‘Bribe one guy, then another’: Mumbai businessman slams rampant corruption, opens floodgates to tales of despair

In India, starting and running a business often feels like navigating a minefield of issues of which corruption plays a major role. From acquiring licenses to simply keeping the doors open, founders face an exhausting hurdle of bribery. A viral post shared on Reddit recently brought this harsh reality into sharper focus, striking a nerve with business owners across the country.

A business founder captured the absurdity of running a business in Mumbai with brutal clarity. “Having a business in Mumbai is surreal. First you bribe one guy to let you open it. Then you bribe a second guy to let it stay open. Then you bribe a third guy because he has ego about the fact that you bribed the second guy. Then you bribe the cops to help you stay out of the ego battle between the first second and third guy. And then after all that a mob can come and tear your place up anyway and the first guy, second guy, third guy and the police will tell you it was probably your fault it happened,” the user wrote in an Instagram post.

The post resonated widely, prompting an outpouring of similar experiences from other users.

“Last year paid 8 lacs just for licenses for my new pharma company ! these local goons, police, FDA , DI all are just luring businessman ! even after paying hefty tax!” one commenter shared.

Another pointed out how systemic the issue is: “A vast majority of businesses are just about surviving. Your enemy are not the businessmen but the authorities. It has become next to impossible to actually make a living if you are small business.”

The frustration isn’t limited to commercial ventures. One user described the ordeal of trying to repair a home. “We are trying to rebuild our house which is in terrible condition for over 6 years now and getting permissions without dishing out 30-40 lakhs in bribe is impossible. Even then, they will lose your application, go on random leaves and avoid talking to you. The country is not worth living anymore,” they added.

Another echoed the same sense of helplessness, “True. Bribe is not the only issue. But even after paying money uncertainty never goes away. You'll never know if they'll ask more again, or if new person comes how will they react or if they'll follow the word etc.”

A final commenter widened the lens, arguing that this culture of corruption isn't confined to Mumbai. “This is not just in Mumbai, but entire India! The ground level corruption will destroy this nation one day. In comparison, a country like Russia has corruption but it is limited to Putin and his oligarchs. Russian people and the administrative workers are law abiding citizens for the most part. If a sensible and honest leader succeeds Putin, Russia can become a developed country within 5 years. But the nature of corruption in our country will never enable us to reach even Vietnam or Turkey's level of development!” the person wrote.