Corruption and Extortion

These are words which are not to be taken lightly, as they affect our lives in so many ways. The former occupies a large portion of our current public debate and concern. These words however do not carry the same meaning to everyone. Let me start with the word Corruption. It is a loosely defined word and used in different contexts. I wish to borrow from Wikipedia which begins to explain Corruption in the following manner:

 “In philosophical, theological, or moral discussions, corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. In economy, corruption is payment for services or material which the recipient is not due, under law. This may be called bribery, kickback…”

The ongoing public debate and concern is focused on the latter part of this definition, relating to economic corruption. When there is an exchange of favours between parties, not sanctioned by law, there is a case of Bribe or Corruption. However, in a large number of instances, citizens are not seeking favours from Government agencies, but trying to avail what truly is their right as a citizen. When the monopoly of discretionary power and denial of rights through delaying tactics, is used to force people to part with their resources or wealth, perhaps it is an error to call such a transaction as a Bribe. A more plain and accurate way of calling such a transaction under duress is “Extortion Money”. The new class of highway robbers may not threaten to take your life for what is truly yours, but they surely do threaten to take away a part of your lifetime, through delays and harassments, for getting their pound of flesh (money). Such money given under duress or extortion cannot surely be equated with Corruption.  However, the general use of the word Corruption to even cases of Extortion, has had a profound impact on our ability to respond to all prevailing extortion. Rather than filling the victims of extortion with rage, it fills the victims with a sense of guilt as though involved in a corrupt transaction. It shames us for no reason and incapacitates our ability to respond to extortion in an effective manner.

Moreover, by calling an act of extortion as corruption, we are sanctifying the extortionist by reducing and transferring part of the guilt to the victim of extortion. Let us not sanctify Extortion by calling it Corruption. There is the element of violence in Extortion.  Let us raise our voice and call for help.

There is a case for us to use this vocabulary with greater care. An attempt to summarise these words is presented here:

1.       Giving under duress, in violation of personal rights, is Extortion. It is a Win-Loss transaction, where the Extortionist benefits and the victim, the giver suffers and loses. Most of common citizens encounter these situations.

2.       Giving for mutual benefit, a bribe, in violation of laws, is Corruption. It is a Win-Win- Loss transaction where both the Giver and the Taker benefit and the larger society losses. Very few citizens engage in such transactions. However, the majority of citizens suffer indirect losses on account of such transactions.

Words carry meaning and movements at times. When they carry the burden of movements, they should be chosen and used with care. There is a need to create space for discussion on “Freedom from Extortion” as much as “Freedom from Corruption”.  Corruption affects very few people directly and therefore does not draw sustained action from common people. Extortion hopefully will, by calling it so. 

CSR to BSR

Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) to Bus Shelters Responsibility (BSR), wonder what's the remote connection between the two ? Read on !

Let me begin with CSR. Its hard to find a common ground for defining CSR and there  are different shades in which it is interpreted and perceived. This challenge  is also evident from the ongoing debate on whether CSR contributions should be made mandatory under the Company Law. Given the width of activity and views on this subject, here is a broad sweep with all its limitations, on some broad approaches to CSR that one might notice out there. Sometimes, the boundaries between these approaches may be blurred as  one might see all of them present in some unique proportion for each company. A question that could arise, is about what is the most desirable proportion or component of CSR ?

Approach 1: In many cases, CSR takes a fairly simple route of  cutting a cheque for a cause that the company would want to support. Call it Charity! Quite often there may also be an appraisal process of varying rigor, before cutting this cheque. It many cases, it also provides an opportunity for the company to gain visibility with specific stakeholders or the public in general. It is also seen as a brand building opportunity by some, and if the results are close to target, then this charity generates great value for money(paisa vasool!). In this kind of traditional and almost cookie (cheque) cutter approach, it  is often  a small group of people in the company who can decide on where and how to make the CSR spend, and it tends to be a fairly simple and manageable process for them.

Approach 2: In the knowledge economy, engagement with the employees is a mantra applied in various corporate functions and this extends to CSR too. Increasingly, employee engagement in designing and execution of CSR is the approach taken in the Information Technology industry and to some extent in the Financial Services industry too. The company and employee engagement takes several forms, like allowing employees to spend certain number of work hours on social causes, companies making matching financial contributions to the causes for which each employee may have donated etc. Overall, this is a much more participative approach, often supporting multiple causes and may look a tad complex in the way it operates and to manage.

Approach 3: Socially Responsible functioning of the business with all its stakeholders and through the product life cycle, should be the most desirable form of CSR. This requires deep reflection, internalisation and action, and we perhaps find not many on this track. This approach can hardly be called charity. Its demands clarity and conscience at every stage. This is almost a kind of an enlightened approach. It is also a truly bottom up approach, where the voice from the bottom is all about transparent measurement and sharing of impact, of all corporate actions, on not just people who can speak but also the silent environment. It takes participation and accountability to a different level compared to the previous two approaches and should be the hallmark of any CSR program.

Now let me connect you with BSR. I wish to draw our attention to one area of corporate function, Advertising. In a competitive market, efforts by companies to make themselves stand out and be more visible is undestandable, but they should be taking care that these efforts do not hide or obscure information that is needed by the public.  Today they have several channels from print, to outdoors, to TV, to Mobile phone, to the Internet, to make their presence felt. But do the companies have to encroach upon bus shelters? The visual clutter created by them at the bus shelters drowns out information needed by travelers. In some cases, they leave you with an impression as if these shelters are some kind of kiosks or offices of the advertising companies rather than boarding and alighting points on a journey.

Why do we need to give this a thought?  Improving public transport is the key to get more people to use it and thereby reduce dependence on personal motor vehicles and reduction in pollution. Public transport usage will increase if it is user-friendly. One of the elements of user-friendliness is about clean and informative bus shelters. A lot of us, even residents of a particular city like Hyderabad, would find it difficult to figure out where to board a bus and which bus to board. And if we do get into one, we would have to be on our toes enquiring our co-passengers in different languages, to figure out where our bus has reached and at which bus stop to get down. The bus shelters offer no clue. Let me narrate to you one of my recent journeys. In my own small way to reduce my carbon footprint, coupled with my  very limited financial means having chosen the path of unemployment, I often take the city buses on long routes when I am not bicycling on shorter routes. On last Sunday, after coordinating a Waste Donation camp at Invesco office at Gachibowli, I took a shared auto to Madhapur-Hightech City, to catch a late lunch at Nandini Cafe. I have found it to be a place that offers a good south Indian menu, affordable and clean too. After lunch, I stepped out to catch a bus to Ameerpet, at the bus stop that is just adjacent to this Cafe. As I waited a few minutes for the bus, I couldn't ignore the gross advertising appetite of Companies and public service providers, at the expense of providing basic information for people using the Public Buses run by RTC. Take a look at these picture to understand what I mean.

Picture 1: HightechCity-Madhapur BusShelter near Nandini Cafe, 10-Jul-11

If you were new to the city, you would not get a clue from the bus shelter as to which part of the city you are in, and worse still, as to which buses you could take to reach different destinations. I imagined how nice it would be for ordinary travelers if the Bus Shelter looked something close to this edited image(Picture 2) or even better like a sample from Delhi (Picture 3).

Picture 2: HightechCity-Madhapur BusShelter Reimagined 

Picture 3: A BusShelter in Delhi 

My wait didn't last long and I shortly boarded bus number 10, which goes to Secunderabad via Yousufguda and Ameerpet. I decided to shoot some more pictures of bus shelters during the bus journey, using my mobile phone, and you can see how a couple of them look:

Picture 4: One of the Yousufguda area BusShelters, 10-Jul-11

 

Picture 5: BusShelter opposite LalBungalow-Ameerpet, 10Jul11

(my last stop, captured later in the evening)

What are some common points you will notice in all these BusShelters? In most of them, there is no mention of the name of Location, Bus numbers or Routes that they will take. They have simply become real estate for companies and the municipal corporation, for generating advertising revenues, overriding the need to provide clear information to the public. I think the companies can spare at least this space for the common man. The concerned public institutions should think of raising revenues through increased usage of public transport rather than only through advertising revenues. Public usage will certainly increase if  travel by public transport can be made a pleasure rather than an exercise in staying on the edge as we travel. What could we do to address this situation? Here are some thoughts that I have put down. It leaves out for now what we could do the inside of the buses, to make the journey even better. You are welcome to suggest more to this list:

1. Advocate to these companies to avoid encroaching into public spaces like bus shelters.  Even if there is a case for them to advertise, ask them to do it in a manner that does not obscure information that is needed for the common travelers.
2. Approach industry regulators and self-regulatory bodies, to advise their members to be more sensitive in their media plans, by ensuring that their messages do not obliterate or encroach upon information spaces meant for the public.
3. Work with the concerned government body through citizen groups, to improve BusShelter design and display of location and bus information at these shelters and to spare the space for this information. Do have a look at this link to read some recent news regarding bus shelter maintenance at Hyderabad:

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-17/hyderabad/29669339_1_bus-shelters-allotment-ghmc

I would like to welcome those of you who wish to join hands in this effort, so that we can all fall in love with public transport, reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to the health of the planet and people. The short walks from and to the bus shelters can also be a healthy exercise for most of us.

Giving time

Its been 2 years since I began the work with YouSee( http://www.yousee.in/ ), creating an organisation that encourages to give for results after the charitable work has been completed.  We call it PostPay Philanthropy(PPP). The words philanthropy, giving, charity etc. evoke a range of emotions and views, bordering from adulation to contempt.  Whatever may be the case, this was a thought that struck me a few days ago - "Charity is something we all do. Whether we know it or not, whether we want to do it or not, it is inevitable. When we depart, we leave everything behind for others. It is a question of whether we want to exercise our choice in doing it,  for what cause to do it, how to do it, for whom to do it and when to do it ?"