Issue and Opposition: India has a culture of bribery. Almost no work in public offices can be done without paying government officials. This action was planned to send a message to the Chennai government officials.
Dilemma Action: The Anti-Corruption movement, 5th Pillar, distributed “Zero Rupee” paper currencies to Chennai residents to give to civil servants when they asked for bribes. The Zero Rupee bill looks identical to a 50 Rupee note with two differences: A. it is marked with a zero (0) instead of the number 50 and B. a logo for the 5th Pillar appeared in the corner of the paper currency. The message was that the public was so tired of paying extra money to Chennai government officials that they were ready to hand over only Zero Rupee notes. The Zero Rupee signified a strong refusal of the bribe request. There is no evidence to support that this dilemma action was a part of any larger campaign.
Outcome: There was no impact of this action. Bribery continued although it aroused public sympathy.