Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely
This statement was made in criticism of absolute rulers, monarchs or their chief advisers. The cases of Warren Hastings, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, Governor Hallet, and Viceroy Willingdon prove the point. General Dyer, the perpetrator of the Jalianwala bagh tragedy is remembered as the worst example of the misuse of power and authority. These are instances of ‘absolute powers corrupting absolutely’. More of such cases are corrupt only in the sense of being proud and vain. All such cases of part- or absolute corruption are, however, far outnumbered by impeachable rulers and their advisers or ministers. To name only a few, Ashoka, Harsha, and Akbar among absolute Kings and Lords Canning and Irwin among Viceroys, Gladstone, the Victorian Prime Minister, and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, the first and second Prime Ministers of India were all models of goodness. Thus, power corrupts only in a few cases. It cannot be accepted as a general statement.
