There is a genre of fiction that deals with humans being converted to act as enemies of humanity. These converted humans are called zombies. Wikipedia describes them as persons bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli. The zombies convert others in turn by pushing them into a situation in which they have little choice but to convert. Imagine a situation in which you can either kill yourself, or be bitten by a human vampire and become a human vampire yourself!
On careful examination you can recognize zombie fiction is giving us metaphors of reality. The real world zombies are those without any conscience, but seemingly human otherwise. I realize that India is undergoing a form of zombie apocalypse; it is clear that a good part of the population has been converted. If you live in India, you have probably met a friend or relative who paid a huge bribe to get his son or daughter admission to an educational programme in a college or university. It is usually an illegal payment named the capitation fee on which the recipient pays no taxes. What are the victim’s chances of resisting the pressure to join the corrupt? He has his son or daughter’s future at stake. Is he going to risk it, by exposing the “not-for-profit” college that runs as a tax-free “public trust”? To get two samples of problems in educational institutions, visit
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-05-31/chennai/29603780_1_capitation-fee-medical-colleges-mbbs-admission
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article497149.ece
I know of only one person who took the view that his son can do without admission into one of the corrupt colleges, and refused to pay a bribe, “risking” his son’s future. The boy has had excellent school education largely because of the inspiration from his father, a professor devoted to his science. It is no wonder that the boy was welcomed by a foreign university. Almost every one you know who was in this position has capitulated. Do students rebel against the system, even if they have seen their middle class parents give up a good part of their life-savings to pay the bribe? No, they do not wish to risk their future. Do they do anything about it after they complete their studies and go out to work? No, the problem is not their problem anymore.
The problem is not confined to the educational sector. Wikipedia offers a description of corruption in India in a variety of sectors:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_India
What happens to government employee whose salary does not enable him to pay capitation fees? He converts and becomes a zombie. Few people can afford to buy an apartment. The builders have spent a lot on bribes to authorities and have to recover it from their customers by charging exorbitant prices. Many of them convert! The media does put up a fight, but now the zombies are killing off investigative journalists. So, don't be surprised if you discover some journalists have joined the zombie world already, to save their own skin!
Getting jobs, particularly government jobs, getting good treatment in hospitals, getting a driving license, a ration card, all fall into this category. It is so much easier to “solve” one’s own problem rather than risk a fight that one may lose.
Corruption very often starts at the top, involving powerful politicians and government officials. What happened at the medical council of India and at the university grants commission are reminders of that. Visit
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121855/
and
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-11-05/india/28104917_1_cbi-raids-cbi-spokesperson-harsh-bhal-cbi-action (The text of the URL above has an error. The alleged raid was actually against a member of the UGC).
We need to understand the current anti-corruption movement in India in this light. Fear of the zombies has reached a new height. Hopefully this movement will do something to cut down the extent of the evil practices. If it fails, we will all have to join the zombies!
Srinivasan Ramani
June 13, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
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