2010 - The Year that was defined by Corruption

Corruption has been existent in India since the time of the kings and continues to rule roost showing no signs of being eradicated from the society in spite of the State as well as the Central Governments setting up Departments, Institutions, Independent Bodies, etc to deal with the with the problem. But the scale of corruption only seems to grow with the growth of India into a supposed “Economic Super-Power.” The year of 2010 has possibly been one of the most corrupt years that I can remember in the recent past which has shamed the Central Government and also the Government of the State of Karnataka [sadly both India and Karnataka are synonymous for economic progress and I.T knowledge bank].
Some of the incidents are listed below:


1. The 2G Scam – Industrialists, Journalists, Corporates, Lobbyists and of course Politicians – people from all walks of life seem to be involved in this scam. This scam has claimed one minister and is on the verge of claiming the Central Vigilance Commssioner P. J. Thomas. It has also shamed the entire journalist fraternity because of senior journalists Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi acting as power brokers.

2. The CWG scam– Can of Worms, Corrupt Wealth Games, Kalmadi Games.... the list goes on. The names were anything but the actual Common Wealth Games. The whole lot of bad news that preceded the Games created doubts in the minds of many about the successful completion of the Games. But the Games went beyond all the negativity and proved to be a success. Till date, the scam has claimed the President of Indian Olympic Association and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the CWG Suresh Kalmadi and also the Joint Chairman of the of the organizing committee T. S. Darbari.

3. IPL Scam – Governments were not involved, but brought enough shame to the nation by the very nature of the scam and also by the amount of the money laundered. The games finally brought to end the brief but controversy filled stint of the former Minister of State for external Affairs Shashi Tharoor. The former Chairman and Commissioner of the Indian Premier League has moved to London and has no intentions of returning to India. The Enforcement Directorate has issued a blue-collar notice against Modi which means that there is a complete travel ban against Lalit Modi and he can detained at any port of embarkation or disembarkation and handed over to the Enforcement Directorate

4. Medical College Recruitment Scam –This one may not have made as much news as the other ones, but resulted in the ouster of the former Minister for Medical Education M. Ramchandre Gowda and also caused enough embarrassment to the Yeddyurappa Government


5. Operation Lotus [II] – Operation Lotus-2 was a result of discontentment among a section of BJP MLA’s and Ministers. It brought to fore the low moral ethics and greed of our politicians and of course the ill-gotten wealth which was used to “buy” support






6. Mining Ore Scam – This scam dragged the State’s anti-corruption unit, the Lok Ayukta into the media glare. This scam wasn’t just about money. It was about the nation’s wealth being looted and exported, it was about the State’s BJP unit’s resolve to do the right thing by retaining Lok Ayukta cheif Santosh Hegde and at the same time save the Reddy brothers. To the opposition, it was how to embarrass the BJP and bring the Reddy brothers to book and also reclaim the people’s support. The Congress leaders of the State literally walked [padayatra] all the way from Bangalore to Bellary seeking public support held a major rally upon reaching there


7. The Land Scam – This scam almost claimed the Chief Minister of Karnataka. The public was always aware of the land grabbing done by the land mafia and also by the politicians. The scam brought to fore few of those many shady deals. The mud-slinging that followed between the leaders of the political parties has brought to public view how the ministers use their political muscle to get work done for themselves, to their closed and dear ones and also people who can grease their palms. As of now, this scam has claimed the seat of Katta Subramanya Naidu


8. The Adarsh Housing Board Scam – This is not a case of almost, but it did claim the seat of the Cheif Minister from Ashok Chavan. However, the most unfortunate part of this scam was not the fall of the Chief Minister but the involvement of some of top army service men. We can only hope such soldiers do not spread their filth around so that someone actually sells the country

These are just few of the many cases that take place on a daily basis. The only cases which the public gets to know are the ones which above a certain level in monetary terms below which it does not qualify for a corruption case at all. This brings us to the question – Why is corruption so rampant in India? Some of the few reasons which come to my mind are the obvious which are bad administration and also lack of a strong legal system. But there are more such as the low pay of the people who are lower down the ladder such as the police constables or sub-inspectors, the clerks and government employees of the similar rank at Government offices which force them to take bribes in order to support their families. Bad company could also “corrupt” an honest official. The greed of the businessmen, their close affinity to the politicians and their ability to get their work done from the politicians is another cause. The low moral ethics of the bureaucrats and politicians is also a reason which needs to be addressed by the very individuals themselves. But the most important reason is because the public encourage corruption. And they do it because it may be an easier way to getting work done. The fear of backlash from the people in power is also a reason. But whichever way one sees it, public encouragement because not people stand up against it is a major contributor for corruption to be so rampant in our society. The Lok Ayukta is a namesake institution which lacks teeth needed to bite and tear the corrupt apart. I am sure every citizen [at least the clean ones and the ones who care for the nation] would love to see a clean society. But it is not possible to see such a day unless we common citizens firmly stop encouraging the social evil.



Please click on the below mentioned link for more reasons and for deeper view on each of the reasons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notable_Scams_in_India

But having written all this, I have to accept with all humility and shame and with sense regret and embarrassment that I have bribed a Government official myself [I am very sorry]

These boots are made for walking"[throwing]" - Jessica Simpson

It started with an Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi hurling his shoe at the then American President George Bush to show his anger and frustration against America’s continued presence in Iraq and also America’s influence in Iraq’s internal issues. But little did Muntadhar realize that he would be pioneering a practice which would be followed thousands of miles away in India. Muntadhar has set a new trend among Indians to vent their frustration against politicians. We had Dainik Jagran’s journalist Jarnail Singh who began the trend in India by throwing his shoe at P. Chidambaram followed by a school teacher hurling his shoe at Congress MP Naveen Jindal, then senior BJP leader L. K. Advani was booted at and even our honoured Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was not spared from such attacks. And now the trend seems to catching up with the Police Department as well, with ex-police constable Abdulla Ahad Jaan hurling his shoe at Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. It is a pity that the very force which is responsible for control and security is being influenced and also is involved in such shameful acts. What is even more saddening is the moment when Abu Jaan chose to hurl his “ammunition.” It was when everyone was paying respects to the nation; just moments after Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had unfurled the Tricolour and while he was saluting with the national anthem playing alongside. The incident can hence be even seen as disrespect shown towards the Flag, our National Anthem and country as a whole. Soon we may have to deal with a situation wherein there is a shoe hurled at every public meeting convened by various political parties or worse wherein children start taking to such antics and start throwing shoes at their teachers [then the trend is here to stay].

It sometimes makes me wonder as to whether this new form of protest will take over the long practiced and so called non-violent forms of protest such as the Satyagraha, Padayatra and Silent Marches. Or maybe such forms of protests are reserved for the political class, the shoe throw is now meant for the press and the police leaving strikes and violence for the mob and the common man. This also brings into picture the fact that the first two forms of protests which are followed the three P’s can go unpunished either because they weren’t a offence in the first place or by the very influence of the profession of the protestors while the common man’s approach is punishable because of the form of protest and also because he is an easier target without any influence.

The shoe throwers may not yet have realized that they are setting a bad example and also that it paints the entire nation in poor light. Indians have already earned the disrepute of being one of the most corrupt and dishonest people in the world thanks to our politicians and bureaucrats and we do not need a “shoe-throwers” image to be built because of our scribes and policemen.

Interestingly, the “shoe” [which was also hurled at Pakistan President Asif Zardari] has yet to achieve its mark. It has till now failed in both striking its target and also in achieving its mission it was thrown for. I guess it just needs some practice before it can be perfected [hopefully the art strilking the target should not be perfected, but the art of achieving the mission will be :)].