2010-The Year of Corruption
The year 2010 can be easily called as the year of the corruption. Eversince the month of November, Scam after Scam has surfaced from the dark underbelly of the Indian politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats. The cauldron of corruption, which in India is always bubbling quietly in the background, suddenly erupted -- not once, but several times, in headline-hitting but unconnected instances. While the most recent scandals were surfacing, Global Financial Integrity (GFI) in Washington published a report whose findings show that, India lost a total of US$213 billion dollars due to illicit flows, the present value of which is at least US$462 billion. "The total value of illicit assets held abroad represents about 72% of the size of India's underground economy which has been estimated at 50% of India's GDP (or about US$640 billion at end 2008)," says the report. Interestingly, the outflow of illicit funds has actually gone up in the post-liberalization period. Liberalization has produced greater income inequality. The number of high net-worth individuals (HNIs) has gone up. Capital exodus is caused primarily by private companies and HNIs. After liberalization and the rise of adulation for the wealthy, regardless of how that wealth was acquired, there seems to be no social penalty attached to having illegal wealth, and it is rare for anyone -- businessman or politician -- to be caught and penalized for corruption. Lalu, Jayalalitha, Mayawati, Koda, Kalmadi, and Raja are all examples of it.
Clubbed with the rampant corruption is the frustration of Parliament logjams. The winter session of the parliament ended without any debate. The common man watched the issues being debated everywhere from TV studios to Business forums but not in the Parliament.
At the end of the year let us ask ourself if there is hope in Indian democracy. The exposure of the 2G and CWG scams are positive signals. The way scams are exposed suggests that there are some self-correcting features in the Indian system, even if they work in a less predictable manner. There is hope for all of us.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
“Wiki(ed) winter of discontent'
“Wiki(ed) winter of discontent'
The onset of winter has engulfed the ruling UPA in the heat of corruption charges, parliament logjam, and controversial appointment of the CVC. Hardly any legislative business has been conducted in Parliament since the Session began on 9th November. The successive days of adjournment sees a loss of Rs.7.8 crore per day to the nation. There has been no debate except that of JPC vs. PAC. By not allowing Parliament to function, the Opposition is denying the people of India an opportunity to have their voice heard on the many important issues. Telecom, Commonwealth Games, CVC appointment and hoards of other issues engaging the people of India deserve to be discussed in Parliament. This continuous disruption is generating a greater cynicism among people about the effectiveness of democratic institutions in addressing the real needs of the people. The opposition must choose from the options which the government has come forward with and end this impasse.
The flood of material unleashed by WikiLeaks have stripped away many illusions among us. That US diplomats often double up as spies and Middle Eastern nations perceived Iran as a bigger threat than Israel. There is plenty of what the British call “funny peculiar’’ in these cables. How much of the damage will this diplomatic tsunami do to the world is yet to be seen. But there definitely are echoes here of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's thoughts that society is evolving towards more transparency and less privacy. We Indians have got the taste of our own leaks in the form of Radia tapes. These leaks have brought in a very ironical situation of the trial of the media by the media itself. The ethics of journalism which was slowly fading into oblivion is back in focus. These leaks have also brought on discussion tables the very obscure right to privacy in India. Till such time when the Supreme Court decides on the privacy issue, we are happy that these leaks, while bringing into question several ethical questions of media practice, has definitely provided an opportunity to introspect, reassess and actually strengthen the media. Thanks to these leaks, companies and journalists as much as for governments, deeds will henceforward have to match words. If they don't, you can assume you will suffer a Wikileaks crisis of your own, for it is from that discrepancy (or hypocrisy) that Wikileaks finds its energy — and other leakers will in the future. Like it or not, what has happened this fortnight is of profound importance that private dealings match your public declarations, if not perfectly then at least pretty close. The whole scenario of the leaks looks like a larger Big Boss being played on the world arena. Telling Dolly what Sara said to Shweta!! Let us keep the faith that this winter of discontent will soon turn in to hope. “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
The onset of winter has engulfed the ruling UPA in the heat of corruption charges, parliament logjam, and controversial appointment of the CVC. Hardly any legislative business has been conducted in Parliament since the Session began on 9th November. The successive days of adjournment sees a loss of Rs.7.8 crore per day to the nation. There has been no debate except that of JPC vs. PAC. By not allowing Parliament to function, the Opposition is denying the people of India an opportunity to have their voice heard on the many important issues. Telecom, Commonwealth Games, CVC appointment and hoards of other issues engaging the people of India deserve to be discussed in Parliament. This continuous disruption is generating a greater cynicism among people about the effectiveness of democratic institutions in addressing the real needs of the people. The opposition must choose from the options which the government has come forward with and end this impasse.
The flood of material unleashed by WikiLeaks have stripped away many illusions among us. That US diplomats often double up as spies and Middle Eastern nations perceived Iran as a bigger threat than Israel. There is plenty of what the British call “funny peculiar’’ in these cables. How much of the damage will this diplomatic tsunami do to the world is yet to be seen. But there definitely are echoes here of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's thoughts that society is evolving towards more transparency and less privacy. We Indians have got the taste of our own leaks in the form of Radia tapes. These leaks have brought in a very ironical situation of the trial of the media by the media itself. The ethics of journalism which was slowly fading into oblivion is back in focus. These leaks have also brought on discussion tables the very obscure right to privacy in India. Till such time when the Supreme Court decides on the privacy issue, we are happy that these leaks, while bringing into question several ethical questions of media practice, has definitely provided an opportunity to introspect, reassess and actually strengthen the media. Thanks to these leaks, companies and journalists as much as for governments, deeds will henceforward have to match words. If they don't, you can assume you will suffer a Wikileaks crisis of your own, for it is from that discrepancy (or hypocrisy) that Wikileaks finds its energy — and other leakers will in the future. Like it or not, what has happened this fortnight is of profound importance that private dealings match your public declarations, if not perfectly then at least pretty close. The whole scenario of the leaks looks like a larger Big Boss being played on the world arena. Telling Dolly what Sara said to Shweta!! Let us keep the faith that this winter of discontent will soon turn in to hope. “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”
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