Corruption: As old as the country
India's date with corruption seems to be as old as
the country itself. Starting with the British bribing the Maharajas to
gain control of the unconquered lands, it is a long trait that has been a
boon and a bane to many. You must be thinking how is it a boon? I'll
come to that later.
Licence Raj: Corruption Raj
since Independence, India's economy has been driven by
socialist-inspired policies for practically three to four decades. When
Indira Gandhi came to power in 1966, she went on a socialist spree ---
Nationalising banks, Garibi hatao campaign and Licence Raj. Licence Raj
became synonymous with corruption as red tape was inevitable while the
companies scouted for licences to set up businesses in India.
Imagine this: Up to 80 government agencies had to be
satisfied before private companies could set up shop, and if they did
manage to do it, the government would regulate the production. Probably
that is not what Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of the system of
Licence Raj, had in mind.
Spectrum Raja: Billions vanish into air
That licence raj is still prevailing today, albeit
in a different manner, thanks to Spectrum Raja, is disturbing. A Raja,
who is the Union Minister for Telecommunications, seems to have
literally thrown spectrum to the winds. There were major irregularities
in allotting wireless radio spectrum and licences by the telecom
ministry to nine private telcos in 2007(second generation).
The Rs 60,000 crore-scam began when the government
allocated scarce 2G spectrum at throwaway prices that too to a string of
companies without any experience in the telecom sector. The allegation
is that the government gave away scarce spectrum to nine companies,
clubbed with licences, on a first-come-first-serve basis, rather than
through an auction process. That is, an operator got start-up spectrum
by paying pan-India licence fee of Rs 1,650 crore. This price was not
taken on the basis of the 2007 market value but on the basis of an
auction held in 2001.
Also, many new players roped in foreign investors
soon after acquiring the licences, thereby making a neat sum. The value
of the licence and spectrum in 2007 could not be the same as in 2001 as
the telecom market has grown phenomenally during this period. Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh refused to accept the allegations surrounding
Spectrum Raja.
Raja has continually maintained that the government
has simply following its earlier practice of allotting 2G start-up
spectrum along with licences on a first-come-first-serve basis. The 2G
spectrum allocation issue came under the scrutiny of various bodies,
including the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI). Despite these investigations during the UPA-1
regime, Raja returned as the IT and communications minister in UPA-2.
Raja is an MP of UPA ally DMK.
The government policy of 2G spectrum is facing fire
as the ongoing auction of 3G (third generation) spectrum has resulted in
exceedingly high bids. Against the pan-India reserve price of Rs 3,500
crore, the 3G auction has yielded close to Rs9,000 crore in 16 days of
bidding. The 3G bidding is nowhere near the closing line yet.
Commonwealth Games: Muck yet to stop flying
Imagine buying a 100 litre fridge for Rs 42,202
(which can be bought for a mere Rs 14,000-15,000), a toilet tissue paper
roll for Rs 4,132 (Original price: Rs 30-40) and a 2 tonne AC for Rs
1,87,957 and wait..... an umbrella for Rs 6,000 and more!!!!
This is probably a Guinness record and the neatest
way in which Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Games Organising
Committee, could make pots of money... after all price is a matter of
perception. The rot starts right at the top. The probe of Comptroller
Auditor General of India (CAG) revealed that undue favour had been
showed to London-based Fast Track Sales solely on the recommendation of
Commonwealth Games Federation Mike Fennell and Chairman Suresh Kalmadi.
Jubilee Sports Technology, a relatively unknown
company, had bagged many Games contracts and was a key supplier. It
appears as if the company's headquarters and other shareholders have
simply vanished into thin air as most of the addresses have turned out
to be a fake. There too much more muck....At this rate, Mani Shankar
Aiyar's dreams of the Delhi Games flopping might come true.
Among the other famous scams that have rocked India
for several years are the Bofors scandal (which is yet to see the light
of the day), fodder scam and Mayawati's Taj Corridor Scam. A quick look
at history to find out why they are still rocking the Parliament.
Bofors: The
Indian government signed a $1.4 billion contract with Swedish arms
company AB Bofors on March 24, 1986, for the supply of over 400 155mm
howitzers. It is alleged that Bofors paid kickbacks to top Indian
politicians and key defence officials to secure the deal. Italian
businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi, who was close to Rajiv Gandhi, was the
middle man.
Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's name
figured in the first CBI chargesheet in the case as "an accused not sent
for trial" as he was killed in 1991. The Hinduja brothers also have
been charged in this case --- with cheating, criminal conspiracy and
corruption. Both were later cleared of any involvement by the Delhi High
Court. The latest --- CBI has applied for a closure of the case against
Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi.
Taj Corridor Scam:
In 2002-03, the then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh decided to upgrade
tourist facilities near the Taj Mahal. The BJP government at the Centre
gave her the environmental clearance for the project, but later backed
out. It is alleged that Mayawati embezzled money set aside for the Rs
175-crore project. The case is still under investigation by the CBI.
Fodder Scam: The
Rs 950-crore scam kept Lalu Prasad Yadav in the limelight long enough.
It involved the alleged embezzlement of about Rs 950 crore from the
treasury of Bihar. This was done over many years and through various
officials who even fabricated vast herds of fictitious livestock for
which fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment were supposedly
procured.
Now back to why it is a boon for people like us. It
is because our officials are corrupt that we know that a bribe here and
there will get our work done, without breaking our heads too much about
being law-abiding citizens. We evade taxes, pay off cops for traffic
violations, register properties under false names, play for the country
even if we are not eligible all because corruption has become so
intrinsic in our system.
Public Etiquette and hygiene
We are habitual offenders when it comes to public
hygiene. Go to any part of India, be it the cosmopolitan Mumbai or the
suave Delhi, no one is spared the horror of watching people opening
urinating and defecating in the public - even if there are public
toilets or restaurants around. Imagine going to the Worli Sea Face, or
sitting near Bandstand in Bandra, when you should be enjoying the cool
breeze and have the misfortune of seeing someone's backside instead.
Secondly, another stinking habit of ours: Spitting
in public. You must have seen paan-stained walls at least once in your
life... If not that you would have come across people spitting on the
roads irrespective of whether they are rich or poor. I don't have
anything against paan or tobacco mind you... it is just that
paan-stained walls stink like crazy.
Throwing garbage on the road, in the canals,
anywhere and everywhere except the dustbin is another shameful deed that
we Indians do. We litter whereever we go, be it cinema halls,
playgrounds, parks, zoos, offices and even our homes. The least we can
do is to keep a plastic bag in our bags to keep the waste with us until
we find a way to dispose of it.
Punctuality
T
here is a joke that most Indians report on Indian
Standard Time. You might be thinking jerk! we do work on IST... but of
course that is not what I meant.. did I?
Indian Standard Time refers to how usually we report
late...... for everything.....appointments, going to work, school or
college, you name it. I mean it has become so ingrained in us to report
late that we expect everything around us to be like that. There is
always talk of how trains are late all the time and why the Indian
Railways never improves. Or how you have to factor in at least half an
hour into your travel time because either the cab guy will be late, or
the flight will take off late.
In a country where going late has become a fashion,
even a company like IndiGo has come out with an ad saying being on time
makes a whole lot of sense. And how do we react to punctual people? We
are in awe!!!
Judiciary: Nearly 30 million cases pending
In India, if you file a case, your case might come
up for hearing 10 years later. Well, with a population of 1 billion and
counting what would you expect? India could take some lessons from the
US on litigation -- a country where people get sued if their dog poops
on the road, or they show cruelty towards their cat.
Over three million cases are pending in India's 21
high courts, and an astounding 26.3 million cases are pending in
subordinate courts across the country. At the same time, there are
almost a quarter million under-trials languishing in jails across the
country. Of these, some 2,069 have been in jail for more than five
years, even as their guilt or innocence is yet to be ascertained.
The only thing that works in India is money and
muscle power -- even in the judiciary. Not true? Tell me one case of
where a politician or an actor or a businessman who is accused of some
really serious crimes (mostly they do turn out to be true even though we
have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt) actually punished?
Take the case of the Anti-Sikh riots. Despite 16
years of courts and cases and more cases, not one accused has been
brought to book. Congress MPs Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler have been
charged with murder in the case. Yet, both of them roam freely.
The ex-chief executive officer of Satyam, now
Mahindra Satyam, Ramalinga Raju is now "recuperating in a hospital" when
he should be serving time in a jail for embezzling thousands of crores
of rupees from his company. That is another fad: Feigning illness to
escape going to jail.
Actors too are not far behind. Salman Khan and
Sanjay Dutt have been in the limelight mostly for all the wrong things
they have done rather than their acting. Sanjay Dutt, who is one of the
six accused in the 1993 Mumbai riots case, was sentenced to six years in
jail under the Arms Act but was exonerated for terror offences under
the stringent TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act). Sanjay
Dutt has moved on... He got married and is going to be a father.
In September 2002, Salman Khan ran his Land Cruiser
over some pavement dwellers killing one and seriously injuring three
people. At the time of the accident, Salman was returning from the J W
Mariott Hotel in Juhu and heading for his home in Bandra. The actor was
booked for rash driving and causing death due to negligence under
sections 304, 279 and 388 of the Indian Penal Code. He is currently
making movies....
Honour Killings: Partition horror act continues
The funny thing is there is nothing honourable about
them. "Honour killings" is the murder of a family or a clan member by
one or more family members in which the perpetrators believe that the
victim is bringing dishonour upon the family, clan or community.
The rate at which honour killings are reported in
India, it is a miracle that people still find the courage to fall in
love outside their community. Widespread in most circles, conservatives
or otherwise, in India or abroad, it shows up in different ways. Women
and young girls are especially at the receiving end of such heinous
crimes. Funny, people don't seem to think parading women naked and
molesting them in public are not "dishonourable".
This "tradition" has its roots in the gory Partition
saga, where many women were forcibly killed to save family honour.
During those troubled times, there were a lot of forced marriages where
Indians and Pakistanis would marry each other. This, in turn, led to
them being declared social outcastes. But, it did not stop there. It
became a bloodbath, which got sucked into the melee of all the things
that came to define Partition.
This is not a practice relevant to India alone. It
is practised in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, the Middle East and many
other countries. This is a genocide that needs to be addressed soon...
before it gets any worse.
FCI: Nation starves, food grains rot
What is with the Food Corporation of India? They are
supposed to be feeding millions of people and instead are doing
everything in their power to make sure the food grains don't reach the
masses. The FCI is responsible for procurement and storage of food
grains.
Even as thousands and lakhs of people starve
everyday, food grains rot in FCI godowns. In one of the latest exposes,
the government has admitted that 61,000 metric tonnes of food grains,
which could have fed about 8.4 lakh people for one year, was unfit for
consumption. And the best part is, the FCI wants to export the unfit
grains to our neighbours - Bangladesh and Nepal.
Now, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar is of the
opinion that all reports on rotting of food grains are not "correct and
quite exaggerated. "There are only certain cases of damage and we have
suspended some officials," he added.
The remark came two days after the Minister conceded
in the House that rotting of foodgrains was a "shameful" fact. He had
said that over 11,700 tonnes of foodgrains worth Rs. 6.86 crore were
found "damaged" in government godowns. We give food to rats, but don't
have enough for our people.
Mohanraj
Posted in: 
