Book Reviews
| Author | B.M. Sharma |
| Date | 01 January 2014 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556120140114 |
| Published date | 01 January 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
BOOK REVIEWS
Fighting
Corruption:
The Way Forward (Ed.)
SAMUEL
PAUL
(Editor), Academic Foundation, New Delhi, 2013,
p.
298,
Rs. 995.00.
Corruption has become the central national concern in contemporary
Indian Society. Earlier it was not taken seriously. However, it has emerged
as a very serious cancerous problem in last couple
of
decades. Corruption
is a global problem. Almost all the countries in the world are seized
of
the
problem
of
corruption. It is confined to developing countries, it is common
even in the developed societies. However, its nature, volume and dimensions
differ from country to country, environment to environment and culture to
culture. When
we
talk about Indian society, it has become a widespread
disease
of
epidemic proportions.
Corruption is not a new phenomenon.
It
is as old as the society itself.
Kautilya talks about
40
ways
of
embezzlement/corruption in his famous
work "Arthshastra", which was authored almost two thousand five hundred
year ago. However, the phenomenon
of
corruption is more in focus now
than ever before. The volume
of
corruption was meager in the beginning
but it has increased in all walks
of
life in the recent years.
Corruption
is a multi-dimensional problem. It manifests
itself
as
political corruption, the abuse
of
public power, office
or
resources
by
government functionaries, officials
or
employees for personal gains, which
involves acts
of
extortion, collusion, soliciting
or
offering bribes. There is
also corporate corruption, corporate criminality and the abuse
of
power
by
company officials, either internally or externally.
Corruption connotes some form
of
moral delinquency
or
fall from
rectitude. It signifies perversion
of
integrity by bribery
or
favour. It may
be defined as lack
of
public and private morality and probity and disregard
of
honesty and integrity that leads to bribery, extortion, nepotism, patronage,
embezzlement and graft.
It
involves illegal acts
of
officials for illicit
personal gain out
of
official duties.
The
book defines corruption as "abuse
of
public
power
for private
gain".
The
Prevention
of
Corruption Act
oflndia
(1988) refers to corruption
as: Taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect
of
an
official act, as a motive
or
reward for doing or forebearing to do any
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