The Bribal Shower

I got my passport reissued!

The feeling I get upon writing the above sentence is inexplicable. Why is that so? Is it that hard? I think again. Yes, it can never be described in mere words. Especially when you are a part of corrupted democracy. I don't think it would be the same feeling when you get your passport reissued in any other part of this world - developed countries, in particular. I am a blessed one in this regard!

By the way, what I didn't explicitly mention before is that I got my passport reissued without bribing the policeman despite his demands. I cannot believe that a policeman treats bribe as his birthright. When I denied paying it, I simply know how Alexander the great would have felt when everything was just under his feet.

I realised something during this episode. In India, things should not be done just right. They should be done right politically. If I were to deny the bribe straightaway - although morally correct - I might end up being on the wrong foot. Unfortunately, today morality and politics avoid taking the same road. So I went to the policeman with a trick. In India, I go to police station to verify myself and my residential address. How a policeman verifies my home address by sitting behind his desk is beyond my comprehension. By the way, I only have a PhD.

After being asked to produce several documents that verify and vouch for my existence on earth, policeman signed my application and stamped it as verified. Now the fun part begins. He used an amusing word for bribe. The service charge. I wanted to ask him whether there is any tax on that service charge. But I controlled myself. After all I need my passport. I politely asked him for a receipt for his service charge instead. He jokingly asked me to collect the receipt later. I stood up, thanked, and asked him to give me a call as soon as the receipt is ready. He blushed and can only do that. After a month, I received my new passport.

How easy it is to tackle bribe and corruption. No fasts. No hunger strikes. No threats. Just common sense. Same as what Gandhi's life teaches - awareness. Please be aware:

Receipts, not fasts, are our birthright!