Notes for corruption

An NGO is putting into practice a Zero Rupee Note to fight corruption

Civil society observers often say that the biggest obstacle in reducing corruption in the public sphere is that it has become so entrenched in everyday life that citizens have come to accept it as something they can't change. It was to change such attitudes, to empower people with a non-violent way to deal with corruption that an expatriate Indian physics professor in Maryland, US, designed a Zero Rupee Note (ZRN), visually as close to Indian currency notes as the Reserve Bank of India would allow it. It was an interesting theory, which in 2007, Vijay Anand, president of the NGO 5th Pillar, put into practice as a tool with which citizens could fight corruption. Similar to the Rs 50-note, the ZRN bears a slogan, "Eliminate corruption at all levels," and a pledge to neither accept nor give bribes. In the last nine-odd years, the Chennai-based NGO has distributed over 2.5 million such notes in five languages, and compiled accounts of how it has helped citizens get their work done without resorting to bribery and corruption. Here are some examples.

A young girl was told that the only way to get a learner's license quickly was by greasing the palms of the officials at the RTO office. Instead, she handed a ZRN to a senior officer and requested for a licence. The abashed official handed it to her within five minutes. When a Chennai motorist was asked to pay a bribe of Rs 650 to retrieve his towed car, he too offered the police a ZRN. Not only did they withdraw their demand, the police also issued a receipt for the appropriate fine he paid. In another instance, one of 5th Pillar's staffers, Lakshmi Gunasekhar went to complain about a friend's lost purse in a Maharashtra police station. "The police wanted money to file an FIR. When I offered them a ZRN, they immediately became friendlier. They went to great lengths to assure me that they weren't really corrupt and helped us file the complaint!" she says.

How does a note of no value fight corruption? First, corrupt officials seldom expect resistance from ordinary people. The handing over of a ZRN embarrasses them, even as it enables citizens to address corruption in a non-confrontational way. "We train citizens how to behave when someone asks for a bribe. Instead of aggression, a non-violent approach effects attitudinal change more effectively," says Gunasekhar. Further, accepting bribes is a punishable offence and the ZRN's passive resistance carries a threat of reprisal. Most important, the note indicates that its bearer has the backing of a civil society organisation committed to fighting corruption.

In addition to the ZRN, 5th Pillar conducts several projects to acquaint citizens of their rights and empower them to fight corruption instead of simply giving in. One of their popular programmes, Freedom from Corruption, ran in 300 educational institutions last year. "We also train citizens to use the RTI act in our office every Saturday," says Gunasekhar. "Every week, the crowd ranges from eight to 30, which shows that citizens are concerned about making government functioning transparent and honest." Another project that 5th Pillar introduced last year, AGNI trains rural youths to use civic tools like RTI. "We trained people from two villages near Chennai last year. How many villages we reach out to this year, depends on how many volunteer to help us!" says Gunasekhar.

With eight full-time staffers and a host of volunteers, 5th Pillar has managed to spread its base across Southern metros like Chennai, Vizag, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Incredibly, they charge no fees and turn no victim of corruption away - although they currently have no institutional donors. ZRNs are distributed free, although they cost less than a rupee to print. "Often, our ZRNs are printed for free (usually by printers who like the concept)," says Gunasekhar. Most of their resources come from members of 5th Pillar, who contribute $50 per annum. A handful of corporate donors have added to its kitty, but the resources are still nowhere near what they need to expand to other Indian cities. Yet, on the anvil are plans to provide a satellite RTI program for overseas Indians, and to provide online training on the RTI act and other ways to fight corruption.

For more information, visit 5thpillar.org
Next up, how citizen journalists in remote villages are democratising news in central India