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 :)].

The Disappointment of Defeat

The IPL – 2009 has now come to an end, a bitter end for a Royal Challengers Bangalore fan. Having come so close to Victory in the Final and also to lifting the Trophy , but yet not able to cross the finish line ahead of the Deccan Chargers is a HUGE Disappointment. But having said that, it is certainly better than finishing at the bottom of the table.

Although I could guess the result of the match even before it could end and wanted to change channels as I usually do during such occasions unable to watch the team I support  lose, I did not want to give up on the team so easily. Not after the team having shown such a fighting spirit to reach the finals after they were almost written off by everyone – both cricketing experts and fans included. And certainly not after after watching the team score a thumping victory over the Chennai Super Kings in the semi-finals yesterday.

But there wasn’t anymore turn-around in the match, no more miracles that could have changed the fortunes for the Royal Challengers. All the turn-arounds had already happened and the miracles had already worked their magic in favour of the Deccan Chargers.

As I sit back and reflect over the match and try to figure out what went wrong with the Royal Challengers team, the first thing that comes to my mind is Andrew Symonds being dropped by Rahul Dravid. As I can recall, Symonds later went onto whack at least one sixer and also scored a boundary which amounts up to 10 runs. And the challengers were short by 8 runs from victory. Another incident is the over bowled by Praveen Kumar in which he was taken for over 19 runs including the extras that he gave away in the same over. Either of the two incidents if otherwise, and the match could have had an altogether different result.

Another decisive factor was lack of partnership’s for the whole of the Royal Challengers innings. Unlike Herschelle Gibbs for the Deccan Chargers who stood steadfast and held the Chargers innings together, none of the Royal Challengers batsmen survived till the end to see the team through. The lack of partnerships meant that batsmen fell at key moments giving the Chargers the psychological and decisive edge as and when they needed. The fall of Ross Taylor and Virat Kohli of successive balls and also Mark Boucher shortly after was the probably the killer blow to the Royal Challengers innings.

I  usually follow the post-match shows  and also the various match-analysis shows aired on news channels [both Regional and English] without fail whenever the team I am rooting for wins, whichever sport it maybe – Cricket, Football, Grand Prix or any other for that matter. It makes me feel good hearing both the hosts and the guests of the show showering praises on the team and also on the match winner. But tonight, there’s no enthusiasm to watch such shows. The match was supposed to be followed by a Spectacular closing Ceremony and also the Presentation Ceremony. No enthusiasm to watch those ceremonies either. There’s no joy in watching such ceremonies when you end being on the losing side.

I expected this night to end with a lot of noise,  listening to the fire-crackers going off far away from my home; trying to flip through channel after channel trying to decide which is the best one to watch which would describe the Royal Challengers victory best, trying very hard to sleep but not able to with lots of happy memories going through my mind and my heart jumping with joy and also smiling within myself not able to control the happiness of victory of MY team. But it was not to be, not this time. That moment has to wait for a later time, for a another day and maybe for a BIGGER moment of JOY.

At the end of it all, all that can be said [with some disappointment, being a Royal Challengers fan] is “The Better Team Won.”

A Deal with the Devil

The Government of Pakistan recently announced a truce with the Taliban in Swat in the Malakhand region of Pakistan which is merely three hours away from the city of Islamabad. Swat, known as the Switzerland of Pakistan, which presented the picture of serenity, wherein nature was its best without being blemished by human intervention, which used to be a paradise for honeymooners and also winter sports is now a haven for terrorism.

The Taliban which has been making significant progress in the region has now probably claimed their biggest victory till date since the time they were ousted from power in Afghanistan. What surprises me is the way the Government of Pakistan has caved in to this terror outfit and has actually negotiated a peace pact with them instead of trying to eliminate them completely or at least suppress them. What is even more surprising is the way the Government has gone on to distinguish Taliban as the good Taliban and bad Taliban. The group headed by Sufi Mohammed who fought against the Russians in the 70's and 80's under Osama Bin Laden and his estranged son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah is being called the "Good Taliban" and the group headed by Baitullah Mehsud who has been accused of master-minding the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is being called the "Bad Taliban." I am confused about a silly thing pertaining to this issue – Which of the two is the Height's of Stupidity – Brokering a Peace Deal with a Devil or differentiating the Devil as the good half and the bad half. The Government of Pakistan must know this – there is only one Taliban which is not fit for any kind of peace deals. Can anyone sign a "peace" deal with a person or people in this case who carry Kalashnikov rifles 24/7? Not to mention the posse of rocket launchers behind the leader. This development is not dangerous to Pakistan alone, but to the neighboring states of Afghanistan and India on the western and eastern borders of Pakistan respectively. The threat to India may not be imminent, but at the same time cannot be ruled out by any means. Afghanistan on the other hand has been fighting the Taliban from the Bajaur region on their side of the border. A much bigger threat posed by this dangerous situation is the fact that the Taliban plays host to Osama Bin Laden. And as long as the Taliban are allowed control of the Swat valley, the Zardari Government may also be guaranteeing Osama Bin Laden's safety.

The imposition of the Sharia law in the Taliban occupied region is another crime against society. The kinds of ban imposed on women in the name of the law can be called a social evil in itself – restricting women from leaving their houses without wearing a burqa and to be always accompanied by a male member of the family, restricting girls from going to schools, not allowing women to work is totally irrational and unacceptable. Why the gender bias? How can such restrictions help in the service of the Almighty? And the atrocities meted out against people especially women who defy the "fatwas" against immoral behavior are unimaginable. The public torture, deaths by public hanging or deaths by means of stoning the culprits actually exhibit the cowardice of the Taliban.

Courtesy - CNN IBN, URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFBsVbwBgLU

The deal with the Taliban which has been negotiated amidst media reports that the Government has paid a whopping $6 million, can only be rationalized as way sought to bring peace in the Swat region and temporarily halt the war against the Taliban which has till now claimed the lives of thousands of innocent civilians and brave soldiers and has also led to destruction of one of the most scenic spots of Pakistan. But even this does not answer the question as to how did the Government allow such unchecked growth of the Taliban that they could become as powerful as to form a Parallel Government.

Although the Government would want to regain power in the region without any bloodshed, I very much doubt such possibilities. Evacuation of the people in Swat was something that the government should have done before the Taliban gained control of the region. And this isn't a hostage situation for the Government to negotiate with the Taliban in exchange of the inhabitants of Swat. Personally, I am not for further negotiations with the Taliban as this only gives more bargaining power to the terrorists. The Government now needs to quickly come up with a plan to counter-attack and eliminate the Taliban completely – be it the good Taliban or the bad Taliban. This will however, result in civilian casualties again, but I would like to ask two questions –

1. Can we expect the Taliban to rule the land without actually killing people who stray away from the Sharia law or who can be daring enough to question their authority?


2. Can the Taliban be allowed to continue rule over the Swat region with no one to question them, which could even lead to their growth?

Courtesy: Sarabdaran [User - YouTube].

Please also visit: www.youtube.com/rawa77 for more videos on human rights disaster in Afghanistan due to the Taliban rule

Recommended read: A Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini

Scolari sacked!!!

I have this unusual habit f reading the newspaper backwards, starting from the sports section, moving to business, followed by International, Editorial and finishing it off with National and State and City.

So one of the first headlines that I read earlier today was the firing of Chelsea’s manager Luiz Felipe Scolari from his job!!! It really came as a surprise to me. Just last night I remember visiting a particular sports website which I regularly visit for the Football updates and one of the headlines on the website was the sacking of Portsmouth’s manager Tony Adams and addressing him as No. 31. The 31st manager in the EPL to be sacked from his job. But there was absolutely no mention of Scolari being fired from his job, even as late as 10.00 pm in the night. So, imagine my surprise when I realized that Scolari was No. 32.

As a fan of EPL and also Chelsea in particular I was and still am a big supporter of Luiz Felipe Scolari. I have admired the skills and attacking attitude of Scolari since the time he coached Brazil to their World Cup victory in 2002. He followed it up with an impressive show with Portugal in the next World Cup in 2006 where Portugal was eliminated in the semi-finals. The Euro 2008 campaign with Portugal was also pretty successful considering that Portugal was one among the final four. Scolari as a coach brings in a positive mentality into the team and has never been afraid of trying new things. He is one of those managers who keep pressing for more goals even after scoring a decisive first. He is not the one of those defensive types who tries to protect the lead than going in for the kill with more aggressive strategies. He is the 4-3-3 type than the usual 4-4-2.

When he was announced as the successor of Avram Grant in the middle of Euro 2008, I was so excited and imagined good times ahead for Chelsea in the current season. He did start off impressively by not losing in the first eight games going neck to neck with Liverpool. Scolari tasted his first loss in Chelsea colors when Chelsea lost at home to Liverpool. It was also Chelsea’s first home loss since 86 games. Stamford Bridge which was considered to be fortress was breached for the first time since the past two seasons. A remarkable run coming to an end. Chelsea have since lost couple of more games at the Bridge and have dropped more points at home than away. His task wasn’t made any easier with key players having to be rested due to injuries. Drogba, who started this season with an injury has been playing in fits and starts ever since being declared fit to play which was probably since late November, Carvalho has had sit out many games due hamstring injury, Ballack was out of the team at the beginning of the season and recently Joe Cole pulled out of the rest of season due to injury. Michael Essien is yet to make a return since the time he injured himself when playing for his country. Captain John Terry also had to take few games off due to back injury. Cynics might argue that injuries are part of the game – but losing key player’s game after game does not help a winning cause, moreover Scolari was not even given too many grants during the January transfer window and had to bring in Ricardo Quaresma on loan.

At the end of it all, anyone – player or coach should be given sufficient time to prove themselves and seven months is not at all close to being sufficient. Plus, the players also need to understand the coach. The coach and the players have to be allowed gel with each other. Abramovich has now sacked three coaches within a span of one and half years. How does he expect “anyone” for that matter to show convincing results? Jose Mourinho was sacked because he was playing too monotonously and his style of play wasn’t attractive enough for Abramovich. I still don’t know why Avram Grant was thrown away. I just guess it was because Chelsea could not bag any title in the last season and now Scolari has been sacked without allowing him even one complete season at the helm.
I am not the one who likes Manchester United or Alex Ferguson but I have to agree with him when he reacted at Scolari’s exit saying “The world has no patience”. Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have been with their respective teams since a decade, be it good times or bad. In the similar fashion I believe one of the past three coaches [including Scolari] should have been allowed to continue as the manager of Chelsea. If either Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger would have been fired based on one season’s performance, I doubt if Manchester United or Arsenal could have reached the heights that they have today.

The next coach of Chelsea better be ready to take over the team without any hopes of clinging to the manager’s post for far too long. He should know that his job is an insecure one, one which can be snatched without any reason and at anytime of the season, because success alone doesn’t guarantee a Chelsea manager’s job security, there are lots of other things that go into it, one of which is Roman Abramovich itself.

Love Day or Hate Day???

Valentine’s Day – A day celebrated as a mark of respect to St. Valentine, a day celebrated to celebrate Love. But in the past few years we have been witnessing certain section of the society condemn this celebration terming it as “Western Culture”. If Valentine’s Day is a Western Influence on “Indian Tradition/Culture,” then can’t we call Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and even New Year’s Day also as a Western Influence and condemn the same. What is needed in this case is a clear definition of Western Culture and Western Influence and clearly differentiate it from Indian Tradition/Culture.

What absolutely cannot be permitted and tolerated is violence in the name of condemnation. How can people who use violence as means of spreading the message be called “Protectors” of culture and tradition? Does Indian culture preach violence? Is our culture so weak that it needs to be protected? Can any culture sustain over the long run when it permits violence for its own protection? If violence against such celebrations is allowed in the name of condemnation, then a day wouldn’t be far off when even Christianity and Islam are seen as a foreign influence on the supposedly “Indian Culture” and people who follow these religions would be attacked as well. We have already witnessed outrageous attacks on Churches in such cities as Bangalore and Mangalore.

I only see this as an attempt by the so called protectors to gain public and media attention in order gain political mileage. In this age of media outreach, one such publicity can draw the attention from various classes of the society no matter how varied their opinions would be. With previously well established non-secularist, pro-Hindu and if I can go on to say political parties with retrograde ideologies already having laid firm foundations in the country – it only goes on to serve the purpose for these new organizations that are still in their infancy stage and need the media attention to popularize them.

We have to ask ourselves a question – How are these organizations thriving in spite of the flak drawn by wide sections of the public?

The answer I feel lies in our weak legal system. “Moral Policing” is the term used by the media to address the actions of these organizations. Here comes the second question – Do we really need Moral Policing? Public Displays of Affection [PDA] is something that is seen as inappropriate, vulgar and crossing the lines of decency. Restricting people from such acts is acceptable, however, stopping them celebrating Valentine’s day or if it means going out along with their partners and beating them up and campaigning against what they call as Western Culture is unacceptable. The problem lies in the Police System. The police in India are by a large extent influenced and used by the politicians. The police have become toys in the hands of the politicians. Taking action against such organizations which do enjoy political backing is seen as inviting “unwanted” trouble. The Judicial system also needs to be blamed in this issue. A system which grants bail to these perpetrators and allows them to roam around scot-free, a system which takes years to acquit a criminal does not raise fear in the minds of criminals. What is needed is a judicial system which can take immediate and quick action against everyone involved in such acts – both directly and indirectly.

What also needs to be done is a complete revamp of the police department. The public lack faith in the police department. The police are by large seen as only being reactive than being pro-active. When people have been repeating these acts every year over and over again, steps must be taken to prevent such activities from taking place. The Law Must Prevail. Fear of political backlash should not keep the men in uniform from performing their duty. Public support in favor of the police can go a long way in boosting the morale and confidence of the police.

But the root cause for such unlawful activities actually lies in the political backing and also the support gained by a handful of people from the society. Politicians actually breed such organizations for their own benefits. As long as the leaders of the country are not clean, you can’t expect the society to be clean of such rogue elements.