Fellow Netters' Kj Deka's Letter to Sentinel of today. Makes a good argument, doesn't he ? Man after my own heart :-). cm **********************************************************************
System to be Blamed for Corruption? Defined simply, corruption is the misuse of public power for private profit. I guess, the human nature all over the world is essentially the same and most human beings will rob their country blind, given half a chance. Therefore, corruption is not the name of the third world disease. The Americans do it on a grander scale but do it suavely. However, it is an undeniable fact that the average citizen encounters more petty corruption in Assam than in any State of the USA. The assumption that the problem of corruption is solely tied to the coat tails of moral character is, perhaps, not true. If it is indeed the case that the corruption is the result of character flaws of the Assamese people, then it must be widely seen even when they are removed from their native system of governance. Strangely enough, one does not find that the Assamese in the USA, for instance, are perceived to be especially corrupt. If individuals with similar backgrounds appear to act differently within two different systems, would it not be proper to examine the difference in the two systems of governance, which may provide clues to the understanding of the difference in perceived corruption in Assam and in any of the fifty States of the USA? In my view, it is the system of governance in Assam that needs to be overhauled in order to bring the degree of corruption to the minimum. But then, why would they kill the goose that lays the golden egg of patronage and kickbacks? Kamaljit Deka Sugarland, Texas _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
