Tracing the roots of corruption in India

Historically the Britishers are infamous for their manipulative skills and nobody knows it better than the Indians. Many blame the deep stain of corruption in the Indian society as an after effect of the British rule. Veteran journalist and author Buroshiva Dasgupta, in his guest post for the Stray Thoughts, traces the history of corruption in independent India and questions whether it is the manipulative legacy of the British rule which is to be blamed for the flurry of fraudulent activities or is it that we the Indians have turned out to be morally corrupt.  

"Some say the Indians learnt well two things from the British during their two hundred year rule – one is the English language and the other - corruption. The Indian universities were set up in the Oxford and Cambridge model and they continue to cling to the old rules – but their soul (progressive education) has fled. In administration, the British introduced the "steel frame" and could manage to move resources fast across the country and then to the outer world – through the railways and through the steamliners. But within the system, things like "baksheesh" and speed money kept up the momentum.

Today, the world seems to move more according to the American models – whether in education or in economy or administration. We are limping in education, failing to break out of the British mould; but surprisingly, have caught on to the fast ways of the underworld of international economy. We are part of networks of the "hawala", the Swiss banks and the overseas tax-free havens. Money changes hand in lightning speed and are stashed away in many forms all over the world.

The recent "white" paper on the "black" money, which the erstwhile finance minister - and the present President of the country, Pranab Mukherjee - placed before the Parliament has only tried to "whitewash" the misdeeds of the government by stating how the present UPA government has "effectively" reduced the outflow of the country’s financial resources to Swiss bank and international tax havens ( Thank God, he at least admitted that such things happen !).

The Prime Minister defends the "Coalgate", refuses to scrap the coal deals with private beneficiaries, saying that no irregularities have been noticed in the matter by his office. Yet it was the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) which bartered the natural resources – this time coal – without auction, and the beneficiaries included relations of Congress leaders and ministers. Even a manufacturer of underwear is a beneficiary – what really has he got to do with coal except speculate and make money?

The Prime Minister couldn’t wriggle out this time from the blame because he was holding the Coal portfolio during the distribution, though during the distribution of the airwave (spectrum), the PMO could shift the blame on to the former Telecom Minister A Raja. And we thought the PM was an honest person.

But let us face the hard facts.

Some people will continue to blame the British for introducing the culture of speed money to rob the Indian resources; but we Indians, over the years, seem to have turned out to be a morally corrupt nation. We don’t even hesitate to sell our children on the pretext of poverty. We rob Peter to pay Paul. We don’t hesitate to sell our air, water, earth and its underground resources – even for a pittance. We steal goodies from public transport like the railways, airlines and the shipliners. We cut down the trees and sell them off. Village sarpanchs buy Bolero cars and German shepherd dogs on money guaranteeing jobs for the villagers. The bureaucracy - or the steel frame which the British created to rob the nation and carry the resources overseas - continues with the robbery, but now it is for themselves.

About our politicians, it is less said the better. Just take the example of the Bellary mines on the border of states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. China needed steel to construct the massive stadiums for the Beijing Olympics. India supplied the iron ore – not officially, but illegally - from the Bellary mines. All the laws of the land – whether it is of mining, labour, factory, land or environment – were broken, clearly at the connivance of the political powers both at the state and centre. The two Reddy brothers made fortunes and we find the political leaders - whether of the Congress or the BJP, it does not matter – openly patronizing them. The picture of BJP leader Sushma Swaraj blessing the two Reddy brothers holding her palms over their heads is there on the internet for everybody to see. She does not even care to disown the picture.

The Congress party saved its skin on the Commonwealth Games scandals – where sports equipment supply deals where made with companies which did not even physically exist - by a finding a scapegoat in Suresh Kalmadi, just as the 2G scam was dumped on Raja. It started in the times of Jawaharlal Nehru with the Mundhra case, continued with the Bofors Guns during Indira and Rajiv Gandhis, Harshed Mehta during the regime of P V Narasimha Rao and now the deluge during Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. BJP talks of honesty but many of the present day scams have their origins during their regime. And now we have the Sushma Swarajs and the Yeddurappas.

At the micro level, if we scan the Left parties at the state level – in West Bengal for example where they ruled for 34 years – we find them no better. Pampered sons of ministers squandered public money; forged certificates and packed universities and colleges with "party followers"; allowed realtors to get away with murder since they swelled the party coffers. The scale of corruption may be smaller in comparison with the national picture; but given the charges, and opportunities, we never know what they would have done nationally (Jyoti Basu was once offered the PM’s chair!) - because the politicians, once in chair, acquire the same hue.

What should the common man do?

Seek refuge in the Anna Hazares and the Ram Devs in fighting corruption? Possibly, over the years we have corrupted our moral fibre and can trust no one. Once a rage – and described as the new Gandhi or the messiah – now walks into politics. Power, if he achieves it, will corrupt him too. Ram Dev too it is said has political ambitions. Where does the civil society stand, or the movements like the "OccupyWall Street" or the social media? Impatience towards the media is on the rise – just as it happened in the pre-emergency days. Cartoonists are being jailed. We, certainly, are in troubled times. A "manthan" – or a great churning – is on. The outcome bodes ill."