“Corruption in journalism starts very early. It's like the police reporting the police (Julian Assange).” In The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, there is an abundance of corruption across India in the police department and law enforcement agencies. Due to widespread corruption across India, law enforcement has turned into a system of corrupt police officers who ignore the law for their own personal benefits instead of doing their job properly and helping the community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Law enforcement across India has been corrupt for many years and is becoming an increasingly accepted way of life. It's becoming more of an exception than a rule. In The White Tiger, Mr. Ashok places the blame for the murder committed by Pinky Madam on Balram, a loyal servant of the rich family. Ashok orders his lawyer to bribe the possible judge for the case. Despite Balram's essentially calm appearance, he was thinking “The judges? Wouldn't they have followed through with this obviously forced confession? But they too are part of the racket. They take the bribe and ignore the discrepancies in the case. And life goes on (Adiga 145).” Yet, he said, he never once thought about telling the judge the truth about what had really happened. Balram briefly describes how corrupt Indian law enforcement is and how if you were rich, they would do whatever was asked of them. Accordingly, David H. Bayley concluded: “In summary, the Indian public not only believes that there is a good deal of corruption in the police. . . but about one in five have seen it and a similar percentage have taken the lesson to heart and would take money with them into dealings with the police to ensure action (286-288).” A huge number of people have experienced corruption firsthand in India and today distrust the police. In fact, 'the real problem is not the system, the real problem is that people are corrupt (Quah).' To free himself from the "darkness" Balram must escape towards the "light" to prepare for a better life that lies ahead. When he becomes the great entrepreneur he has always dreamed of, Balram starts racing his new White Tiger Drivers Company by paying off the deputy commissioner of the police department. Giving the deputy commissioner a small offering in gratitude, he "counted the money - ten thousand rupees - heard what [Balram] wanted and asked for double." [Balram] gave him a little more, and he was happy (Adiga 256).' This shows that most Indian police are willing to bribe knowing that there is a high probability of not being caught. According to PC Alexander, “since the likelihood of detecting and punishing corrupt [police] behavior is not high in India, the public perceives corruption as a low-risk, high-reward activity as those involved in corrupt practices are identified and punished. " Although the risk is low, but the reward is high, most police officers believe that accepting bribes is beyond their capabilities since they enforce the law. It is because of corruption in law enforcement that corruption is slowly getting worse in India. In fact, it is the people who are corrupt. These police officers will do almost anything to get more money and if it means breaking the law, then they will do it fact in a country where cases of corruption are the exception rather than the rule (Pope)”. It is because of corruption that people like Balram are able to get out.
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