Friday, June 17, 2011

Corruption in India

Corruption has seeped so far into our bureaucracy, our politics and apparently even our judiciary that people are no longer outraged by its mere presence. We in India have passively tolerated corruption for decades now. We are as guilty of corruption as the government we elect, its officials and its machinery. Slip in a note to the officer who randomly stops you on the road to check for a non-existent license, grease the palm of the official at the housing development in charge of approving the blueprints for your dream house, pay hafta to the local constables to allow you to run your shop unmolested. Corruption is a way of life here. I am sure there are many Indians who refuse to be part of the murky dealings, who refuse to pay the corrupt babus and who value and uphold noble principles above expediency but I don’t think I personally know any of them. For the majority of us, there will be at least one instance of our life where we have bribed someone to achieve our ends.
We are not outraged that we had to bribe the cop 200 rupees to let us go scot free for driving without a helmet yet we are mortified to note the irregularities of the telecom department are in the tune of 1.76 lakh crore (Has anyone counted the number of zeros in that amount? I didn’t even try ). The principle remains the same, no matter if it is your local policeman who benefited or someone from the “dirty” world of politics. So what offended us? The corruption? But we are already a contributing party to it. Or is it the obscenity of the amount that the exchequer reportedly lost as a result of said irregularities? Did we honestly expect our politicians to be not corrupt and be upright citizens? Don’t you think there is honestly something wrong with our perceptions? It’s a bit two-faced and smacks of hypocrisy if you ask me. Corruption is OK it is 200 rupees but not OK if it is 200 crore. Surely one is as wrong as the other. Why should the degree of wrongness make one more wrong than the other.
Maybe we should set a bar of acceptable bribes. Peg down a number that shalt not be exceeded. X rupees is OK but if it is more than X than our moral compass kicks and you shall be held accountable. The rate of inflation should also be taken into account. (We need to think of the poor babus, if the bribes don’t move along with the inflation then the bribe will continue to mean less every year)
What’s amazing is that corruption is universally acknowledged as a malaise but happily practiced by all and sundry. So what’s the solution? I never thought I would see a solution during my lifetime but there is always hope.
The drafting of the Lok Pal bill would have escaped the notice of nobody in India. If you manage to spend a few minutes with your local newspaper or your favorite news channel, then it is not possible that you would not have heard about the Lok Pal bill, Anna Hazare, the civil society movement, the attempted heist of attention by Baba Ramdev, an increasingly defensive central government and a gleeful opposition. It can be highly entertaining, much more than the usual run of the mill predicable TV shows that adorn our living rooms.
As laudable as the civil society movement is it raises as interesting question. Can a non-elected group of people arm twist an elected government into toeing their line? As absurd as it sounds it essentially boils down to a government elected for the people and by the people being forced to bend its will by a civil movement that ironically has the same public’s sympathies if somewhat indifferent collective support. Strip all the hoopla out and at its heart you will find a government that has been elected on issues that corruption did not dominate. It says much of the government’s public image if corruption has overshadowed all the other issues on which it was voted back to power consecutively. It says so much of the public’s priority of the issue over the UPA’s blanket of Common Minimum program which excludes all issues that various members of the UPA might find objectionable and only includes that which is unanimous among all parties; which is a great way of saying we promised you so many things but we have consensus over nothing and therefore lets brand it the common minimum program, bare essentials and nothing else. But then I digress from the original topic.
I personally find blackmailing an elected government with a fast onto dead highly disturbing. Is this the only recourse left to us to improve the system. Do we resort to such means every time we need to achieve fundamental and essential things? I also find the movement somewhat aggressive. I do not know if the times require such aggression from Anna Hazare and his team; I don’t know if the goals can be achieved in more amicable ways. I know that all participants in this saga are mudslinging and the real issue is making no progress. I find it fascinating that the main opposition to the UPA has criticized the government for the handling of the situation, slamming it for the Ram Leela incident and generally taking every opportunity for pot shots. They have said so much to gain political mileage but I am yet to know where the opposition stands regarding the bill itself. What do they think about the PM, the ministers, the MPs, the MLAs, the judges, the entire bureaucracy being held accountable? There has been not a single word from them. The closest I heard is that they will react when the draft comes out. Why not take and stand and express their view? I am sure the nation will be interested to know. The fact of the matter is that if the UPA keeps the MPs and the MLAs out of the purview of the Lok Pal then you can bet the farm that the opposition will support the bill, either directly, or indirectly, by being absent. The best and rosy scenario for the opposition is the walk out of the assembly knowing fully well that the government has enough numbers to pass the bill (and secretly glad for it) while at the same time show to the nation how much they are not like the parties that sum up the government and their alleged corrupt ways. Wink, wink, we are actually on your side.
What political compulsions forces the government to oppose including the PM and other high ranking members of the political strata under the purview of the Lok Pal? Think about it for a minute. Our honorable Prime Minister has nothing to hide. By all accounts he is an honest man. Even his worst critics will concede that much. He would not be threatened if his office came under the purview of LP? Then why oppose? Media reports say the opposition is because it creates a super-authority over and above a structure that’s already in place. Imagine when the most powerful man in the country has to be answerable to an independent body. What if such accountability is misused for political gains? While that might be true enough surely further checks can be placed in the draft for cabinet consideration?
I personally think the problem is different; the political opposition to such a bill is more blatant and obvious. We are asking the men and women who plunder our country with impunity to impose laws that will greatly restrict their ability to plunder us. It will be such a shame if the parliament passes a diluted version of the Lok Pal bill which will result in a toothless organization. The next few months will go a long way in determining if we as a nation can really become intolerant of corruption and if those found corrupt can be held accountable.
I am hopeful. I watch the news in the next few months with expectations. While I don’t want a draconian organization, I am sure I would like a toothless one much lesser.