Bribed? Didn’t bribe? Powerless? Victimized? Angry? Now you have a place to vent your anguish, anger, opinions and simply your story.
IPaidABribe.com is Janaagraha’s unique initiative to tackle corruption by harnessing the collective energy of citizens. You can report on the nature, number, pattern, types, location, frequency and values of actual corrupt acts on this website. Janagraha is a Bangalore based NGO that works with citizens and government to change the quality of life in India’s cities and towns. Along with the reporting stories, the website also helps you in understanding how the government setups works and how you can avoid the corruption maze.
The website is well made with neat looks and functionality. The Tell us your story link has 4 options:
• I paid a bribe
• I didn’t pay a bribe
• I didn’t have to pay a bribe
• I don’t want to pay a bribe
And the link also has the view bribe reports to browse through all the reader’s entries. I didn’t want to pay a bribe takes us to the FAQ section where it details the procedures and requirements in various department so as to enable you to avoid the bribe sharks. As of now the site FAQ are for Bangalore and even that is yet to be fully loaded with information but there is a contact us box for you to get assistance over any of your specific queries.
Ask Raghu is a section manned by a retired civil servant to bring you the view from within the “system” and help you assist in navigates through the corruption maze so that you can avoid, resist, reduce and eliminate corruption.
And then there is a Forum section for the readers to interact with one another.
Through the collective energy, inputs and citizen involvement, the NGO aims to tackle the issue through the following process:
Overall an unique concept aimed at bringing a mass awareness and to quote from the website:
Don’t put up with corruption! Know the right ways of doing things.
Together, we’ll work for changing corrupt systems.
So have you paid a bribe? or refused a bribe? Would love to read your story.
image courtesy: IPaidABribe.com
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An innovative approach …am glad to see that people are waking up to say” I will fight!”
True… how much impact it may bring on the ground level am not sure but it clearly would help in increasing the awareness and resist corruption…
A good initiative and a platform to confess or to inform malpractices.
true…
Very good initiative. People can also get some audio video evidence and help culprits to get their punishment
Ya… but people should come forward and harness the collective energy of citizens to tackle this problem…
Hey Shrinidhi
Thanks for your support. However, we at I Paid A Bribe do not believe in targeting individuals. What we believe in is systemic change which is sustainable. So the audio/video evidence to identify culprits does not fit well with our policy. For IPAB updates follow us on Twitter and fb.
IPAB
Hey Rajan. Congrats on your 300th post. And what a topic you chose for it. I m yet to check out the site, but I will definitely. Sounds interesting
Thanks Mani. Even I did not notice this is my 300th post
Most often when we are a victim of corruption, all we can do is fret and get over it. This is a unique initiative that it tries to improve it’s own processes from the experience of people.
True Kevin, most of us fret and complain but don’t bother to take corrective measures and in most case succumb to the practice. It is a unique imitative indeed.
Looks very interesting. Must check this site right now. I have so many to fill. there should be one for people like us though: I took a bribe. I take bribes in beer though.
:laugh:
I think I’m a little cynical, but there is no harm in trying
We have learnt to pay bribe from our parents and all others when we were small. They have bribed us with chocolates and gifts and so on just so that we do stuff the way they want us to do.This would form a part of our tendencies(Vasanas) which are difficult to break. Here is a small story.A man was trying to save a scorpion from drowning and everytime he tried, the scorpion bit him.A passerby asked him why does he want to do that!the man replied-It is the tendency of the scorpion to sting so he does that but my tendency is to save, so I am trying to do that.See, it is a natural tendency to do what is in our inherent nature,and it is the tendency to then blame the ones who take the bribe of people who do.Such is the world.There will be those who blame and there will be those who take the blame also.To each his own. God save them all.Amen.
When Corruption has become a cancer and threaten to kill the life line, we need to think about it and act on it. No nation or society is corruption free but we can atleast control or rein in the practice. India stands around 80th rank in corruption index atleast we can try to better our position. When there are countries ahead of us who have done so, we can too , if we collectively try.
Loved the little story you quoted.
Thanks.Loved your Gingerchai too.Yes,we have to do our mite also of trying to remove the corrupt. But as you can see the foundations are themselves rusted.Look at the cricketers scandal.There is no stemming the rot.Lekin Koshish karna zaroori hai.Amen.
Well done, Janaagraha.
Btw, the ultimate solution to corruption is to eliminate it from the top. That is the process that the Freedom Team of India (http://freedomteam.in/) is working on.
Regards
Sanjeev
But the change should begin from bottom. People got used to corruption at even the slightest hint, that top has got enormous confidence for mega corruption… Corruption begins at home. Checked your site. Good initiative. Keep spreading awareness.
I am not an exception either! I will update my details there. We need to plug it somewhere and i am glad that Janaagarha has come forward to tackle the menace.
Yes mohan the buck should stop somewhere and why not here (us)… Most of us would have erred , time to pull up the socks.
nice! but i wonder how will they change processes ?:-)
A nice way to go about things. I’m tired of people just complaining without doing anything about it. But I wonder if there’s anyway to make sure the actual procedure is changed…
Hey
Thanks all for the support.
Special thanks to Lakshmi Rajan for featuring I Paid A Bribe on the site. Your support is highly appreciated. Great Work!
For updates follow us on fb and twitter!
Thanks
IPAB
Hi, good to see your blog & your interest in the nation, politics & issues like corruption. I had been to Freedom Park, Bangalore to support the Anna Hazare team recently. I have shared my experience on my blog http://puneet3210.blogspot.com/2011/08/anna-hazare-freedom-park-bangalore.html . Do have a look. The same is shared on IndiBlogger also at http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=72809
Puneet