In order to curb corruption in public service, including in the judiciary, the procedure that can now halt swift cognisance needs to be changed through legislative means.
There are very few people in India who believe that New Delhi, as it is presently organised, is either capable or willing to go the whole distance to bring to book those who are suspected of having committed irregularities in handling state funds. This has particular reference to the scams related to the 2G spectrum and the conduct of the Commonwealth Games. The much-talked-about action plan to tackle corruption on a war footing appears to be a non-starter, going by the fact that there has not been even a whisper about it over the last few days. Even if such a plan is to be grudgingly unveiled soon, it could at best be old wine in a new bottle.
Two officials handpicked by the UPA government are under the scanner. They are the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC). There are no direct allegations against the former. But his close relatives are being investigated. Such a probe will first have to prove that they acquired assets in a wrongful manner, and which they cannot account for. Only then can the allegations be taken forward to probe whether their proximity to the NHRC Chairman when he was the Chief Justice of India gave them any advantage in the matter, as has been alleged.
This will be a long-drawn-out process. There is everything in the procedure established by law and convention that can halt swift cognisance being taken of judicial corruption. This fact spells unmitigated danger to the whole polity. You could imagine how a lowly official in the bureaucracy would feel about this travesty. Actually he would be able to rationalise any corrupt conduct thus: if people in high places could indulge in large-scale corruption and get away with it, why could he not emulate them, hoping that he would not get caught either?
Was it not the former CVC, N. Vittal, who said that corruption in India was a low-risk and high-profit activity? How appropriate are those words in the context of the alarming decline in India's public life, where good people shun public office and the rapacious ones swarm around it with great relish!
Another official who is in deep trouble is the present CVC. By all accounts P.J. Thomas was a distinguished civil servant with a good record of service once upon a time — at least till he was made Telecommunications Secretary under Minister A. Raja. He was a candidate with some merit when he was considered for the CVC's position.
But he had two problems. It was widely alleged that while filing an affidavit before the court when the issue became contentious, he had deliberately justified whatever Mr. Raja did in the matter of allotting spectrum. Despite the fact that the allotment took place before Mr. Thomas became Secretary to the Ministry, there was a feeling that he took little note of the wrongful actions and even justified them. The allegation, therefore, is that he was made CVC only to whitewash the monumental scandal. Then there was the palmolein import case in Kerala in which he was cited as an accused.
So, when his name was proposed, surprisingly, by the government for the CVC's job, the BJP smelled a rat and opposed the move tooth and nail. The Leader of the Opposition, Sushma Swaraj, refused to endorse the choice but, strangely, the government went ahead with the appointment, even ignoring the fact that Mr. Thomas was facing a criminal trial in Kerala.
Now Mr. Thomas is an albatross around the government's neck. There is speculation over why he is sticking on to his post even after the subsequent development of his trial in the palmolein import case being cleared by the Supreme Court of India following the death of the prime accused in the case. The lurking suspicion is that Mr. Thomas' nomination was made under political pressure. It is not illogical to believe that there is again a political hand behind his decision to stay on. If that be so, it is a clear indication that corruption among public servants in India is fostered by political parties. Against this setting, the common man can very well forget the prospect of ever having an honest government.
There are three specific issues that are of utmost relevance to this debate. The first is already engaging the Supreme Court's attention. The so-called Single Directive of the Union government that requires an investigating agency to obtain government approval before proceeding against a civil servant of and above the rank of Joint Secretary has many holes, including a negation of equality before the law. There is also the definite risk of a delinquent civil servant getting advance notice of proposed action, which could facilitate his destroying or secreting out valuable documentary evidence. After this directive was struck down in the ‘hawala case,' the National Democratic Alliance government, in a dubious move, revived it and gave it legislative backing — possibly at the instance of some top bureaucrats. It constitutes an untenable fetter put on the Central Bureau of Investigation. The agency is even otherwise weighed down by an unsupportive government and a hostile group of influential bureaucrats who have the ears of the Ministers.
The next issue of importance is the monitoring by courts of investigations in crucial cases such as that concerning the spectrum scandal. There is a point of view — aired with great clarity by the former CBI Director, C.V. Narasimhan, known for his sharp mind and utter integrity — that for such monitoring to be effective, the Supreme Court could consider entrusting the arduous task of overseeing progress to a small group.
This group should comprise a former High Court Judge, a former Joint Director of the CBI and an expert from the area of economic crime belonging to one of the revenue services of the government. This group could report to the Supreme Court from time to time, thereby helping the court to come to its own conclusions without losing valuable time. This experiment can possibly be tried, first in the 2G spectrum case, and its utility evaluated.
Another suggestion from Mr. Narasimhan relates to the framing of a law by the Central government titled the ‘Criminal Misconduct of Public Men.' It should incorporate all the offences that come under the ambit of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, but give more powers to the investigating officer. These powers should include competence to record signed statements from witnesses and confessions that are valid in law, both of which are now prohibited by the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act respectively. This will be on the lines of pieces of legislation such as the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999 (MOCOCA), which relatively frees the investigator from the curbs imposed by the Evidence Act. These suggestions made by Mr. Narasimhan could go a long way to tackle corruption by public servants with greater speed and certainty.
The third problem relates to how governments could be prevented from misusing the authority to block appeals against acquittals. Instances are legion where a government that is interested in protecting a favourite, applies the guillotine and successfully stalls further proceedings in court. This is done by denying a request from the investigating agency to take an acquittal on appeal. The CrPC arms the government with such power, and it is often blatantly abused. There is a definite need to divest governments of this undeserved power. For this to happen, all political parties need to come together to bring about an amendment to the CrPC.
In the present situation, there is little hope of such a consensus emerging. This is because, at present, there are no saints in politics when it comes to battling corruption, and softness towards corruption cuts across party lines. India's best bet ultimately are its citizens, who will resolve not to submit to demands for illegal gratification on the part of any public servant, or vote for the corrupt leaders of the land in the general elections.
(The author is a former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation.)
Keywords: political scandals, R.K.Raghavan, 2G spectrum scam, Adarsh Housing scam, CVC, NHRC, corruption issues, UPA government, CBI probe
Well said very well said....! i'd like to say that this system of corruption has been 1st brought by the british to india and we are still practising it....Is that not absurd??? Is this what are constitution has guaranteed??? this is just because of the phaltu politicians..Corruption is like cowdung!!! i dont know why do people like its smell...it is spreading and spreading...so just kick this bullshit out of our country!!!!!
It is common for political class anywhere across the world to increase their net worth over time but it is never done so brazenly and immorally as is done in India. The problem here is that in India 900 million people have been living in extreme poverty for last 6o years with no hope for the future since it is their money in thousands and thousands of crores that is being socked. Corruption slowly changes people around irreversibly. So today we see that the entire middle class is not coming out openly in support of Anna Hazare and team. Why? Because they either have no interest or they want to protect their network of influential friends or they themselves are not clean and they are afraid that government will send tax sleuths guns blazing at them if they raise their voice. That is why perhaps only 2-3 Bollywood personalities came out openly- one of them being Amir Khan who wrote a letter to the Prime Minister. The middle class also is coming out 40-50 years too late against corruption. Why now? Because they realize it is affecting their style of life and will affect even more their children's future. They are worried about themselves not their brethren that make up the lower classes in India that is illiterate and poor which has lost all hope and is defenseless. This struggle will not succeed unless all sections of the society- teachers, students, artitsts, social workers, factory and office workers, villagers, beggars come out on the streets. Now usually that can happen if the 900 million poverty stricken people had access to media, smart phones and knew how to get connected to social media and thus be informed. Then they could be more aware and could come out on streets like in Iran or Tunisia. But these people are not even aware of their rights what to talk of knowing the correct approach to handle things that matter to them. India has to await a leader that will awaken the masses. I think Anna got one thing wrong. He is suggesting that under the proposed bill, all corrupt ministers be sent to jail and even hangman's noose. I disagree for the reason that every Tom, Dick and Harry, every political party, have their hands in not tens but hundreds of crores of rupees. Not only this will have the affect of bringing the whole system down since most would be found to have done something wrong, many smart people with specialized knowledge also have to be sacrificed just because they followed in the footsteps of their seniors or society around them. A more appropriate method would be to give everybody one chance to redeem themselves within a defined time period (everybody deserves a chance) to declare all wrong doings say in last 20 years and if they voluntarily disclose, they be allowed to retain some of the graft money, not asked to pay back what they have spent on their families and take an undertaking not to repeat. The incentive is that they retain their honor, wealth and ability to participate politically. Those who do not declare will loose everything and will have to pay penalty also. As Anna said technology has to be employed so that citizens can file reports via internet. There will be two streams of confidential inputs- a)Informants b)Voluntary disclosures. At least this way nation can recoup trillions of dollars quickly and channel them for regeneration of India in its villages. The present political system cannot be expected to bring about any meaningful change because they have a vested interested in maintaining stratus quo which is anti people. The government or parliament does not represent the people anymore. People therefore have to force a change. Under the present circumstances we need help of the same political class as at present to bring about necessary changes. The present political class cannot be expected to help if at least some of their interests will not be preserved. Hence the need to provide one chance to keep their honor, dignity and political carrier if they voluntarily disclose and bring back 70-80% of the money!
Rather bizarre that R K Raghavan tiptoes to a conclusion that something is rotten in the land of a million gods. Where was he the 40 years of his service? Surely this is a curious test of our sense of humour.
One can comprehend the scale of corruption in present day India, only if we remember that some of these numbers are bigger than the total out lay of the first five-year plan it self. I am sure that our general public is not under any misconceived notion that our political system will fix this problem and ring in a golden era of justice and fairness in public life. There may be a lesson the Indian voter can learn from what is going on in West Asia. The common man in West Asia seems to have decided to speak up. It may be time for Indians to do the same thing. After all Gandhiji invented the popular movements.
However, this time it is not to bring down any governments, but to make our governments better. India has experimented with different governments and ideologies. But we have seen no difference between them. So sacking a particular government is meaningless. All we need to do is to make the current elected parliamentarians to do the following:
1) Make constitutional changes so that any one with a criminal history cannot run for any kind of public office if he is implicated in a crime and life time ban if he is convicted in a crime. In a country of a billion people, we can find enough people to run the country!
2) Prosecute corrupt elected official and give them exemplary punishments including confiscating everything they gained by such actions plus some.
CBI always makes the raids after substantial delays so that all the documents which will implicate those in power are destroyed. We certainly need a revolution to set right this dangerous free fall in morality.
An excellent article envisaging the dire straits of the common man in India. If only people are more educated and not greedy we could have made India a better place to live in.
You have rightly pointed out the colourable exercise of authority in appointing Mr. Thomas as CVC, the country’s highest institutional authority to probe charges of corruption in spite of dissent Note entered in the file (your editorial “Waiting for Thomas to go” dt. 29, Jan.2011) Nobody is indispensable in administration when there are thousands of highly qualified meritorious professionals available in the country in open market. Posting of retired/retiring persons in Govt. higher posts should be dispensed with to give way to qualified unemployed youths to get job in Govt. Service to make the country to grow fast. Those who have completed 30 or 33 years of qualified service must be sent out from Govt. service to give employment opportunities to educated youths.
The danger lurks that Indians may lose faith in democratic politics and opt for dictatorship. I am hearing even from my politician friends that democracy has failed in India. This idea cuts across party lines, especially the youth. They feel that the corruption is so pervasive, that no one left with the moral authority to call anyone to account for corruption. C.V. Thomas is simply the latest case. Given his record, how can he accuse anyone of being corrupt?
WE only make demands for stern government action against corruption at collective level, but at individual level we seek not to eschew corruption in our everyday life and even passively contribute to its rapid growth. Though recent rising voices and campaigns against corruption underscores the snowballing public opinion against the all-pervasive corruption, mere demands are not enough to fight this menace. The opposition parties' double-speak and compartmentalization of corruption into various levels are a case in point. Interestingly, it is gratifying to note that corruption is stirring the hearts of the people unlike never before. While this is a welcome change, this cannot be viewed as a transformation. What is required is an attitudinal change towards corrupt people and the systemic rot in the society. Only a major shift in the public opinion against corruption can guarantee a lasting solution for this social issue gnawing at the republic. All right thinking persons like Gandhians, Teachers, Industrialists, Social Workers, et al, must come forward and contribute their mite to ignite the minds of the young and impressionable.
The corruption in India is a very dangerous monster.It is the mother of all problems in our country.It is making our society, nation, com-
pletely hollow from inside. Corruption is the biggest threat to the
security and integrity of our country. It is eating the very fabrics
of our society. It is very difficult for the citizens of this country
to expect any action against corruption by this government because
the government and its various ministers are itself involved in mega
scandals. I think we need Tunisia like storm which will shake the
foundations of these corrupt politicians, bureaucrats,policy-makers.
The common masses in India are absolutely frustrated, hopeless because
of the inaction of the government against the corruption. The govern-
ment itself is busy in covering up these mega scandals by appointing
corrupt officials on the key posts like c.v.c. of India.
Corruption keeps growing in a system that feeds it. It is fed by the need by politicians to get elected by spending unaccountable money. This money comes from portions siphoned off from projects with inflated values. With the largest IT manpower in the world, e-governance should be made an absolute priority. Voting should be encouraged in all forms, especially electronic and through internet. Taxpayers money should be treated with utmost respect as implemented in all policies. Transparency and checks and balances must be embedded in all areas. Every tender should be e-checked. Routine tenders should be capable of being filled on line and decided automatically, without human intervention.
Once elected to any office, the politician's financial records should be laid bare including all and sundry related to him/her. He should not have a private moment and all his appointments should be visible to the public. Politicians must be made to feel the weight of his duty and responsibility, by holding him totally responsible for all things that should be done by him through delegation or otherwise. For example if the streets of a city are dirty, ultimately the line of command should go to the CM who should be asked to don overalls and sweep the city clean, which includes public toilets. Every politician should be totally aware of public office and what it means- it is an inverse pyramid. The lowest cadre of worker has the least responsibility as there is nothing above him. The CM has the weight of the entire state workforce under him. If he cannot deliver let him go. True democracy empowers people with a lot of rights including RTI, speedy justice, quick turnaround of cases, and so on. We could learn some of this from places such as Singapore and Australia, where people quit office due to the pressure, unlike in India where they warm the seats for the next generation, riveted to it even if they are brain dead.
It has been rightly pointed out that Govt is not interested to bring the culprits to book. For the best reasons known to Dr.Manmohan Singh, attempts are made to cover up all the scams. A great movement is required to eradicate corruption in India. The Congress Govt has become more corrupt. Congress is ruling the Country for decades together and it is responsible for all the ills of the Country. Dr. Singh has miserably failed in his duties and he should also be held responsible for 2G and CWG scams. Congress is in bad company and doing all nonsense things for the sake of vote and power.
Kudos to the open article of Sri Raghavan. Corruption has now become a part and parcel of every household. Parents corrupt the children by bribing them with toys on their best academic performance. Thus corruption is in the route of our culture. A land of great saints and leaders... Now the UPA being led by mafia druglords and supported bihari war lords and a dravidian thief and his family and a lady CM of US who makes Phoolandevi look like a goddess.
Those people who have taken color TV sets and freebies from various governments and those who dont vote in elections and those who pay money as bribe to get their jobs done...Amongst all these who are the non corrupt ones! New born INFANTS are the non corrupt ones and soon mothers breast milk will be poisoned with chinese melamine and corruption. God save India and God save mother earth.
BHOPAL,BOFORS,TELECOM (BJP and CONG),CWG,ADARSH and many more to come.
CWG culprits have gone free. CBI left the telecom scam and Mr Sibal...trying to keep a straight face and lie and manish tiwari barking like a rabid street mongrel. God save this nation.
India has achieved full success in establishing a system and society within India, where corruption can thrive without fear. The basis is now strong and mature and ready for export, as a global Indian Foundation for Breeding Corruption world wide. I hope this success draws the attention of the world, which is the only thing that can help India and Indians now. The master creaters of the system know mass psychology and human behaviour well. Credit also goes to willing collaborators, all fully indigenous. The mechanisms used in the design of this uniquely Indian system are: * A large mass of poorly paid bureaucracy, instead of a smaller number of well paid, efficient officers. Well paid civil servants, like tenured professors, tend to stand upright. * Keeping literacy levels under control. Those who can't read are easier to keep in the dark. This takes care of the lower classes. * Plying the public with tamasha like Cricket, Bollywood on a regular basis, 'India rising' feel good stories and hope -- takes care of most average people in all classes. * Keeping the media tame. * Yet making everything appear prim and proper at the surface.
I think the time is past when people could be made aware of the damage caused by corruption. And the diversity in India makes the task of effecting an agitation of some sorts all the more difficult. So the best way to curb corruption is to have minds shrewder than those who practice it. Using this shrewdness, this monster can be slowly eaten into step by step and ultimately annihilated. This is the minimum a citizen can do and must do.
Indian cities are turning out to be like Gotham before a vigilante (Batman) had to clean up the streets off corruption. Is that what we need, Vigilantes? Partly so, but the truth is India needs an inspiration in a man. A leader whom we can be proud of, whose words can make the good do better and the bad, leave their ways. Sadly, our current leader is either not fed well(since he mumbles when he speaks)or is just doing his job with zero interest.
The three remedies described by the author are having both positives and negatives as- 1.No doubt,the approval from government before filing any case against civil servants of higher ranks is next to absurd and should be nullified as soon as possible but in my way a move like 'let all power transferred to investigating agencies' is also not a prudent one as thereafter our investigating agencies would start working very much like police force and working for bureaucrats will become very difficult.(Many intelligence officers would surely start encroaching on normal works of even honest bureaucrats). 2.On the note of second issue,the author is correct in a way as the present monitoring-practice by the Supreme Court eats away a lot of time of its own.But prima facie the author proposed 'small group' is also not looking sustainable as it will substantially increase the number of already too many committees. 3.In third case it is sometimes very unfair as the appeals against acquittals are blocked by the government because it might be the case as the very same official comes out with his leg trapped strongly in that case but if this statute ends then it may be a possibility that one bureaucrat spends all his life in fighting against such never ending cases.
Corruption is an evil that needs to be irradicated from our society.Most of the people who are into this system of corruption finds it as a neccessary evil. They give excuses of some kind of internal or external pressure. Although they always think what they are doing is not that bad and always feel better in making a complaint of others doing the same thing. Most of the people who are not corrupt and feel proud to be not the part of this bad system are not working to their best potential so the benefit of their being non-corrupt does not reach the common man and they fail to make an impact on the mind of common man while ironically those who are into this corrupt practice are making inroads into people pshyche.Leaders in any sphere of life should make a point to live corruption free and examplanary life. We the common man should always criticize such bad acts at the very begining. We need to irradicate this practice from our day to day life.First, clean ourselves up, then set an example in front of our family. Many such families with change society. This will take long time but it is better answer to the problem rather than increasing the volumes of our law books.
The eco-system of corruption in India has now been exposed - now what, we Indians may ask ourselves? Let me start by highlighting the following words written on the tomb of an Anglican Bishop in the Crypts of Westminister Abbey: " When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it,too,seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years,in one last deperate attempt , I settled for changing only my family,those closest to me , but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and who knows, I may have even changed the world." Perhaps it is a good message for us Indians. No magician is going to appear with a magic wand and transform India. Nor is change a spectator sport. To transform India , we Indians - every one of us need to act individually - we need to make the change ourselves.. We need to look FIRST into our own homes and our thinking before we cry out in rage and protest against the system or the politicians. Indians must realise that reforming our own behaviour is the starting point to reforming society and public officials .We must atleast force ourselves to start living by some of the standards we seek to impose on others. People are the nation and our national character and ethos today is a reflection of the peoples' value system. In all the finger-pointing that is going on today, what is perhaps not acknowledged is that moral degeneration is frighteningly rampant in the entire social fabric in India. And yet there are no voices in the Indian society and MEDIA calling for a social awakening . We live in times where values are at a shocking discount. Anything goes in India today ; "sab kuch chaltha hai." The average citizen is more than a willing participant in compromise, corruption and a lot worse provided it is a "get-rich-quick" opportunity. Where does nationalism, ethics, honesty, integrity, respect , support etc figure in the hierarchy of values for an average Indian today ? How then do we expect our leaders, politicians and corporates to embody these qualities? What is driving this frenzy of greed and ambition in India that we have forgotten all values and 'Indian spirituality' is missing in total? What is driving the almost hysterical greed and ambition, frustration, and increasing polarisation between different sections of the population.? Why are we also today leading the world in stress-related disorders like diabetes; BP; heart attacks ; cancer ? Why is rape becoming an everyday or rather every-hour story in Delhi ? Why are our town and cities going from bad to worse in terms of civic sense and quality of life ? Is there a connection between all these negatives in India today? For sure there is. A few glitzy malls, branded shops and statistics such as 9% GDP growth - does it show the real status and health of a society ? Let us agree that mother India is sick - mentally & physically, and we are getting sicker by the day . And we are also driving the next generation to become just another 'machine for accomplishment'. It's high time we stopped blindly celebrating a ' India success story' and paid attention to actualy what's happening to people's lives, to our own lives, our society and country. Indian media has the greatest responsibility to highlight this to the Indian masses and bring about a change or at least initiate a change process.
THE INDIAN EXPERIMENT OF DEMOCRACY HAS FAILED. History shows that democracy does not work as long as the majority of voters is illiterate and faces the struggle of daily survival. In that case you don't base your vote on long term but on short term benefits. Usually corrupt politicians promise these fast changes and also have the budget to buy votes. The majority of people in government administration/politics (from bottom to the top) regard India as the No. 1 income source for their entire family. If being corrupt is the only option to guarantee good education for your children, social security etc. because the government is not capable to provide that - then who to blame? I have not met a single honest, humble, Indian who is caring as much about the public as about his family/himself. All of those who say so only pretend. They enjoy the admiration by others, live in their fancy houses and forget about the poor as soon as buffet starts after the speech. Under these circumstances it's rational to pursue self/family-interest. One part of the solution is educating young people to look beyond their family and care about society. I don't see that happening. Parents would be insane to do so as it would reduce the income prospects of their children. Universities, Business Schools etc. have understood this and promise to educate monetary successful graduates. Another solution would be to install a regulatory body that has to approve and monitor public spending based on scientific analysis. Only reputed scientists would be allowed to work in this institution for a limited time. A committee of scientists elected by scientists would appoint the workforce (scientists) of this regulatory body for a limited time period. Scientists could afterwards return to their research again. I also do not see such a body to be established as it would limit the power of administration and politics. DO you want to change this system? Good luck! I am leaving!
India has always been a corrupt nation. Not only India, every other nation on this earth is corrupt. So point number 1: Do not blame India for what it has morphed into. People who give money are the perpetrators of corruption. Point number 2: There is no smoke without fire, and there is no fire without fuel. When Indian citizens stand up to their rights and do not give into corruption, where will the so-called babus go?Cut off the fuel supply first, then you can put out the fire of corruption. Instead, what is the point of putting up a pretense of putting out the fire while you add fuel secretively?! There are bad roads, no electricity, surplus food that rots in godowns while Indian children are malnourished. All these are problems.. Yes. But if you whine and put on a righteous attitude and send "I am so ashamed to be an Indian citizen..." letters to newspapers, what do you achieve? Next time you encounter a situation where you are forced to pay bribes, walk away from the scene. Or better, have a hidden camera and put it on youtube. Publicize corrupt politicians and government officials. Make your voice heard among the 1 billion people. Spread the news on twitter and facebook. Remember that there are always more uncorrupted people than corrupt people in India, and the world. I for one have never given bribe to anybody and I will continue to do so for as long as I live. Take a pledge never to be a party to corruption
The Irony is that the pot cannot call the kettle black. Congress is corruption, that everybody knows. How can BJP accuse the Congress as corruption when the so-called disciplined party is no exception from corruption.
It seems corruption will never be rooted out of indian politics for decades to come. Parliamentary democracy never worked in the last sixty years. Constitutional changes may be required to adopt a system that takes into account good aspects of parliamentary and presidential rule. Rule of law is failing. Common man finds it difficult to fight corruption alone.
Corruption starts from supply and service to Ministers/ VIPs/IAS/IPS officers during their visit to districts by the lower level officials. The village revenue officers (VAO) are receiving bribes openly from the petitioners (General public) for issuing caste,income and patta cetificates. When they are questioned, they openly say that they have to incur expenditures(minimum Rs.5000) for visiting VIPs and higher officers twise or thrice in a month. They (the lower cadre officials) have no moral fear to receive bribes since they are supplying to VIPs. So the real corruptives are Ministers and IAS/IPS officers. Supply and service to top level is the root cause of corruption. Further in top level (ministers) bribes in lakhs of rupees are receiving from lower officials for appointments and transfers in independant bodies (Corporations & boards). Further corruption has occupied a major role in Revenue, commercial taxes, transport offices and registration (house/land) offices in whole India. First Ministers and top level officers should be free from corruption. Then only lower level officials will be from corruption. If the King is right, everybody will be right.
To make all our wishes a reality for the beginning let us join the movement `India against corruption'. Visit: www.indiaagainstcorruption.org.
Sounds like the various changes suggested might see the light of day by 2070, by which time the place should have shed its ugliness and grown up sufficiently, albeit with lots of pain on the way still to come. None of the suggestions made here will be implemented for the reasons we all know. Corrupt babus and netas actually pocket only a tiny fraction of the benefit the businesswala and you and I make; after all the bribe is never more than a small part of the gain made by the bribe payer. The country is evolving at a snail's pace, in the classic Indian way, and the churning will take two more decades. As to revolution, misty eyed as the prospect may look, will not happen. Tunisia had the youth out in the streets in the thousands for weeks risking their lives; when last did India's youth do anything remotely close? Come on, let's get real, blame the neta, but ask how many will do anything except talk. Revolution never came from chatter. as to the writer's prescription, its another babu who become a sage after retirement. There are thousands of them in the papers and TV studios.
Any attempt to fight the corruption should involve the general public, people like us who more often than not bribe the venal,just because we are ignorant of the actual processes or too impatient to let the system do its work. Like paying to a broker to get a driving licence or a ration card delivered faster. As long as the educated citizen remains indifferent to this evil when he thinks he is at a safe distance,We cannot hope cure it.
Dear Mr. Raghwan: The present government is full of Intelligent, corrupt guys including PM, Home Minister, planning commission and many more on list. Two days back, Our honorable solicitor-General declared the name of privileged people in Supreme court. These are those people who deposited hard earned money of peasant and tax payer in foreign bank. These are people who own black money. It is ironical that these thieves are the privileged people in the directory of Government of India but tax payers, social activists are criminals to this government. To whom we are begging for the wipe out of corruption. This nation is presently governed by corrupt leaders. If they really serious then they should hand all those who are owner of black money and scams.
Thanks for an appropriate article. Unfortuantely articles like these appear ceremoniously whenever corruption scams are revealed. I have started to wonder how many more scams would surface if the media in India was corruption free itself. The reason for my cynicism for the media is that for all the corruption scams in the past, articles appear without ever naming the specific players linking them to illegal acts. None of the media outcry has resulted in conviction of the guilty. Perhaps this fact alone, allows the corrupt to practice their art with impunity and confidence. One of the points I wish to air has been noted by another letter here. Namely the pristine and clean image of the Gandhi parivar (I believe) carefully cultivated by the media. How on earth can the head of the coalition be above blame for all the political appointments of the corrupt politicians, she is directly responsible for. When it comes to blame, the fingers point to Dr. Singh. For glory our heads are made to turn to Mrs. Gandhi. The common man is tired of this charade and has seen through this game in Bihar (during the last elections) and UP too. It is a different matter that the mandate given in UP is wasted on a person like Mayawati. She failed to understand the mandate. But the importance of these elections is that the so called 'illiterate' people see through the propaganda outlets of various media and in desparation give chance to anyone irrespective of caste or religion. This is the only glimmer of hope for the common man. I remain pessimistic about the future of India.
India needs to make sure they don't go the Tunisia way. An ethical society is the cornerstone of a successful democracy.
Corruption is so much widespread that it has become part and parcel of life nowadays. It cannot be eradicated just by having some policies or rules. We need grass root changes and everybody should change to remove it. All the political parties are corrupt so you cannot expect any meaningful things from them. If you complain to the police about any corrupt person then the next moment you either get a punishment from police or gunda based on your status in the society. India was a spiritual and god-fearing country in olden days and people had moral code of conduct so they kept the corruption out but it is changing. Now people offer bribe to god by giving some share to the temple from the corrupt money and thinking that god will be pleased and give them more. We believe that god incarnated in so many forms to kill bad and monstrous people at different ages. We need such an incarnation now to change the people’s mind.
Corruption is the worst nemesis we have today, corroding the very fabric of our society. It needs to be adressed quickly rather than anything else. Our Govt. which is preaching Gandhian principles is doing nothing more than a farce in this angle. They neither have the dedication nor resolve to solve this, because skeletons will keep on tumbling if the naked facts are in the open. The need of the hour is a 'leader' who is committed for a cause.
Excellent article. A lot of credit must go to the Hindu for publishing it. Other media organisations, very unfortunately, tend not to publish such content. The Legislature, Judiciary and Executive are meant to be separate and independent, but in the case of India, as described by the author, there are cases of blatant interference across the branches of governance. Politicians influence the CBI, judges respond to political pressure, etc. For shame. It is imperative to ensure that all guilty parties are punished severely, not least to efface the conception that corruption is a low-risk venture. Elimination of the temptation factor will have certainly have spectacular results. Of course the law, and those that uphold it, have to be given due diligence to bring these criminal elements to book. A recurrent failure to abide by the trust of the people will not be tolerated forever. If the investigative agencies and the judiciary cannot ensure that justice is served, then it is possible that vigilantism will ensue, if not a full-blooded revolution of a long-suffering, irate electorate. Let the politicians and their pay masters cast their eyes westwards towards Tunisia. Do not underestimate the will and determination of the people. Individuals and groups are only as powerful as they are allowed to be.
It is interesting that this item has become both the most read and the most commented one. That is a measure of the popular concern on this issue. The wonder is that there is no existing party, or sign of a new party, which will make this the major election issue, offering concrete plans for dealing with this and explaining how this will make a diffference for good in every walk of life.
Is there an explanation why why the media is not criticising the government which has recently praised the CVC, Mr.Thomas, whom the same media has been portraying as the personification of corruption? Also why is the the media silent about the Hindu's exposure of the fact that the PM, the Finance Minister and the relevant cabinet sub-committee had been kept informed about various aspects of the 2G spectrum allocation by Minister Raja?. Media's stand seems to be that while the government is drowning in corruption scandals, somehow those who run the government have their head above the muddy waters!
It is apparent that Indian community have many viruses, among them 'corruption' virus is found to be most harmful and dangerous, infecting every Indian in one way or other. Everyone says we need to deal with it. Who will create,format, design and implement an novel strategy which can help to solve the problem? How? The questions remain unanswered.
JPC is the only solution to find out the truths behind the Himalayan scams now. That's why Congress is adamant and refusing the JPC. Even the allies in UPA II are not unwilling now.
Its getting more and more difficult for a commoner to survive in this country with dignity and self respect. Which ever way we vote in elections, it always comes back to the common man in every negative way. Will there ever be an indian revolution through which we can change this misery of ours into a golden age?
India is at crossroads with respect to CORRUPTION. While by nature, most Indians are corrupt in some form or other, the corruption that we have seen in last few years under this UPA regime has been most shameful and flagrant! The value of corruption will be something that would have rocked developed countries like USA and Germany. However in India, corruption of this magnitude - $40 billion for 2G, $10 billion for CWG have not elicited a major public outcry. It is time now that the right thinking Indian public wake up and I have a five point program which will go a long way in putting corruption where it belongs. 1. Never cease till 2G scam is fully exposed and the guilty brought to book. 2. Never cease till the CWG and the Bofors scam are fully exposed and the guilty brought to books. 3. Never cease till the $1.4 trillion stashed in Swiss banks is brought back to India and the guilty brought to book. 4. Defeat the DMK in the TN assembly polls (just like Jaya was defeated in 1996 polls when she thought she could get away with any amount of corruption). 5. Defeat the UPA Govt in the next polls (though it is far away). The guilty need to be relentlessly pursued by the media and the public; at least then, there will be a modicum of respectability to the Indian state - let's do it!
Governments can't be corrupt, but its officials can. To fight this malady, we need to mete out deterrent punishments so that it envokes a sense of fear in the mind of the doer. Moreover, if the corruption is synonymous with bribe, then the bribe giver is guilty as much as the bribe taker. Both should be punished.
Transparency in public life is a rare quality. Everybody is interested in filling their pockets. High profile election propaganda should be controlled. All citizens should use their democratic rights to vote out corrupt politicians irrespective of their party affiliations. Politicians who are caught in corruption should be barred from fighting elections. We must restrict the number of national parties. Most of the regional parties promote corruption for funding their next election. All elections must be funded by the Government and strict rules must be introduced to avoid extravaganza. Bihar Government's initiative to recover wealth accumulated through improper means is a welcome feature and should be adopted throughout India.
India faces many existential threats, terrorism, poverty and most important of all is the corruption. Even corruption could be claimed as the mother of all the miseries of India. However, the problem here is the people who have the power to curb this evil is the one who is actually perpetuating this evil. In this case, we can say all political parties are same though the degree of blatantness may vary. In spite of the uproar (luckily the opposition is not silent now) the ruling party is going ahead with its practices of cover-ups and callousness, which could be construed only as their confidence in the winning the forthcoming election through community politics and by buying the votes. The poor who do not have the meal for the day cannot be blamed for selling their votes to feed their family at least for a day (this is one of the reasons why the Govt. likes poverty to exist). In this scenario, the solution is overly complex. Even the NDA and CPI which are training the guns on the UPA over the corruptions is not proposing a solution to this evil, so how can they be entrusted with the future government? The only solution to the problem is either the people can boycott the elections or demand to know their contestants before the poles (which is possible through RTI and I hope the media instead of publishing paid news does this for India) or mark '49-O' -, 'I vote for NOBODY'. However, in the last election many people were turned away or forced to vote for some candidates by the booth officers. THis time if the someone could take is fight to the public and also educate the public (both literate and illiterate), then we could think of a solution. Also, the requirement of vote once in 5yrs gives these politicians confidence to do whatever they want to do when in power. This will corrupt even the uncorrupted. Hence, the people should demand 'RECALL RIGHTS' - the right to recall their representative if their representative is acting in a way that is in contradiction with the interest of the people who elected him to power. The constant monitoring by the people should act as an deterrent. In this case, it is likely that the politicians may secretly enact an act to dilute this power of the people. Hence, it is also required that any change in the constitution, at least those changes, that are likely to alter the balance of power in favor of the politicians should only be made a part of the constitution after the a general consensus of all the citizens of India after the whole content of the change is advertised and debated in public. To control bribing, the best practical solution would be abolish paper currency within India and using bank cards and transactions for all the monetary transactions within India and abroad wherever possible. The accounts of the person can be linked to his file that has his or her UID and other details. And all the persons need to declare their sources of income and expenditures. Any sources of fund from any other sources other than his declared sources should invite investigation during which period his or her account would be frozen. Similarly, kiosk machines should be opened at every street corners which can be used to upload proofs of bribing anonymously. Bribing through objects, sexual and personal favors should be curbed by strengthening the RTI act and establishing procedures that are transparent and simple. If the people of India are still in their pre-Independence apathy and oblivious to the happening, they'll only be doomed into the oblivion. It is people's choice in any case...
I had once gone to an officer of the Brihan Mumbai Corporation, while discussing my case the officer shamelessly said 'ham to ghode hain, chabuk maaro chalenge', which means we are horses and we shall move when we are whipped, here the word whip meant a bribe. India has often been called a soft state and nothing shows this fact more than the rampant corruption at all levels of governance. How can anyone govern without being strict about compliance of rules and regulations. There has to be fear of law, today no one is afraid of breaking say traffic rules because all know that a twenty or fifty rupee note is all that is required to buy the policeman. The rot is spread all over, we have to have implementation of laws. Everyday we hear of senior bureaucrats and leaders, in other countries, being incarcerated for wrong-doings. In our country, the complete state mechanism is working overtime to protect the wrong-doers. It is funny, very funny indeed but we cannot have a PM who is being remote -controlled, and it is yet funnier that the country has a PM in waiting who has only proved himself as a monumental failure, for where ever he has gone the Congress has fared poorly, yet all Congress leaders go ga-ga over what ever he has or has failed to do. Unless we get a team of administrators who are prepared to wield the stick without fear or favour there is little hope that the situation will improve.
Corruption in India . It is so rampant that it was not a false statement by Viceroy Lord Curzon who had said 'Every Indian is verily corrupt'. Everyone from the bottom to the top is corrupt. Politicians, Police and other administrators at every level are so selfish and exploit the common people to amass wealth in a short time as possible. How to eliminate the corruption and the corrupt people? One way is to start a revolution against these corrupt people and also against the businesses and people who give bribes for favours. This revolution will not happen in India. So, the next step is to hope for a second war of Independence to get real freedom from exploitation.
Corruption trickles down from above. To make a visible impact, it must be tackled at the top. When cabinets are being constituted after elections, can the Prime Minster insist that, before swearing in, every minister should give the PM an undated resignation letter, which can be made effective if any minister has been found to be prima facie corrupt by any statutary body, like the CBI, CVC, Auditor General, Lok Pal etc.? One blatant form of corruption is the horse-trading across parties to defeat or to constitute majorities. Much of this will be reduced if the election laws are changed to prevent any one who has changed parties after election from holding any public office.
There are a few errors, as I understand from reports made in newspapers and TV. Mr. Thomas was clean till he was made Telecom Secretary. There were already cases against him in the palmolein case. The former CJI is alleged to have witheld the name of Mr. Raja which another a senior lawyer and former CJI of a State High Court claim was included in a letter to him. So both are therefore directly 'involved' in some way or another. The very fact that the Supreme Court says it will monitor the progress and conduct of an investigation by CBI is tacit acceptance that the body is no longer reliable in being impartial. Similarly there have been numerous instances when courts have moved a case to a court outside a said state so that the powers that be cannot wield influence on the progress and conduct of investigation. This again is tacit acknowledgement of the fact that all three estates that look after governance are likely to abuse the powers, responsibilities and trust vested in them by the constitution of India. But yet, no one sees that as a fit case for dismissing the government. Under these circumstances to suggest another law with its own set of loopholes, not to speak of the delays that will be made in its implementation, is futile. What needs to be done is to re-weave the moral fabric that is far more influential and far more binding on individuals and therefore the nation. It is in tatters at present.
From the current state of affairs it would appear that there are no clean men/women left in the UPA and its favorite bureaucrats. There were allegations against the successful Presidential candidate also. Mr Raghavan has already noted the allegations against the NHRC Chairman and the CVC. The earlier CEC also had allegations against him but the Congress party obstinately and arrogantly went ahead with his appointment.
The distinguished person has highlighted the point very well. Corruption cuts across party lines and really the general voting public are hardly left any choice in choosing between parties. One things which can be done is that the Election Commission takes upon itself to publish the track record of each candidate. Even though, EC would have qualified some people despite best efforts, publishing track record specifically on graft, relatives involved in graft, etc would really educate the voter and make his choice making better. This seems to be easily said, but given the impending election focus, we have to do something urgently.
What hope does a country have when politicians and bureaucrats blatantly abuse the system. Corruption is endemic in Indian society. Does this say something about us as a people ? Are we Indians inherently corrupt or is it that a certain kind of cretin makes it into politics and our civil service ? I would say the latter. So, how would we tackle this ? Surely not using the organisations that we have. Thinking logically I can see only one way that things will progress. A critical limit of people's patience will be reached as in Tunisia and then our society will be cleansed of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. Is this what we want? Do we want a civil war in India? Wake up India, do not let the cretins destroy our hard won freedoms.
My India is heading towards disaster.Corruption has strengthened its place from the grass root level to the highest office that is the office of the prime minister. If the Prime Minister thinks that he is honest, he should quit the post and tell the people truth. Otherwise he is just deceiving the people who trusted on him during the last general election. People's revolution is the only way to remove this corrupted government. Jail this corrupt leaders,bring back the money in Swiss banks.
We must not loose hope and continue our fight against corruption and other malpractices. Anything can be achieved if pursued with strong will power, self-belief and positive approach.
The role of any government is to create an atmosphere where it is very hard to do anything evil and easy to do good. Unfortunately, after 63 years of so-called independence, we have governments which seem to be doing exactly the opposite. The irony is that the so-called 'man of integrity' Manmohan Singh seems to be heading one of the most corrupt governments (or at least perceived to be ) India has ever seen. Another irony is, when there is any achievement of the government, the de-facto prime minister and her family (a.k.a Sonia Gandhi) is given all the credit, but she has no accountability for failures. Following steps would be first steps for probity in public life in my opinion: 1. Form an independent investigative agency (CBI should not be controlled by the government) it seems to me like a conflict of interest, how effectively can I investigate my boss's claim under his supervision? 2. Fast track trials. I wonder why a case like 26/11 or 2G scam has to go through local court-high court- supreme court when it is known that parties will take it to the end just to buy time. There should be a definition of which cases will be directly handled by the Supreme Court directly (those involving national security and monumental corruption cases qualify under this). 3. Foremost: one of the prime reasons for corruption in India is the amount of money people spend in elections. Spending any amount of money election doesn't guarantee success, however, not spending a huge amount almost definitely ensures a defeat. Once these peoples' representatives spend something like 50 crore to get elected, I dont think they will be clean.
Once wikileaks on swiss accounts comes out all, Sonia, Jayalalitha, MGR, Karunanithi, Murasoli Maran, Dyanathi Maran, Kalanithi Maran, Panruti Ramachandran, Vijayakanth, Rajinikanth, Vaiko, Kanimozhi, Raja, Ramadoss, Mamatha, Advani, Vajpayee, Ramamurthy etc's colour of corruption will be seen by public and they will take a decision.
Politicians won't do anything. Indians have to decide whether they want corruption or not. If Indians don't want corruption then why they are electing again and again corrupt leaders
Bravo Mr.Raghavan and The Hindu for this wonderful article. The intelligentsia of India is coming out into the open with bold views about the current state of affairs. This is good in a sense, but strangely one is reminded of a similar situation right before the infamous emergency of 1970s when Indians similarly voiced their opposition to it tooth and nail. Hope we are not entering into another such quagmire. What we have today is utter lack of accountability. Every one knows that if a politician is cought red handed, the maximum punishment he or she gets is dismissal from the cabinet, soon to be absorbed into another post. We have seen this time and again in the current Congress government. When even the Prime Minister chooses silence as a weapon and is not answerable to the common man, when the whole cabinet is run as an autocratic regime instead of as a democratic institution, something is utterly wrong with this country. Thankfully Indians also hold a powerful weapon in their hands, Vote.
The longer the PM stay silent and passive, the longer the corrupt powers hiding behind his good reputation will use that to do more damage control mischief and cover up. It will be a matter of time before the PM himself will be dragged under the cloud of suspicion and his name sullied forever. The PM should distance himself and realize it is good him and the nation to discredit his party if it is indeed corrupted within. It is simply not worth spoiling his name.
No body would agree with Mr. Raghavan's theory that corruption cannot be combated. There is nothing impossible, but it requires willpower. Politicians - bureaucrates - criminal nexus is the main cause of corruption. To break this nexus we must first abolish the policy of reservation on the basis of caste. Second, constables must be recruited from B.Sc or M.Sc graduates or post graduates. The time has gone when muscle power was needed to nab criminals. In todays time we are dependant more and more on latest electronic technology to nab the culprits.
It seems that it is very difficult to find a sincere and honest person from 1 billion strong population? There is no dearth of laws in India but the intrepreters and the custodians of laws need to be vigiliant and honest.The most brilliant and able section of society , our beloved IAS, IPS,and all other I**, who were the steel structures of goverment became more and more cunning to collude with the corrupt bosses and other forces.We need to change the way our democracy works, our democracy is not perfect becuase of that all criminals are attracted to the power centers as bees to honey.First we need to set standards for the people we elect.Also we need to set standards for voters.Current practice of democracy feeds corrupt and no good people want to be part of it.
Successive Governments have used the CBI to bury corruption cases when they come to the notice of the public. There is a perception that the guilty will not be punished in the 2G Spectrum and CWG scams as happened before in other high profile corruption cases such as the Bofors case. The CBI has also botched up many cases on account of lack of professionalism and training, a fact that Mr. Raghavan has failed to mention.
Sad litany: To end with: 'India's best bet ultimately are its citizens, who will resolve not to submit to demands for illegal gratification on the part of any public servant, or vote for the corrupt leaders of the land in the general elections.' demonstrates the hopelessness of the situation. Corruption is now integral with the genome of India. It is the legacy of the decades in power of the Nehru/Indira Gandhi family. The present day 'Agrippina' has one sole objective - to have 'Nero' sit on the throne. This UPA Government breaks all records - astonishing that someone like the present PM has also sold his soul and hangs on to power. How can he if he had any conscience continue after the CWG and 2G corruption scandals.
Dear Mr.Raghavan, The solution you have pointed out in the last para of your article is the only option to at least think of the start of the era for a corruption free country. But it will take at least a millenum to achieve 25% of the desired goal. That too in our country. Our times are over Mr.R.K.R. Don't break your head on this useless subject. Instead, it is better to concentrate on how to go for a peaceful last journey.
Thank you for throwing light on the difficulties faced by the CBI in handling cases related to the people in power. I hope the day will come soon when our leaders get the courage and will to prevent corruption. This cannot happen unless the leaders themselves take a pledge not to be corrupt. Its a catch 22 and for this maze to be unravelled, it will need a set of fresh and clean minds to come to power.
It is not at all surprising that distinguished civil servants and members of the judiciary are now coming under the corruption scanner, given their pitiful 'official' salaries. Once upon a time, ironically in the days of the British Raj, the higher civil service was largely incorruptible, on account of the high salary and perks paid to them. I say ironically, because the Raj itself had no legitimacy, being the result of foreign subversion and conquest. Nevertheless, the civil servants who served the Raj were largely of unimpeachable integrity, and many of its former members served India with distinction in the post independence era. These members certainly had far higher standards of morals and scruples than our present day Babus. I should know, my father was one of them! The solution to stemming the rot in our civil service and judiciary is to pay them a decent wage, as was done during the Raj. Years ago, JRD Tata wrote in his memoirs, 'The joy of achievement' that his numerous attempts to get the Government to pay a proper wage to its civil servants was always stymied by politicians who knew that the paying higher wages meant a non-pliable civil service! JRD should know. His once distinguished & beloved airline (Air India) was in less than 15 years of his departure reduced to a bureaucratic nightmare of political interference and mismanagement. Paying a higher wage now will of course mean nothing to those bureaucrats who are already corrupt and on the take. But it will mean a great deal to idealistic new entrants who will form the bedrock of a new generation and new India. In time, our institutions can be reformed.
Mr. Raghavan has done an excellent analysis of the malady and some proposals for cure of the cancer of corruption in the polity and administration. However, one has to reluctantly agree with him that there is little hope a consensus on action proposed. I feel that a modest start can be made by including the subject of corruption and its deleterious effects on the health of democracy and the wealth and prosperity of the nation in the school curriculum. This way, at least the fresh young minds can usher in reform where the current generation of those in power has failed the nation, negating the hard won fruits of labor and excellence shown in all fields of endeavor.
We are a characterless nation. Most indulge in immorality in their own precincts. Essence lies in deceit, a very corrosive concoction mastered in the subcontinent through ages that dissolves anything that stands upright. We practice wrong with a subtle sense that it neither breads revolt nor serious rebellion.
The people need to be educated on the damage the corruption is causing to their families and to the future of their children. This would cause a nationwide agitation against corruption by the people to force the government to install a process of investigating into all corrupt practices starting from the top. The Hindu is doing an excellent job with articles such as this one and there should be more of this across the nation. The loss of hope expressed in this article should not stop the The Hindu from pursuing to bring out the corrupt practices. It is going to be a long battle because the corrupt people are in power.
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