POSTED BY BRIJ KHINDARIA, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COLUMNIST IN ECONOMY, INTERNATIONAL, POLITICS.
NOV 9TH, 2010
NOV 9TH, 2010
Even as India basks in the respect showered on it as a player on the global stage by President Barack Obama, a wave of despondency is rising among almost all sections of the people at the rampant corruption corroding its politicians, bureaucrats and media.
Recent revelations indicate misappropriation of nearly $900 million in various scams orchestrated by senior politicians, ministers and top officials. The latest episode was the disappearance of some $200 million in the run up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in October and new information about a $400 million misappropriation some years ago during allocation of cellular telephone licenses. A particularly painful recent revelation was the allocation of heavily subsidized apartments in a prime area of Mumbai to senior military figures, bureaucrats and politicians instead of the war widows and war wounded for whom they were meant as a grateful nation’s thanks.
A crucial leadership meeting today of India’s venerable Congress Party, which heads the current national coalition government, failed to make corruption a main driver of its political agenda. Congress leaders blamed high level figures in the opposition parties for some of the corruption cases highlighted by the media, thus making corruption a political issue instead of a national scandal cutting across Party lines.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is widely admired for his personal incorruptibility, and Congress President Sonia Gandhi fueled a sense of helplessness at the impunity of the corrupt when they denounced this malevolence but remained silent about allegations against top Congress politicians and leaders of coalition allies.
Corruption is thought to be embedded deeply at every level, high or low, of every institution of national democracy, including the judiciary, police, tax administration, top administrative officials and politicians. Indian laws disallow investigation or prosecution of politicians without parliament’s permission and of middle and senior bureaucrats without permission from the cabinet of ministers.
There is no institution beyond the control of government or bureaucracy with independent investigative powers and the authority to prosecute politicians or officials. Although draconian laws exist to prevent and punish the corrupt, they are rarely applied and have failed as deterrents.
Obama’s visit and thoughtful words seem to have opened Indian minds to the extraordinary potential of their country. For the first time the leader of the Western world is offering India a seat at the top economic and security tables as a partner. China sits at the top tables because it is feared and its intentions are suspect. India is being asked as a friend.
Suddenly, previous US rhetoric about India’s valued role in world affairs has changed into genuine belief in her ability to help create a more equitable, secure and people-friendly world order. This has jolted Indians out of resignation to being exploited by institutionalized corruption in all corridors of power.
In general, India is dynamic, creative and youthful compared to Western nations, China and Japan. There is energy and excitement about economic growth and making money. But Obama’s visit heightened realization that corruption is a greater enemy of better lives for Indians than poverty and other material shortages.
Disappointment is growing because of recognition that the people cannot trust any institution to impartially uncover and punish the corrupt. The discovery that some senior army generals were involved in Mumbai’s real estate scandal has caused consternation because the army was widely admired for being incorruptible.
A feeling of helplessness is rising because there seem to be no workable solutions, although politicians rail against corruption across Party lines. It turns out that everybody is naked because Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh, both known for their probity, are reluctant to aggressively implement anti-corruption drives within their own Party while making shrill accusations against opposition figures. They fear to open a Pandora’s Box capable of bringing down the government by causing severe losses for the Congress and its allies in elections at the State and local levels.
Even the media is no longer trusted as an honest filter between the powerful and the people. This is mainly because major newspapers and TV channels do not clearly differentiate sponsored news and analysis from genuine reporting.
Transparency international ranks India at 87th place in its index of corrupt countries. There is little hope that things will change dramatically for the better soon.
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