Stop Corruption! Website Helps Citizens Expose Bribe-Takers

Bangalore: India has a dubious distinction of being marred by corruption. Be it for an admission in a college or getting a driving license, the common man has regular encounters with corruption in our country. However, the good news is that now the ‘common man’ can name and shame bribe takers.

An online campaign has encouraged citizens to name bribe-takers by exposing them on a public forum, reported Bella Jaisinghani for TOI. Janaagraha, a voluntary organization announced the launch of the website 'Maine Rishwat Di', which will allow people to anonymously post their encounters with corrupt officials. 'Maine Rishwat Di' is the Hindi version of Janaagrah's ‘ipaidabribe.com’ that got about 20,000 corruption reports since its inception in 2010.

Since Hindi is the first language of almost 48 percent of the population, now millions can share their experiences and encounters with corruption. The English version had received mention from U.S. President Barack Obama, and in reality 17 countries, chiefly Africa have replicated the same.

Co-founder Swati Ramanathan was quoted by TOI, saying, "This site is not a platform to document big-ticket corruption involving crony capitalism or unfair distribution of natural resources. We are talking of corruption that each citizen encounters in daily life, whether it be dealing with traffic police, customs or civic officials, or the education and health sector."

Read: Corruption Causes Rs 36,400 Cr Loss to India

Also Read: Corruption in Politics: A Mockery of a Bureaucrat's Noble Task