In Nagaland, everybody talks about corruption. Yet, not everybody wants to expose corruption. Not many people have the courage to fight corruption. Even when blatant acts of corruption are exposed, the accused somehow manage to go scot-free. In most cases, those who expose corruption end up at the losing end. Thus, the all pervasive corruption thrives. Unless those found guilty are charged to the fullest extent of the law, corruption will remain. There are various forms of corruption but, generally speaking, when we say corruption, we are referring to dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery. Corruption erodes trust, weakens democracy, hampers economic development and further exacerbates inequality and poverty. Corruption in the form of use of power by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain is the most common form of corruption in Nagaland which is essentially stealing what belongs to the people, a crime against innocent citizens.
What exactly allows corruption to thrive is hard to define but one of the fundamental causes is lack of public awareness. When there is no transparency and the people are kept in the dark, it is obvious that those in positions of power will exploit the ignorance of the masses to their advantage. Therefore, without transparency in governance, it is very difficult to expose corruption. At the same time, the people, the citizens, should be more proactive and alert. They must always be vigilant and be aware of their rights. A docile citizenry will be punished by corruption and that is what Nagaland is faced with today. Both the corrupt and the docile citizenry deserve to be punished, albeit in different manners.