Anti-corruption activists in India are becoming more and more creative and finding original – and unconventional – ways to express their discontent with the situation in the country, where several corruption cases have been uncovered this year and the government has hesitated to adopt an anti-corruption law.
Recent scandals, such as the ones involving licenses to mobile phone services and the organization of the Commonwealth Games, have shown that corruption is still a big problem in India. However, corruption seems also to be widespread at the local level, where citizens often have to pay small bribes for access to basic public services.
Despite claims that petty corruption in India is in fact generally accepted by the population, numerous anti-corruption demonstrations have shown otherwise. Some examples include complaints to public offices, letters to newspapers about corruption cases and also barricades by students to keep bureaucrats from leaving their offices. Last week, such manifestations reached an extreme point when citizens released 40 snakes in a local tax office, in protest against attempts by officials to bribe them.
These actions illustrates how Indian citizens are raising their voice against corruption, in attempt to bring change even with the limited power and resources that they have.
Read the full article “India’s vibrant anti-corruption activists” on bbc.co.uk. The picture shown above is featured in the article and is credited to Getty Images.
