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]