"Corruption is the manifestation of the failure of core values in the society." In your opinion, what…

Question

"Corruption is the manifestation of the failure of core values in the society." In your opinion, what measures can be adopted to uplift the core values in the society?

Ghissu Editorial · Accepted Answer

Corruption largely reflects eroded core values such as honesty and public spirit, so the remedy lies in family, value-based education, honouring honest officers, citizen refusal and systems that reward integrity. India scored 38 out of 100 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2024.

**Introduction**

India scored 38 out of 100 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2024. Laws punish the bribe, but it is offered and accepted only where honesty and public spirit have weakened, so the statement holds largely true.

**Why Corruption Reflects Failing Core Values**

1. **Greed over contentment**: Gandhi counted "wealth without work" among his Seven Social Sins; when status means consumption, illicit wealth stops carrying shame.
2. **Tolerance and incentives**: "Speed money" is seen as normal, and Klitgaard's formula, Monopoly plus Discretion minus Accountability, shows weak systems making dishonesty profitable.

SKETCH: iceberg | Corruption as a Value Failure
visible: Bribery, Paper leaks, Embezzlement
hidden: Greed, Materialism, Social tolerance, Weak conscience

**Measures to Uplift Core Values in Society**

1. **Family first**: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam held that a corruption-free nation needs the father, the mother and the teacher; children learn integrity by watching parents refuse a bribe.
2. **Value-based education**: NEP 2020 builds ethical reasoning and constitutional values into curricula, best taught through cases and community service.
3. **Honour the honest**: Publicly recognising officers like Ashok Khemka, who cancelled a questionable Haryana land mutation in 2012, makes integrity aspirational.
4. **Citizen refusal**: Janaagraha's "I Paid a Bribe" platform and the Central Vigilance Commission's Vigilance Awareness Week turn private disgust into public pressure.
5. **Systems that reward honesty**: Direct Benefit Transfer and faceless tax assessment remove the middleman, making the honest choice the easy one.

**Conclusion**

Corruption is largely a crisis of character, so the lasting cure lies in families, classrooms and public culture, not only in the Lokpal. Reinforced by systems that reward honesty, these values make clean governance self-sustaining.

"Corruption is the manifestation of the failure of core values in the society." In your opinion, what measures can be adopted to uplift the core values in the society?

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