery that eventually turns the world.