Corruption As A Catalyst to Social Decay

Corruption As A Catalyst to Social Decay

In India, corruption has become a way of life. The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, released by the Transparency International ranks India at 87 in a list that consisted 178 countries. A study conducted by the Transparency International found that more than 50 per cent of the Indians had the personal experience of paying bribes or using brokers to get work done in government offices. State borders which see most of the commercial traffic in India are frontiers of corruption.

At the Transparency International—India’s 2^nd annual lecture on “The Supply and Demand of Corruption”, Dr.Bimal Jalan, former Governor of Reserve Bank of India warned:”I believe that we have now reached a point where it poses a serious threat to the security, freedom and well being of the ordinary citizens of our country. The ‘governance deficit’ and ‘ethical deficit’ are two areas of rising public concern, and are intimately inter-related. Corruption breeds mis-governance, for example in respect of NREGA, PDS and food security for the poor people.” (http://www.transparencyindia.org/news.php)

In the Financial Times, Indian business dynasties have been described as “robber barones.” The alleged loss of a staggering 1.76 lakh crore rupees in the government’s sale of the telecom spectrum has convinced many Indians to the corrupt nexuses between corporate and political power. The alleged of pay-off to members of parliament, surfaced in the India-U.S. nuclear deal, disrupted the Indian Parliament on several occasions. The details revealed by the Wiki-Leaks shocked one and all.

Mr.Arun Kumar Chairperson of the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning , School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and the author of The Black Economy in India, observes :”since 1971, when the highest tax rate was 97.5 per cent, tax rates have fallen but the black money has grown from 7 per cent to 50 per cent of the GDP. Controls and regulations have been drastically eliminated after 1991 but the size of the black economy continues to rise.”

A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on the 1997 voluntary disclosure scheme pointed out that the same people who declared their black incomes earlier took advantage of the 1997 scheme—becoming habitual tax offenders.

The Vora Committee report pointed out that foreign investment through Mauritius route allowed round tripping of funds. This has facilitated accelerated black income generation. Investigators have alerted the nation about terror fund entering the stock markets to destabilize the economy.

The Vigilance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and media have done much to expose corruption at many levels. But the procedures for investigation and prosecution—such as the “single directive” requiring superior bureaucratic or ministerial sanction to proceed—have stymied progress.

The powerful UN Convention on Corruption of which India is a signatory has not been ‘ratified’ and incorporated in Indian laws because few want such a mechanism to thwart their designs.

The Supreme Court of India, while convicting former Kerala Minister R.Balakrishna Pillai for graft in the Idamalayar dam corruption case, directed that special courts should be set up to dispose of all corruption cases against public servants, expeditiously. The fact that it took two decades after initiation of prosecution prompted the Court to direct that “High Courts to even call for a quarterly report from the court concerned for speedy disposal.”

Opposition leader in Kerala Assembly, Mr.V.S.Achuthanandan, in a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the reports about the disclosures made by businessman Hasan Ali Khan during his interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate were shocking. The reports said deposits to the tune of Rs.36000 crore, which included money from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh were made through Mr.Hasan Ali. He wanted the Prime Minister to take immediate action if the reports were correct.

Criticising the Government for focusing the probe on black money only on businessman Mr. Hasan Ali Khan, the Supreme Court, recently sought to know from the Government whether it had information on all the others who have parked, illegally obtained wealth, abroad.

The intervention of Supreme Court in the corruption investigation has put enormous pressure on the central government. Setting up of multiple entities to study the black money has raised several questions. Many see this as a ploy to buy time and to stall questions on the subject since the government can claim it is waiting for the report. In an editorial comment, The Hindu Business Line observed:”Cracking under the relentless pressure from the Hazare-Ramdev campaigns over the last eight weeks, the Government is making one mistake after another as it desperately tries to divert public attention away from corruption.”

While addressing a public function at Kochi, eminent jurist and former judge of the Supreme Court Mr.V.R.Krishna Iyer said the Prime Minister, MPs and the judiciary should be brought under the purview of the proposed Lokpal Bill. In his lecture at the International Media Centre, here, Janata Party Leader Dr.Subramanian Swami said greed has become the driving force in the country and greed lead to corruption. He said India is the only country which did not ask for the names of the persons who have deposited black money in foreign banks though Germany was willing to share the list. It was estimated that around 1.4 trillion $ was there in the foreign banks and the government could bring it back, he said.

Dr.Swami said India has changed from a slow progressing socialist model society to one of the fastest growing economy where pure materialism based on greed prevailed. The number of billionaires was growing in the country but they were not doing anything for society. Hardly any industrialist diverted a portion of the profit for the welfare of society.

Ordinary citizens in India are outraged and disgusted by the procession of major corruption scandals. Social activist, Anna Hazare’s fast unto death has caught their imagination. The government was forced to drop the anti-corruption bill it had drafted and to agree to prepare a new and stronger draft in consultation with civil society activists.

While delivering a lecture on “The Decay in Society” at Kochi, historian Dr.K N Panicker has said that an anti-corruption law without a strong social base will not succeed. “Any such bill should be discussed at the panchayat level. A situation where the people’s voice is heard should emerge. Decentralisation of power, with its distribution at various levels in various forms, holds the key,” Dr. Panicker said, in reference to the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill.

In a separate critique, Dr.Panicker pointed out that the aim of the bill is not to prevent corruption, but to punish the corrupt. In this respect, the draft does not provide an approach that is qualitatively different from that of the existing institutions of the state. Experts have argued that the vigilance set-up in government agencies should be strengthened and made completely independent, reporting only to the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

“When affluence spreads to a small section of society, it begins to regulate the course, and value, of the entire spectrum of social activities. The capital-driven society, symbolized by malls, creates a kind of modernity and persuades us to believe that it is impossible to live without this. The programs proposed by the ruling class are not related to the issues faced by the public. They are, in fact, ideas to further the decay.” Dr.Panicker said.