Fighting Corruption, One Zero-Rupee Note At A Time
DEVELOPMENTS
Petty corruption is pervasive in India, where local officials demand bribes from ordinary citizens for the delivery of public services that should not cost a rupee. Reinforced by habit, these corrupt practices have become entrenched social norms that lead citizens to believe that bribery is not just normal, appropriate and acceptable, but expected. One Indian NGO, 5th Pillar, has launched a unique initiative to mobilize citizens in fighting petty corruption: the mass distribution of zero rupee notes to citizens who use them to protest bribery by public officials.
BACKGROUND
Currently, the mainstream approach to anti-corruption efforts by the international community involves establishing a normative framework of recommendations for fighting corruption; requesting that countries ratify the framework; and assisting them in achieving these standards. The framework lists specific measures designed to help countries prevent and control corruption, such as the establishment of independent anti-corruption commissions, creation of transparent procurement and public financial management systems, and promotion of ethical codes of conduct for public officials. Although this work is important and necessary, the World Bank’s Communication for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP) suggests that there is a missing link in the global anti-corruption agenda: an understanding of norm generation and norm transformation vis-à-vis corruption. Only by generating widespread public intolerance of corruption can anti-corruption efforts make a real impact and produce sustainable change.
Indian NGO 5th Pillar and its zero rupee initiative emerged in CommGAP’s research on innovative approaches to change social norms about corruption. The zero rupee note was initially the brainchild of an expatriate Indian physics professor at the University of Maryland. While traveling back to his native India, he was struck by the prevalence of petty corruption and felt compelled to do something about it. Each time he was asked to pay kickbacks, he would show his resistance by handing the official a zero denomination note. 5th Pillar’s president Vijay Anand took this idea of zero rupee resistance one step further. He decided to print them en masse, publicize them widely, and distribute them to ordinary Indian citizens who could use them to show their disapproval of public service delivery dependent on bribes. The initial batch of 25,000 notes was met with such high demand that 5th Pillar has distributed one million zero rupee notes since 2007.
There are many success stories of people who have used the notes to resist bribery. In a town on the outskirts of Chennai, an elderly woman from a poor household tried desperately for 1.5 years to secure a land title (called patta), which she intended to use as collateral for a bank loan used to finance her granddaughter’s college education. But, there was a problem: the Revenue Department official responsible for giving out the patta demanded a bribe for this service. Living below the poverty line, the woman simply could not afford to pay. Fed up with bribe solicitations and emboldened by the knowledge that she had nothing to lose, the woman approached the Revenue Department official with a zero rupee note. He was stunned. In a response that would be considered highly peculiar given his position, the official stood from his seat, offered her a chair and a cup of tea and finally granted the woman the land title she had sought. In Tamil Nadu, a corrupt official was so intimidated by a protesting citizen's display of a zero rupee note that he returned to the citizen all the bribe money he had collected from facilitating a new electricity connection. In yet another case in Pondicherry, a university student was stopped by traffic police and asked to show her license and registration. When she produced all her papers, the officer asked her for a bribe so that she could go her way, even though she did not violate any traffic laws nor had discrepancy in her papers. The student stuck out the zero rupee note instead. The officer smiled in discomfort and let her go.
ANALYSIS
According to Anand, a number of factors contribute to the success of zero rupee notes in fighting corruption. Even though bribery is a crime punishable by prison sentence, corrupt officials seldom encounter any resistance to their corrupt behavior by ordinary people. When they do, officials fear they will lose their jobs, be subject to disciplinary proceedings or, even, face a prison sentence. More importantly, Anand believes that the success of the notes lies in the willingness of the people to use them. Citizens are willing to stand up to the commonplace practice because they are no longer afraid. They have nothing to lose and are aware that they are not alone in the fight. They are supported by the organization that is pushing the zero rupee initiative. This awareness of institutional support seems to be the biggest hurdle when it comes to transforming norms with respect to corruption. For people to speak up against an age-old phenomenon as daunting as corruption, they must know that there are others who feel similar frustration with the practice. Such group awareness makes people realize that corruption is not unbeatable; maybe—just maybe—individuals can do something to break the norm. That simple but groundbreaking realization allows citizens to help execute ideas like the zero rupee notes, an explicit demonstration of civic resistance to the culture of bribery. This is the first step towards changing behavioral norms among citizens no longer tolerant of bribery-dependent public service delivery. The key to fighting corruption lies in generating public will to fight corruption, and the key to generating this public will lies in transforming norms that condone corruption to norms that can condemn and combat it.
Fumiko Nagano is acting as a consultant to the World Bank’s Communication for Governance & Accountability Program (CommGAP), where she is currently conducting research on measures to strengthen anti-corruption efforts. She holds a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MA from the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).