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Front Page >> Editorials > Story

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Arresting Corruption
Can the barrel of the gun arrest the culture of corruption that has got a vice like grip on the Government and the system of administration here, or will the boom of the gun only snuff out the lives of a few who were unlucky to be caught in the act ? Is the death sentence the best method to root out corruption or arrest the growth of these social and political ills that do nothing except cripple the society? 

We know Communist China is known to send corrupt officials and businessmen to the gallows if their guilt is proved but this has not exactly earned China any good points amongst the comity of Nations. It is a different matter that China appears to care two hoots about what the various human rights watch dogs or the international community think and say as long as they are able to deal with the menace of corruption in the manner they think is best suited in their prevailing socio-economic situation. 

But Manipur is not China and the question of awarding death sentence on officials found guilty of corrupt practices begs a rethink. The proscribed KYKL has already announced, through the press, that it would be awarding death sentence to five Government officials by December 31 and a similar sentence has been announced against Education Minister Dr Maniruddin Sheikh in absentia. 

Everyone knows that the KYKL has taken it upon themselves to fight corruption, especially in the Education Department, and while any fight against corruption is certainly welcome and should be encouraged, passing death sentence on officials found guilty of corrupt practices does not exactly answer the question whether it would help in rooting out corruption or whether it would merely result in shooting a few corrupt officials who are unfortunate to be caught in the act.

Interestingly and in an unprecedented manner the proscribed underground outfit had also sought the comments of the people and had even invited the public to air their opinion on the matter through the press adding that it would respect the comments and views of the people. Judged by the numerous appeals from various organizations not to award the death sentence on the five officials, we think it may be safe to surmise that the verdict of the people is against any form of execution. 

The Manipur People's Liberation Front, the umbrella organization of the RPF, UNLF and PREPAK has already gone on record to state that awarding death sentence would only confuse the people and explicitly added that corruption is only a symptom and not the disease. We leave it to the two parties concerned to decide what is the disease and what is the symptom but the need of the hour is for all, especially the powers that be, to seriously get down to the business of questioning why it should take an underground organization to take the radical step of announcing that it has decided to award the death sentence on the five officials and one Minister. 

Whether one agrees with the death penalty or not is a different matter but what cannot be ignored is the fact that the KYKL has managed to expose the deep rooted culture of corruption in the Education Department and this is what is deeply disturbing and yes, shameful. Apart from the question of whether the gun is the best answer to the endemic problem of corruption, we also have to ask sincerely, who is at fault, the society as a whole or the officials who have been caught in the act?

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)

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