Passively corrupt...

"Welcome to India"...this is what Karan tells Su while DJ offers bribe to a police official.A shot from one of the more popular movies to hit the screens in india recently,Rang De Basanti.While the crowd in the theatre bursts into laughter after hearing this, I am sure each one of us knows deep within that what we see is a stark reality.
Something similar happened while we were on a trip to Agra the last weekend.We had to bribe a policeman, all the time knowing that we were not in the fault at all.And this scene from the flick came to my mind as I offered the much-expected bribe to the policeman.
While we criticise the venality of our system, each one of us is making it more corrupt by being silent victims,if not being the active role players.
When it comes to us,we tend to choose the easier way out,which is to serve the official what he wants, and get over with the whole rigmarole,even if we aren't exactly culpable.
Read in the newspapers today that Delhi police accepts around 550 crores as bribe per year for allowing illegal shopkeepers and static hawkers to put their stalls,and other similar stuff.Quite an astounding figure.But I have made my contribution to this in a way.