INDIA on the MOVE, Our Corruption, We the People(Sl 05 on Scribd)

8/13/2019 INDIA on the MOVE, Our Corruption, We the People(Sl 05 on Scribd)

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Our Corruption Problem

I am glad that Shri Anna Hazare highlighted the issue of wide spread

corruption in our society in the recent past.

I am glad because spreading tentacles of this social malady in all spheres

of life, hae made most of us reluctant participants in it to get things moing ! be

it release of payment due to you from a goernment agency, be it ma"ing of a

ration card, be it replacement of a burnt electric meter in your house or getting

some clearance for setting up an industry or handling ta# matters and many such

other day-to-day inter-faces with arious goernment agencies.$he element of %shame& in demanding ' manipulating things for the

purpose has completely disappeared among most.

$hus there is a strong sub-conscious feeling of guilt among the reluctant

participants for haing been forced into it . And that , to my mind, e#plains the

e#uberant public support people gae to Shri Anna Hazare in ()**.

+et me illustrate with a simple routine actiity which should hae been

completed in one isit to the agency office.

As soon as monopoly of the goernment in the telecom sector ended, I

opted for an alternate landline for obious reasons and sent the drier to the

S+ office *5 "ms away to discontinue the line and return the instrument. He

came bac" with a pulled down face informing that my file is not traceable.

n my en/uiring the ne#t day at the (ndfloor office, got the same answer,

demanded as to why was the file lost and was told that the files are stored in the

basement and that they are not responsible for it. In the basement I found that

the person-in-charge was missing, waited for half an hour to be told that my filehad been searched earlier and cannot be traced. n my repeated /uestioning '

insisting ' offering for a 0oint search1 the file suddenly landed in my hands. n

handing oer the file on the (ndfloor, was assured that my 0ob would be done if I

fill up a format for closing a connection and return the Instrument.


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Howeer my drier on the ne#t day again came bac" empty handed

saying that they are not accepting the instrument and the reason is not "nown.

n the 2thtrip I met the officer-in-charge and the lady informed me that the

instrument does not bear the S+ mar"ing, so how can it be accepted. I

e#plained that initially I was not gien any instrument by S+ due to a shortage

and I had to buy an instrument from the mar"et, so how can I now return to you

an instrument with S+ mar"ings1 the lady then reluctantly signed the papers.

3hat an ordeal to close the connection4 How much of unproductie effort,

both on the part of S+ people and the user4 ou can easily figure out the

intent behind. If one is in a hurry, the obious choice would be to contact some

agent for a price.

What are the Contributory Factors?

At the top of the list are undoubtedly the host of people in positions of

power allegedly indulging in high scale of corruption. It is almost a scam a day.

en though most of these cases are under inestigation or under 0udicial trial

and the guilt yet to be established, the public is right in presuming that where

there is so much smo"e, there must be some fire.

In the e#ample described aboe of the harassment in merely returning one

telephone instrument to the goernment agency, hint was towards public being

forced into such unethical practices. ut let us consider if it always is the case.

How many of us insist on the shop "eeper ma"ing a pucca bill always and

pay the 7A$ ' sales ta#4 If not, why is that not corruption4 $hose 89'- :s or

*)89'- :s worth of ta# not paid, is it not income that I hae not earned, is not

legitimate and therefore is it not corruption4

:ecently a group of senior citizen morning wal"ers adorning the benches

in a par" were fiercely debating the issue of corruption and ehemently

castigating all politicians and bureaucrats. I raised this point about paying 7A$

and the response was ery reealing. yeh tax hum kyon dein? iss mein toh

apna fayda hai. tax toh hamara salary se kut jata tha. [Why should we pay this tax. Not

paying is an advantage to us. Our tax used to e got dedu!ted from the salary"


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the rule of ahlol +odi, Si"andar +odi, Ibrahim +odi. abar and Humayun and

e#pressed on the sub0ect of corruption ;

F $here is no one who receieth or gieth no bribes. $he "ing administers

0ustice only when his palm is greased@@. Sin is the "ing, Dreed is the minister

and the lust the deputy to ta"e counsel with. $hey sit and confer together. $he

blind sub0ects , out of ignorance, pay homage li"e dead menG B*6C

Here is another interesting one;

In *9*9 the head of the company in alcutta ohn Surman, reached the

court of Jarru"hsiyar in =elhi ....... $he emperor had been brought up in engal

when his father was posted as ughal goernor and toys for his nursery had

come from ngland. Surman came bearing more adult toys . Heay bribes to

courtiers and medical attention to the emperorKs groins might hae also helped.

egotiations were still nonetheless tough and agreement was reached only when

the ritish threatened to withdraw from Surat. After a century of pleading and one

futile show of strength, the company had won.

n the last day of *9*6 the emperor put his signature to a %firman&

Bgoernment orderCthat the ritish called their agna arta in India, the ughal courthad ac"nowledged that such a faour had neer been granted to any uropean

nation. $he company now had mandate from the emperor , and could legally act

in defence of its perceied rights.1 it was allowed to trade, ac/uire land, and settle

where it wanted to any where in engal, all for an annual payment of :s 8))). In

precisely forty years lie used this %firman& to 0ustify the legality of his adance

to Llassey. %an e#cerpt from, K $he shade of swordsK by A"bar, p-*98 B()C

Here is one from the court of Shahehan, *9thcentury ;

% It is an established custom throughout the country that without the

intercession of influential friends or the payment of bribes, nothing gets done.......

ribes are In fact are such an accepted part of life that if a courtier as"s the "ing

for a


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faour on behalf of a general or officer , be it an appointment or transfer,

the "ing neer neglects to as" how much money the former has receied. $he

courtier normally tells the e#act amount and after leaing a portion of the bribe

with the intercessor , the "ing ta"es the rest for himself........ %

spo"en by Jrancois ernier a Jrenchman in the court of Shah ehan, mid seenteenth century. F#cerptfrom, K $he crimson throneK by Sudhir

?a""ar. B*


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Here is a brief account from the internet

Tammany Hall , Political Machine Ran , New or! City in the "#$$s

% Jrom this position of strength, he was elected %Drand Sachem& of $ammany,

which he then used to ta"e functional control of the city goernment. 3ith his

protOgOs elected goernor of the state and mayor of the city, $weed was able to

e#pand the corruption and "ic"bac"s of his %:ing& into practically eery aspect of

city and state goernance. Although $weed was elected to the State Senate, his

true sources of power were his appointed positions to arious branches of the

city goernment. $hese positions gae him access to city funds and contractors,

thereby controlling public wor"s programs. $his benefited his poc"etboo" and

those of his friends.&

According to $weed biographer ?enneth =. Ac"erman;

% ItKs hard not to admire the s"ill behind $weedKs system ... $he $weed ring

at its height was an engineering marel, strong and solid, strategically deployed

to control "ey power points; the courts, the legislature, the treasury and the ballotbo#. Its frauds had a grandeur of scale and an elegance of structure; money-

laundering, profit sharing and organization@@@@..

$oer arons is a derogatory term applied to wealthy and powerful *Eth

century American businessmen. y the late *


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repla!ing the state. %he !orrupt# !aste minded# feudal# oppressive &ndian would

remain to man it# whatever form the new state may take. It is wrong for the

aoist ideologues to see this as oppression of one community by another. $he

tribal is as rapacious as the Hindu when he has power. Shibu soren and adhu

?oda are tribals.G PAa"ar Latel, in outloo" of

April 8), ()*(R

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'Collective incompetence an& ne*li*ence + $he words in the title were used

by La"istani authorities inestigating how sama in +aden came to be in

Abottabad. $he words, howeer, fit the security arrangements at ahabodhi

temple. Apparently, all the $7 cameras were wor"ing , the guards were there

and eery thing was as it should be. nly the criminals got away.$his is symptomatic of the nation. $here are laws against corruption but

somehow, they do not chec" it. $here are laws against harassment, rape,

molestation which were there een before =elhi gang rape. et, no one gets

punished. 3e hae economic policies by some of the best brains in the world,

but the rupee is set on a suicidal slide downhill. ery thing is it should be1 0ust

nothing wor"s. B eghnad =esai, in the Indian #press of uly *2, ()*8C

$his ties in with obseration under aboe heading of aoist Lroblem. %%he

!orrupt# !aste minded# feudal# oppressive &ndian would remain to man it#

whatever form the new state may take.' $hese two obserations, to my mind, are

the cru# of our problem in India, whether we li"e it or not.

(ere is one from )hri *opal +rishn *andhi# ,-angers of al /aeda' 0( %imes of 12.23.4255

@.And alas Indians are despised globally for the following;

stubborn filthiness

shoc"ing inefficiencies

$he une/ual status of women

allousness towards human and animal suffering $he temperament that fosters %galat faeda', e#ploitation@@@@@..

#ploitatieness is a temperament that can be seen in aried fields. In simple Hindustani, one

e#pression catches its sense better than the word&s le#ical e/uialent. And it is ; ,faeda uthana'

ta"ing undue adantage of. 3e are past masters in ta"ing undue adantage of things. e it a

professional opportunity, a system or een an appliance, we saturate its possibilities to the ery


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limits@@@@..ut een these e#amples of e#ploitatie practices are yet nothing compared to

bigger games in the faeda category. $he trans-India moement of cheap labour from India&s

eastern states to its western and southern for contract construction wor" brings to mind aerial

photographs of thirsty denizens of African grasslands leaing in hundreds for less inhospitable

terrain. $he loss of stability , and of dignity, of health and of anchoring , especially on migrating

women and infants, is astounding. It is not as if cheap labour cannot be found, een by insitu

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standards of faeda. $he search is for cheaper labour , non-unionised, non-

bargaining, ab0ect labour which can&t een tal" the local language. FB8)C

3ith aboe iews of Shri D ? Dandhi, will go well what Lawan 7arma

opines about Indians, in his boo", % $he Dreat Indian iddle lass& to the effect

that an Indian would do anything in pursuit of wealth, status and power. Sounds

familiar

On To!enism

In a $7 debate on April *6, ()*8 eening Shri Suhail Seth said that

%$o"enism& as practiced by our politicians is one of the problems leading to

certain desired improements in reality not ta"ing place. I agree with him

whole-heartedly, e#cept that not only the politicians, but many of us Indians in

different spheres of life practice this art of to"enism. +et me proide support tothis phenomenon that has deeper roots.

% In a recent K Lu0a K Preligious ceremonyR in my house , the pandit 0i

chanted K dhoopam , deepam , naiaidyam samarpayamiK P I hereby offer

incense, light > food to DodR. $his was done . $hen he said , K 7astram

samarpayami K P I now offer cloth to DodR. And lo > behold , what was offered to

Dod was not a piece of cloth , but a piece of thread. It became ,K =haga

Samarpayami K. B offering a thread to Dod, instead of the full piece of clothC

Here is a ery representatie e#ample of K Symbolic Lerformance K or call it

$o"enism that a large chun" of Indian population belieing in Hindu religion are a

party to fre/uently.


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$he author has often wondered why many senior e#ecuties while

participating in the reiew > design of a new policy nod their heads rather /uic"ly

without fully e#amining the pros and cons of the said policy , but drag their feet

when it comes to implementing the same.

3hether it is a /uestion of reised organization structure with lesser

number of leels, for better communication within the organization or a policy for

promoting faster response to the mar"et, or whether it is a /uestion of ensuring a

more balanced

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distribution of the annual performance appraisal ratings, the aboe

approach is clearly discernible.

Lerhaps, at the bac" of their minds all along is that they will get away

with , K=haga SamarpayamiK ' will get away with to"enism. F B(9C

+et us now introspect about our dismal performance in the lympics ,

decade after decade. ne friend was upset with this comparison. %3hat has this

got to do with

our wor"ing in the industry 4& It has a lot to do with. +et us proceed and see what

/ualities as human beings are common, whateer be the sphere of wor".

Amitai tzioni said decades ago, % the "ey lies in a psychological /uality of

,(igh toleran!e to frustration and aility to defer gratifi!ation.

$he building of a modern economy, pursuit of scientific research and

efficient running of modern organizations calls for commitment to long term rather

than the short run . % B(


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do!tored. I mean measurements Bof discus or hammer throwC are manipulated.

=itto for timings.&

$o come bac" to the lympic games we started with. =on Scholander, the

wonder swimmer of *E62 lympics who won four gold medals described in an

article in great detail what tremendous amount of self-discipline , planning and

practice ! oer a period not of months but years goes into pea"ing one&s

performance at those few crucial minutes. ar" +ewis and ichael Lhelps later

won many more gold medals in swimming single handed.

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o wonder therefore that indiiduals ' nations with low tolerance to

frustration leels and desirous of /uic" results, hae no place.

Interestingly this psychological orientation ' inclination among us of not

perseering to achiee e#cellence is not of a ery recent origin. r. roc"er, e# !

High ommissioner of Australia to India -decades ago , says;

% uropeans liing in India will hae noticed how often Indians do not hang

or "eep a picture straight %

+et us trael a few centuries bac"wards.

mperor abur, the founder of the oghul dynasty in the early *6 th

century has this to say in his memoirs , % aburnama& about India !

7..in handi!raft and work there is no form or symmetry # method # or

8uality...

3e hae a right to disagree with his iews, but the fact is that such were his

perceptions.

%he purpose here for us is not to go on the defensive 9 ut to seriously

introspe!t 9 a!!ept what we de!ide needs to e improved : de!ide what aggage

needs to e dis!arded and move on.

It is clear that the malady is deep-rooted and is doing us tremendous harm

and that we cannot afford the status-/uo.

+et us e#amine some more e#amples of our to"enism.

In an appeal before the Information ommissioner under the :$I Act, I

stated ;


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% 3e hae learnt oer the years to hang our pictures > calendars straight& loo"ing at the wall

behind the chair of $he Information ommissioner, Haryana at handigarh, after referring to the

roc"er obseration mentioned aboe, % but =a"shin Haryana i0li 7itran igam has not learnt

how to hang the electric meters straight. n the morning wal" daily I see on electric poles meters

suspended at all odd angles, with wires from the oerhead lie wires dangling in loops of arious

curatures , swinging wildly when eer there is wind blowing. It not only loo"s ugly to say the

least, but also perhaps e#plains as to why een in a mild storm the power supply gets cut off. $his

gentleman in blac" coat representing =a"shin Haryana i0li 7itran igam was telling me that my

re/uest for information about the SL&s B Standard perating Lrocedures C for giing

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% $he oice of flattery perades all ran"s of society. 3hen a moghul has occasion for my

serices , he begins with a preamble that I am the Aristotle, the Hippocrates@@ In the beginning

I protested against such a fulsome mode of address by attempting to assure people that I was

ery far from possessing the merits they attributed to me and found such comparisons highly

embarrassing. ut finding that my modesty only increased the intensity of their praises, I became

determined to close my ears to their flattery as to their discordant music.

$he idolators, serile by nature from centuries of oppression by their own princes as

much as by the ohammedans, are een worse than the oguls in the e#tent to which they

stretch their sycophancy. I will relate only one anecdote to illustrate what I mean. ne of their

learned pundits, as scholars of Dentile laws are

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called, whom I had introduced into the Agha&s serice B reference is to =anishmand ?han,

one of the nobles in Shahehan&s courtC , once began his panegyric to =anishmand ?han

by comparing him to the greatest con/uerors the world has "nown. His nauseous

obseration ended with these words, uttered in all seriousness. F 3hen you my

lord place your foot in the stirrup, to mount your horse and march at the head of

your caalry, the earth trembles. $he eight elephants on whose heads the earth

rests find it impossible to support the e#traordinary weight.G B %$he rimsone $hrone&

by Sudhir ?a""ar ! *


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half as much zest in fighting the Safaids of Lersia or the oguls of =elhi as

they do in opposing the Sisodias of Ndaipur. F B*


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$he commitment to do something or to get some thing done by a certain

time and of a certain /uality is rarely ta"en seriously een by many professionals.

I hae wondered oer the years as to why, we aoid saying , %o& when we

are clear that such commitment cannot be fulfilled. Has it something to do with a

feeling that it would be impolite or that the time dimension itself is rather fluid in

our minds. y not coneying o, we are only indicating our willingness to do

something for the other party and not necessarily to do it by a specific time, not

necessarily of the product /uality committed.

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!ompany ased out of =ustin# to travel around the world for a year or two. (e

founded $he Agonist,in 4224# whi!h is still !onsidered the top international affairs#

!ulture and news destination for progressives. (e is also the Dlobal orrespondent for

$he oung $ur"s,on satellite radio and =ir =meri!a.

F If you are Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clearwarning; you are not going to li"e what I hae to say. y criticisms may be eryhard

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3hole illages are plastic bag wastelands. :oadsides are cho"ed by it. Air

/uality that can hardly be called /uality. Jar too much coal and far too few unleaded

ehicles on the road. $he measure should be how dangerous the air is for ones&

health, not how good it is. Leople casually throw trash in the streets, onthe roads.

$he only two cities that could be considered sanitary, in my 0ourney, were

$riandrum ! the capital of ?erala ! and alicut. I don&t "now why this is, but I can

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"ic"bac"s from the wealthy to "eep their areas clean that they don&t hae the time,

manpower, money or interest in doing their 0ob.

:ural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors poc"et the fees the

goernment pays them, neer show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities

instead.

I could go on for /uite some time about my perception of India and its

problems, but in all seriousness, I don&t thin" anyone in India really cares. And

that,

to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conseratie a society to want tochange in

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state controlled sector oer the priate one in "ey economic areas to preent

emergence of an independent economic middle class. Although D=L has continued to

e#pand at an impressie pace, household incomes hae been growing at a paltry *-

8M each year een as profits in the state controlled sector e#pand by *5-()M pa@......

BSince thenC poerty reduction adanced by appro#. *.5M each year, meaning that

hina has underperformed is-a-is India since the later began reforms in the early

*EE)&[email protected] reduction has remained stagnant and some studies een

suggest that absolute poerty in hina has actually increased @....... hina&s state

led model has created a country of *5)-()) mln insiders who benefit

disproportionately from the fruits of economic growth @....... hinese society

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"assport delivered at home. =. )4.(0.'()' % in nine

da+s !lat&

Another important one. These da+s a!ter +ou !ile the incometa- return the ta- re!und i! due goes straight to +our bank account

without running a!ter the I Ta- o!!icer.

1ould u sa+ that some things are improving in India ?

@owever in general conversation among people such

instances rarel+ !ind a mention. 5edia does not !ind such instances o!

interest.

Documents

INDIA on the MOVE, Our Corruption, We the People(Sl 05 on Scribd)