My Take…
A very familiar "season of scams" has returned in a depressing re-run. The sweet background music of Obama’s successful visit had barely faded in our memories, that it was taken over by the loud & ugly shrill of corruption. The landmark right to information law, which was praised by Obama in the parliament, has been mocked by its own creators. A Raja’s blatant disregard for any transparency and accountability has proved right the famous anonymous saying that “Corruption is authority plus monopoly minus transparency”. Alas this cancer continues to spread, eating into the vitals of our life and polity.
I remember Verappa Moliy’s repeated rhetoric of zero tolerance for corruption at a meeting of federal investigators last year. In a forceful pitch to stamp out corruption, the erudite Mr Moily invoked some 15 writers and leaders, including Plato, Gandhi, Lincoln and Gladstone, to drive home the point that endemic corruption destroys societies. "While we all know that the cancer of corruption has seeped into the blood stream of our polity, the million dollar question that stares us in the face is what can be done other than what we have been doing in the name of combating this evil all along," wondered Mr. Moily with his characteristic flourish. Well good question but no answers.
The web of Corruption has spread to every area of life. From Politicians and sports officials in CWG to retired senior army officers and relatives of senior politicians who are accused of helping themselves to apartments meant for war widows in Mumbai. A building in Delhi collapses - killing more than 60 people - because municipal officials and police apparently looked the other way as the builder kept adding illegal floors. Two top teams of our showpiece private cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, are expelled after they are accused of fudging their ownership and financial details. Political corruption is rife: in the current elections in Bihar, our poorest and most backward state, more than a quarter of candidates from the main political parties, by their own admission, are millionaires. The icing on the corruption cake has been the Judiciary and the indictment of Justice Soumitra Sen’s in the misappropriation of public funds.
The symbiotic relationship between the corruption of the poor and the corruption of the rich is where it all begins. One trades political power for money; the other trades money for political power. But in both cases, as an analyst says, "something public - a vote or an office or decision - is sold for private gain". No wonder we rank at 87 on the Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index, below Ghana and Rwanda.
Our records of prosecuting people for corruption show our sorry state. There are more than 9,000 cases brought by the CBI pending in various courts. More than 2,000 of these cases have been pending for more than a decade. A large number involve public servants and their aides and associates who have been caught with their hands in the till. With a conviction rate of 42% one of the lowest in the world the wheels of justice grind so slow that most victims give up. This war has to be fought by the people. Right now, it's only a section of the media and a clutch of brave freedom of information whistle-blowers who are fighting the battle. We - especially the consenting middle-class India of empty Face book rage - has to begin believing that it doesn't have to live with corruption. We need to destroy this highway to power and wealth.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Great Expectations
Great Expectations
Barack Obama's visit to India comes during the subcontinent’s festival of light but nothing in his official business looks likely to set the sky alight. His defeat in the mid term election has also robbed off some of his charm. In fact even before he steps foot in the capital the visit has been proclaimed it as a damp squib by the pollitical pundits. Obama is expected to live up to the expectations set by his predecessor George Bush under whom the relations between India and America improved significantly. But to the dismay of many in both countries the budding friendship between Obama and Manmohan Singh has failed to kick on.
If the Indians are expecting a grand Diwali gift from him then we may be in for a dissappointment. He may not bring good news for India, which is currently focused on an intense debate on President Obama’s policy on outsourcing (negative for India), the non-sharing of critical intelligence information which could have avoided the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks by Pakistan-based terrorists, and the expected non-endorsement of India for the permanent, veto-wielding membership of the UN Security Council. It appears to many in the country that President Obama is coming to India to seek an order of approximately USD 10B for US fighter planes, which could create around 50,000 jobs in the U.S. and continuous business over the next decade from India. The Indian businessmen’s major concerns of the huge hike in H-1B visa fees which the US Congress recently introduced to raise $600 million for securing the US-Mexican border is unlikely to be addressed. This will cost the IT firms immensly. Obama’s defeat in the House of Representative has ensured that he does not publicly support or promises anything to the Indian IT industry.
Obama is also expected to keep Pakistan happy. Circumstances in the subcontinent and back at home do not allow Mr Obama to come up with an aggressive statement gainst his strategic partner on the war on terror. It seems that the opportunity to seal a fantastic relationship with the world’s largest democracy is going to be wasted away due to difficult circumstances in US and the subcontinent.
Barack Obama's visit to India comes during the subcontinent’s festival of light but nothing in his official business looks likely to set the sky alight. His defeat in the mid term election has also robbed off some of his charm. In fact even before he steps foot in the capital the visit has been proclaimed it as a damp squib by the pollitical pundits. Obama is expected to live up to the expectations set by his predecessor George Bush under whom the relations between India and America improved significantly. But to the dismay of many in both countries the budding friendship between Obama and Manmohan Singh has failed to kick on.
If the Indians are expecting a grand Diwali gift from him then we may be in for a dissappointment. He may not bring good news for India, which is currently focused on an intense debate on President Obama’s policy on outsourcing (negative for India), the non-sharing of critical intelligence information which could have avoided the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks by Pakistan-based terrorists, and the expected non-endorsement of India for the permanent, veto-wielding membership of the UN Security Council. It appears to many in the country that President Obama is coming to India to seek an order of approximately USD 10B for US fighter planes, which could create around 50,000 jobs in the U.S. and continuous business over the next decade from India. The Indian businessmen’s major concerns of the huge hike in H-1B visa fees which the US Congress recently introduced to raise $600 million for securing the US-Mexican border is unlikely to be addressed. This will cost the IT firms immensly. Obama’s defeat in the House of Representative has ensured that he does not publicly support or promises anything to the Indian IT industry.
Obama is also expected to keep Pakistan happy. Circumstances in the subcontinent and back at home do not allow Mr Obama to come up with an aggressive statement gainst his strategic partner on the war on terror. It seems that the opportunity to seal a fantastic relationship with the world’s largest democracy is going to be wasted away due to difficult circumstances in US and the subcontinent.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Bihar Election - My Editorial
Development over Caste
The first major election after Ayodhya verdict is being watched closely by the entire country. All major political parties are waiting to gauge the impact of the verdict on outcome. The political parties have so far downplayed the Ayodhya verdict in the runup to the election. This election is truly between the caste and development. The turnaround of the state, known as one of India's poorest and most lawless regions, is touted as an example of how India can shake off caste politics and promote new roads and power to win votes. Through the remarkable turnaround of Bihar economy, Nitish has shown that social justice ought to include material well-being, not merely caste empowerment. Kumar's road projects have helped the economy grow at an average of 11.35 percent annually between 2004 and 2009, compared with an annualised 3.5 percent in the previous five years. It has beaten national growth by several percentage points. The most visible sign of how much things have improved in what used to be a byword for national despair is that people walk at night on the roads in Bihar. The forthcoming assembly polls are quite clearly a battle between a man who ‘devoured’ Bihar and one who resurrected it. But would Chief Minister’s development card fully succeed in eliminating the caste politics? The results will give the answer.
The first major election after Ayodhya verdict is being watched closely by the entire country. All major political parties are waiting to gauge the impact of the verdict on outcome. The political parties have so far downplayed the Ayodhya verdict in the runup to the election. This election is truly between the caste and development. The turnaround of the state, known as one of India's poorest and most lawless regions, is touted as an example of how India can shake off caste politics and promote new roads and power to win votes. Through the remarkable turnaround of Bihar economy, Nitish has shown that social justice ought to include material well-being, not merely caste empowerment. Kumar's road projects have helped the economy grow at an average of 11.35 percent annually between 2004 and 2009, compared with an annualised 3.5 percent in the previous five years. It has beaten national growth by several percentage points. The most visible sign of how much things have improved in what used to be a byword for national despair is that people walk at night on the roads in Bihar. The forthcoming assembly polls are quite clearly a battle between a man who ‘devoured’ Bihar and one who resurrected it. But would Chief Minister’s development card fully succeed in eliminating the caste politics? The results will give the answer.
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