A Predestine Episode

She seemed incapable of achieving something like that, small, timid and barely managing with what she had in her hand, Anita fumbled with the paperwork. The long form was like a nightmare to her, inquiring about her past records, her family and each and every detail of her life. She was putting up with it because she got the best job in the world. Her parents always told her to go for a conventional Government job because  it had security and though she never really agreed with them, here she was, filling out a form for a Government job. Given the loan her parents took for their new apartment, this job was very crucial for Anita.

The ride back home was filled with excitement for her. Anita decided against using the telephone to inform her parents. She purchased some sweets from the nearby bakery and jumped two steps at a time to reach her new apartment on the second floor. She hit the button of the bell and her mother answered it instantly as if waiting near the door for her daughter. Pushing a sweet into her mother’s mouth, she announced, “Guess who is heading the department of English in LSRC, a week from now?” Her beaming parents hugged her and cried. They were ecstatic.

Those 7 days seemed like 7 years to Anita who couldn’t stop thinking of her new job, her new stature as the head of the department and also the kind of financial security her family now had given their endless struggle was nothing short of a victory.

The anticipated day arrived, a crisp cotton salwar kameez was adorned, a red mark on Anita’s forehead confirmed that she was all ready for her new job. The gate of the college flew open and she entered the office for her first day at work. The office staff had a quizzical look on their face at the head of the English Department had already joined a couple of days ago. Anita was aghast. She showed them the papers and did not budge. She asked them to call the higher authority.

A rather smug looking man with a protruding belly came to answer her query. He said, “Madam, that job went to the area tax collector’s daughter. I know it must be heart breaking for you but the system has some rules. We can’t act against them. I am really sorry.” Tears welling up in Anita’s eyes, she ran through the corridor and passed the college gate in a blur. She only stopped when she couldn’t run any longer. She fell down on the ground. Crying bitterly, she saw the world fall apart. What was she going to tell her parents? What was she going to do now given that she left her last job a week back?

She didn’t go home until it was too dark. Surprisingly the society in which she lived in was flooding with light as she stopped near the gate horror struck.  Her home was a pile of debris. There were numerous rescue people pulling out residents of the building who were there inside their house when it collapsed. People were cursing the Government officials for using poor quality material for the construction.

Anita ran towards the debris to find her parents. Luckily her parents weren’t home when the mishap happened. They hugged their daughter and together they watched the ruins of their dream home being laden on the truck. Anita wanted to tell her parents that she lost her job. But the grief of a lost job was nothing as compared to the fall of the EMI dependent house which no longer existed.

Corruption is rising at an alarming rate all around the world. It hits us badly, from getting that job in the company to that land which was to be allotted to the deserving candidate; everything is decided by bribery, power and politics. India rose against corruption under the leadership of Anna Hazare, but soon that lost momentum too.

In the past, countries agreed to cooperate with one another in every aspect of the fight against corruption, including prevention, investigation, and the prosecution of offenders. Countries are bound by the Convention to render specific forms of mutual legal assistance in gathering and transferring evidence for use in court, to extradite offenders. Countries are also required to undertake measures which will support the tracing, freezing, seizure and confiscation of the proceeds of corruption.

But is it helping?