Corruption, Human Rights and Developments

The problem of corruption is rampant in many Asian countries. It seriously affects all aspects ofpeople's lives, as almost nothing can be done without giving bribes. It has become India's biggest challenge today. There are multiple scams breaking in the media every morning. And if we scan regional media, we will find many more surfacing in the states. There are three huge scams in India currently under investigation- the Common Wealth Games, Adarsh Housing Society and 2G spectrum. All of them involve gross misdemeanours of the highest order, sanctioned by ministers and babus. Systematic corruption is clearly getting out of hand. The sheer scale and size of the problem is going to make the India story unviable. The Commonwealth Games, held in India early-October, was marred by charges of corruption, with the Central Vigilance Commission forming a ‘special cell’ comprising senior officials to look into complaints of corruption in Commonwealth Games projects. It is an indication that the country continues to be perceived as more corrupt as in the past. This perception seems to have increased primarily due to alleged corrupt practices as evident during the recently held Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the Corruption Perception Index report for 2010 states. All data is as of September. Against the backdrop of alleged irregularities in the recently held Commonwealth Games, India's perceived corruption levels have gone up, with a corresponding worsening of its world ranking. According to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2010, India this year ranks 87 among 178 countries, down three spots from 84 in 2009. According to the 2010 Corruption Perception Index, Somalia is considered the world's most corrupt country with a score of 1.1, followed by Myanmar and Afghanistan; Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are perceived to be the least corrupt with scores of 9.3. China is in 78th position, indicating it is less corrupt than India. Pakistan is shown as just a notch worse off than India. The US ranks fairly high at 22nd and is perceived to have relatively low levels of corruption. In Asia, Bhutan is perceived to be the least corrupt country.

This article highlights the problem of corruption in India. It also reveals that there is a need to analyze its potential implications for human rights. The present study is based on secondary data. The data were collectedfrom various reference books, journals, newspapers, published and unpublished reports, internet, etc. In India, corruption attacks the fundamental values of human dignity and political equality of the people and hence there is a pressing need to formulate a fundamental human right to corruption-free service. There are numerous connections between corruption discourse and human rights discourse. There is urgent need for all right minded citizens everywhere to join hands for ensuring eradication of the seemingly uncontrollable monster of corruption.