ARE WE FIGHTING INDIVIDUALS OR CORRUPTION?

Today it is a cacophony in the public sphere; important people scream judgments about each other and the rest of us sit by and watch a tamasha confused and disillusioned… Scapegoats are hounded in the name of getting at the root of corruption; actresses are made to pay the price to save face of the political fraternity. It’s a game of pulling everyone into the mud…

Let’s take corruption, it is apt to hound Raja to solve the problem… the cacophony is so loud one is not allowed to get to the root. Can we rise above the din? Where is the root of the corruption? How do we hit it and hit it hard?

Part 1: Judgmental, Blind and in the Ditch
Wool is being thrown into our eyes; a judgmental desposition disorients us
Part 2: Corrupt Individuals or Corrupt Polity?
corruption is at the root of the system; it is not an ailment of individuals alone…
Part 3: Corrosion of the system by Corruption
Corruption eats into the vitals of the system it is a reason for much unhappiness…
Part 4: If You’re Truthful You’re Ineligible
The centre-piece of our public life—the parliament… is there a technical glitch in the selection process to it?
Part 5: Citizens’ (Luhar) Ka Ek…
There is a need for focus in order to deliver a hard blow at corruption… If a billion people ask for it, who will get in the way?

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Part 1: Judgmental, Blind and in the Ditch

There is something wrong with the way ‘struggles’ and ‘revolutions’ of today go about shooting down people in high places who may have erred. Sometimes we come across those who believe that culprits should be put on a donkey’s back with blackened faces and paraded in their constituencies… may be quite a few will still vote for that… but what do we do of those who say we should line them up and shoot them down…! As if the problems of the world would be solved by one magic swish of their sweeping hand…! No! Something is wrong about it and it is not just the violence… There is more…

The saas-bahu serial directors and story writers seem to have a very easy formula to have the audiences glued on to the TV sets. Every now and then, mindlessly, one character is made to ‘shout’ at another in utter condemnation and disdain and in reply the other either shouts back or sulks or weeps or explodes, and the same cycle is repeated over and over again with character after character… And the gullible sit and watch, glued to TV sets, even as those behind the sops walk happily to their banks.

And the News Channels seem to have hit upon the same formula too. A student of politics recently recounted how he has found great relief in switching off the news channels while resorting to other means for gathering news. Truly speaking it is not an escapist’s perspective—running away from the problems in the world; the problem is the ‘manner’ in which the news is presented. What ruffles is the constant shouting that happens in the name of ‘discussion’ or ‘debates’ or ‘interviews’ or ‘breaking news’. Every now or then someone seems to be calling someone else stupid or small or little with a sense of irritation.

One gets a feeling that people on the idiot box are not in the business of bringing clarity on ideas, they seem to be there just to whip up frenzy so that eyeballs will be glued on to the TV.

But why just get after those behind TV programs… the truth is that we have reduced ourselves to finger pointing in most aspects of public life; the same story often repeats in other news media, in academic circles meant for intellectual exchange or in the highest forums of debate and discussion namely the legislatures—particularly the parliament. In fact we see this increasing trend of demonizing individuals even in the courts.

So what is wrong with this finger pointing?!
Ask a well groomed child and clichéd answer would be that, “when one points a finger at another there are three others pointing at oneself”.

Clichéd though it may be, the meaning is not limited to the idea that everyone makes mistakes. There is a deeper connotation—hard to explain completely—but can be represented dogmatically in the three fingers that point to oneself when one is pointing that index finger of accusation…

The middle finger (which is ‘bigger’ than the pointing index) says, “While you are pointing out a mistake in the other person, there is a ‘bigger’ mistake of judgment that you commit”. This disposition of being judgmental about others is discouraged in all spirituality. Jesus Christ says that the judgmental mode is like a huge log in ones’ eye. When we point judgmental fingers at others we are focused on the speck in the others’ eye and forget the log in ours!

Then there is the ring finger; it says “you are tied up in the ring of judgment”. This means that in order to be judgmental about others it necessities that one be locked up into ‘judgment mode’. This disposition is unforgiving. It makes an individual miserable within himself; supposedly a judgmental mind is curdled and incapable of clear thinking. He that judges is judged by God. One that judges others, lives in the hell of his judgmental disposition and is numbed by it.

And the little finger points out to say that “by pointing fingers one is being little”, for it is common knowledge that ‘small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events and great minds discuss ideas’.

Is this true? Most likely it is… And if it is so, can we answer the question “What is wrong with this finger pointing?”

The answer is that in the process of pointing fingers blind men with curdled minds shout at others; and lead by these blind we too point accusatory fingers… and run in endless circles… achieving nothing in the process; “when the blind lead the blind, both fall in the ditch” (Bible).

The reason this needs to be considered in public life is that many of the ‘struggles’, ‘demonstrations’, freedom movements and such other base their course of action on anger or intolerance arising out of judgmental dispositions. If this verse in the bible is the correct representation of the truth, then these struggles have the adjective ‘losing’ added prefixed to them at their very inception… Judgmental leaders are doomed! And judgmental followers follow them into doom…!

The question is whether one wants to join a shouting chorus laced with anger and passing judgments on individuals and groups of individuals… or then should he alternatively search for groups that are reasoned and firm and revel in internal liberty…?

Einstein was right when he said that ‘a problem cannot be solved by being in the same level of consciousness that created it’. ‘Little minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, great minds discuss principles’: unless we are able to raise the quality of our public debate, move from individuals to events and from events to principles, there is little hope for the nation to move ahead.


Part 2: Corrupt Individuals or corrupt Polity?

The 2G matter can be objectively seen to consist of two questions, i) how big is the corruption? ii) Is it truly a loss?

Taking the second issue first; the 1.7lakh Crore is indeed a loss; but it is a loss merely to the Government coffers. If that money had gone into the government coffers then, with whatever efficiency the government has, it would have done some good to the people. (15% as a former Prime Minister pointed out… probably better—can we say 25%?) Instead of going to the government the money went to the telephone operators and it went to the general public through reduced costs of telephony (and that boosted businesses they say!).

In both instances, if money has not gone out of the country, it is still floating in our economy, and therefore it is a loss to the Indian Government but not to India as such. However if there has been corruption and people have parked money abroad and foreign companies have been favored, then there is indeed a monetary loss to the Nation.

As for the other question regarding the size of the corruption it is too obvious that Rs 1.7Lakh Crore is not that amount. Nobody took 1.7 lakh Crore. What could have happened is that if all the licenses were sold for ’X’ then about 1% to 25% of that amount could have gone as bribes, presuming that that is the going rate if at all corruption takes place.

There is another way this could have been done; float a benami company, give it a license at a low price, get the license auctioned to a third party later for a high price and pocket the difference. In this case the profits of the benami company could sky-rocket and it is anybody’s guess as to how much profit has been made and by whom.

In truth, that scary figure of 1.7 Lakh Crore only makes it sound huge; the corruption is smaller—but significant none the less…

So then what is the issue of concern here? That several tens or hundreds of Crores of rupees have been probably swindled by a certain minister and his friends or that there is a system that encourages the likes of him to do it?

The question that we need to ask here is why all that money? If at all something has changed hands under the table, where did it go? What purpose does it serve?

Interestingly if it only had to do with a corrupt individual who needs to be made to pay for his faults through the rule of law it would have been easy and of no great harm to society. But ‘bribe’ money is an index of much more than greed of individuals in today’s public life…

The question one needs to ask here is why all that money? If at all something has changed hands under the table, where did it go? What purpose does it serve?

Let’s not put our heads in the sand and play ostrich here: following are some facts in the public domain which are indicative of what the real inside story is…
1) Why are certain Ministries called plum Ministries…? One reason is that there is could be prestige; the substantial reason is that there is greater scope of controlling funds.
2) Industrialists are known to shell out cash and favors but would they, who count the pennies in order to make profits, dole out of their tight pockets without seeking Governmental favors in return?
3) The men of means who are in politics for such a long time… are they truly shelling out of their deep pockets…? are their pockets so deep that they can continue to serve the nation generation after generation with just the salary that they get in parliament?
4) If their friends are supporting them, then is it a truth that they just give good wishes in return to these friends?

How naïve can one get? Everybody knows that it takes a lot of money to run a large party and still more money to fight elections. Is all this possible without collecting money from people who want favors in return?

At this point we enter the zone of amorality. Every government contractor ‘knows’ how much ‘cut’ is ‘normal’ and for whom. If he does not pay he can easily be punished for it. Except for those that are scrupulously honest, most operate on pre-determined ‘margins’.

Truly speaking, this 2G episode is only a reminder to the fact that, despite the best intentions of the founding fathers, we have landed ourselves with a polity that essentially breeds corruption. Despite all the good that comes out of it from time to time, the fact remains that the political class as a whole lives by corruption, is sustained by corruption and sustains corruption in order to survive. Does this harm the nation…?

Probably significantly so...


Part 3: Corrosion of system by Corruption

Everyone that indulges in corruption seems to win. The giver of contract gets money, the giver of money gets contract, the winner of contract makes profits, the political party gets flush with funds and there is a presumed promise for its propagation and continuance in power… Who is the loser…?

Amorous behavior, vis-à-vis corruption, is becoming increasingly acceptable. It is now ‘normal’ to accept ‘token’ amounts for tasks that need to be otherwise done as duties. We sometimes encounter situations in public life when there is righteous indignity when a person, who ought to usually get a bribe, does not get it!

In Adi Sankara’s view the greatest benefactor is Dharma.

His usage of the word ‘Dharma’ does not refer to religion. He implies the existing condition of law and order as inspired by The Highest Principle—God. In it each person does his duty to the best of his ability; and while continuing to operate even in the little position that the person may hold, attains in his personal bearing, the highest which an individual can ‘obtain’ or ‘be’ rather.

So in pointing to Dharma as the greatest benefactor, Adi Shankara says that it is not for the king or any other individual to give magnanimously, it is for the ‘system’ to deliver to society. By extending that logic, if the system fails, the benevolence of the system is lost and the consequence is undesirable.

The simplest way that corruption affects systems is when people deliberately stall when doing their duty in order to ensure that people pay quick money either to have their interests taken up or in order to jump a long queue. In such instances the pace of delivery and effectiveness of the system slackens.

The other way corruption affects is when initiative is dampened. Especially in development projects, there is need of initiative on the part of officials to ensure that a government scheme is innovatively made to benefit a need in society. In fact, initiative is required in respect of all pro-active measures. Now when there is a culture of corruption, it is those who dare to be corrupt who will take initiative. Eventually all initiative are looked at with suspicion. In such a situation people start going by the rules scrupulously—or rather over-scrupulously in order to be seen as honest. People stop applying their discretion to benefit deserving cases. Ultimately this kills initiative in the system.

Therefore, slowing down and the killing of initiative are two things that happen in general administration and in all kinds of organizations and the overall quality and quantity of delivery of the system drastically goes down.

The impact is worse when corruption affects the system of maintaining law and order. When the police, the witness, lawyers, judges and jailors resort to corruption, people can bypass the rule of law using money. When such be the case, crime, instead of getting weeded out, gets a special fertilizer instead—it is rewarded. The vulnerable sections of society who are at the receiving end of crimes suffer. Those that cannot afford it (fees + bribes) fail to get justice. This in turn makes money dearer in society; those mad after possessing resources now become desperate since it wields power in the eyes of the law. The poor bear the brunt.

While to a big industrialist it would just mean that he cannot start an air-taxi service, to someone in the tribal area or in the slums, it may even mean the starvation and death of his family and children.

Each instance of corruption creates opportunity for discontent. The system, irrespective of what idealism it purports to pursue, dilutes the faith of its citizens. With insensitivity being meted out to people there is unrest. This takes nation and society in a downward spiral and the system loses its benevolence

The above mentioned results of corruption are at least tangible; in the intangible sphere the effects are much worse. For one, the perpetrators of the practice of corruption, whether in the receiving end or the giving end, by seeking for things that are not legitimately theirs, they exhibit lack of fulfillment in their persona and give preference to their greed and wants. They live unhappy, miserable lives; may be even sitting on a heap of pleasures but unable to enjoy it.

As for society, when dishonesty and corruption is widespread, there is loss of idealism or inspiration; words of wisdom lose their potency. There is confusion in aspects concerning values and wisdom. Family values take a beating. Mutual trust between individuals in society suffers. Corruption in values results in misguided children and the general state of happiness and wellbeing in society is lowered.

Of particular importance is the need to look at the role of Corruption at high places. When dishonesty happens at the highest level, it percolates down in two ways; one is that lower functionaries resort to corruption in order to make up for what they pay upwards, so corruption spreads. The other way is that the ‘value systems’ patronized by these high and mighty persons are highlighted for absorption down under.

When it is seen that the corrupt at high places are being rewarded, respected and sometimes worshipped—and increasingly so—society eventually begins to judge respectability on the basis of 1) identity or label that is stamped on someone’s brow or 2) the cash that is holds out in his hands (and not on the basis of earned social merits, work done, attitude, values and character). In the process acts of corruption too gain acceptability (if not respectability) and they tend to become a norm in society.

And when respectability in society depends merely on holding a position of power/influence or in being filthy rich, and does not depend on how that ‘merit (sic)’ is achieved; personal ends become more important than the means. Ultimately the values of these beacon lights (sic) in society become social standards for the impressionable to follow…
All in all there is a loss of Dharma in society…



Part 4: If You’re Truthful You’re Ineligible

Elections are a filter process to take people into the legislatures.

By fair estimates an MP hopeful requires an army of 5000 men dedicatedly working for him for at least two months in the period just before and after elections in order to ensure that he gets elected. With diligence one may work out and find that huge amounts of money are required—even if the candidate were charismatic and had party backing. For instance, a Lok Sabha has on an average 13 lakh voters; therefore it would take Rs 13 lakh to send a one rupee post card to each voter in a Lok Sabha constituency. What does one do when the ceiling on expenditure is Rs 15 lakh?

The answer is that everything is pushed underground. The required moneys are generated through dubious ways, hidden in dubious ways and are spent in dubious ways. People fall head over heels to get ‘lucrative’ ministries. It is a mad rush for an opportunity to make money under the garb of an opportunity to serve people. It is an attempt to redeem the investment one made during elections and hopefully make ‘some’ profit. After all it is also a question of his longevity in politics… With such a system in place, the platform is set for the system to rot at the very top. That, in the process, some politicians also develop their personal fortunes is only incidental.

Let us be certain that it is improper to paint everyone with the same brush; but in the same breath we need to remember that this is indeed the system that exists now; if all this underhand business was the truth, why would the parliament not enact laws by which everything could have been transparent?

Mr. TN Seshan has argued that most persons who enter the Lok Sabha enter it by first signing on a lie that they have spent less than the designated ceiling during. This he mentioned during his tenure as the Chief Election Commissioner when the ceiling was ridiculously low. It is important to note that everyone signed.

Would Lord Rama spend more than the ceiling and then sign on a declaration that he did not in order to enter even the parliament?

No he would not!

And so the gates of the highest forum of productive deliberation and law making in a nation are not open to the ‘Mariyada Purushottam’!

Those that are inspired by the values of the Mariyada Purushottam, are denied entry into the sanctum sanctorum of democracy in the country. An Obama cannot rise in this country and one can understand here why.

We have effectively set up a gate post in politics where it is said that ‘you have to be dishonest to enter’. It is being ensured that only those of questionable integrity are allowed to enter the most distinguished house of debate and discussion in the country.

And what is the danger arising out of this?

“A person who is dishonest in small things will be dishonest in big things as well; if one cannot be trusted with the things of this world, how can he be trusted with the things of the other world?” (Bible)

If this biblical saying is indeed a reflection of the truth, and if it is also true that there is this basic dishonesty in the parliament, then it means that the parliament, by design, is incapable of effectively handling matters relating to the sublime. The parliament, in the present context, cannot be trusted with decisions that have bearing on our religions, values, communities, aspirations, families—for these are matters related to heaven.

But certain scholarly ones will use a fig leaf to cover up; Lord Krishna is known for the ‘tricks’ that he has played in the Mahabharata… citing this as an example you will have people saying that a degree of dishonesty is alright if the final effect is the good of society.

The comparison is not appropriate. But lets say we grant it to them, that they are acting according to what Lord Krishna would have expected… in that case too they need to be aware that:
1) In the Krishna Consciousness there is scrupulous honesty to the Highest Principle or Vasudeva; such persons are a class apart. One that uses this as a fig leaf and not as a principle in life can easily be spotted from the work he does.
2) He that identifies his work and disposition with the Supreme Consciousness will never patronize a system in which lord Rama will find himself ineligible to participate. An individual who is faithful to the Krishna consciousness will go out of his way to ensure that the transparency arrangements are put into place
So, do they pass these two tests?

All in all one can safely say that we have a filter process in our election system that picks up much lesser than the best and sends them to the parliament.

If we wish to be a land of high idealism as our fore fathers wished for us, we should not be patronizing such a system that does not allow the ‘Mariyada Purushottam’ into the highest debating body in the country. If we let it be, we cannot expect too much of our parliaments and even as we do find some exemplary men in the parliament, there will be others who will tie them down with their sheer size of numbers…




Part 5: Citizens’ (Luhar) Ka Ek…

So where does one start setting things right in respect of corruption? It is unrealistic to expect ‘education’ to solve the problem since it would involve bringing about a positive and across-the-board change in teachers all over the country. Spiritual lights could help but in the spiritual and religious arena there is little cooperation. Then icons of all kinds in society, sports, films etc could help but what would inspire them act together to a single plan…? Difficult to conceive really… The best hope is in the political field…

Politicians have a decisive role in creating laws, and in running the government. They also occupy a place in society that was occupied earlier by the likes of Nehru, Patel, and Shastri so people do look up to them. They can hugely affect the outcomes in areas that matter to checking corruption. But then we have reasons to believe that the filter process of elections is not throwing up the best of men for the job…

If India should have hope of getting in a batch of top class Indians into the parliament it is the filter process that needs rectification; elections need reform.

That brings us to a long list of election reforms but taking them all on can lead to great dissipation of energies. Ask for too much and get nothing… ask for the core… the rest will follow…

The ceiling on election spending should go and along with that the entire process of collection and expenditure of funds for elections and for running political parties should be made transparent.

One can just imagine, if we do not know who is sponsoring our candidates, it could be anyone from the Soviet Union to the CIA to Al-quida, to some oil baron from the Arab countries, to some mafia don from Mumbai. If these people are impacting our highest forum… hopefully they are not… but should we all not know…?

A transparency and a reformed election spending lawn are the needs of the hour.

We need to ensure through a parliamentary law that the income and expenditure of political parties are audited; income and expenditure statements for elections are to be audited; and both kept open for tax and public scrutiny. And along with that they will ensure that if there is a ceiling of expenditure for elections, it will be at realistic levels arrived at through a sensible calculation or then no ceiling need exist at all…

A period of six months is enough by which the present parliament should be able to draft, discuss and pass a bill that ensures transparency.

Here is what we need to do.

Pin down each parliamentarian on this issue of transparency in the system and don’t let him wriggle out;
Let the people in the respective constituencies know of the stance taken by each of the parliamentarians on this matter

Don’t allow the high and mighty to sit mum especially when they are all committed to removing corruption from public life… and

Ask all of them why they are not allowing the admission of ‘Mariyada Purushottam’ into the parliament.

Remember that the political class is vocal and can play to the gallery. They will say such things as ‘we have kept a ceiling to ensure that everyone can contest’—it is a façade. And given their talent they will use diversionary tactics of setting up commissions, having discussions, look for consensus, link it to other controversial issues… when such things happen know that the politician is up to his game…

If one is serious about cleaning up the process, it is not the pimples one should go after; clear the blood. The game is not about judging individuals; the need is to create a filter process in elections where talent and high values get into the parliament—the system needs correction.

In the field of political action there is need for simplicity and focus, whatever the changes, finally one needs to ensure the following three things:

1) Transparency in accounting in Elections
2) Transparency in accounting in political parties
3) Ensure removal of all caps on spending for elections.

The election Commission and other experts already have well thought out drafts for these particular laws; if we focus on these three categories of laws and get the parliament to pass the same then the general elections of 2014 can be a turning point for us.