Oh the Graft!

As you read this, a revolution of sorts is underway in the largest democracy in the world. Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev and ‘Gandhian’ social acitivist Anna Hazare have held the Indian government at ransom over the past one week. They demand a corrupt-free nation and a law in place to clean up the mess that has only grown dirtier with every passing day. Though India is one of the largest democracies in the world, with all the trappings of a well-defined structure— parties, assemblies, elections, free press etc—it still appears to be mere gimmickry, with rampant corruption almost everywhere.

Anger over corruption has spiraled as the UPA government lurches from scandal to scandal. The 2G spectrum scam which is estimated to have cost the exchequer up to $ 39 Bn; the Common Wealth Games scam which saw Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, head of the Organizing Committee, awarding illegal Games contracts to a Swiss firm causing a loss of about $ 21M to the exchequer; the Adarsh Housing scam; the fiasco over appointment of Chief Vigilance Commissioner P.J. Thomas; several corporate scams like the infamous ‘Satyam’ case and various money laundering cases like the stashing away of about $ 8 Bn in swiss bank accounts by stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan. The list goes on and on.

Ramdev and Hazare’s fast-unto-death approach has turned into a full blown media circus. Hazare has given the government a deadline of 15th August to pass an anti-corruption bill. But will that be enough? I believe the problem is far bigger than just having a law in place. The biggest challenge is implementing the law itself. The Economist is right on saying ‘Regulations are not, by and large, deterrents to corruption, but a source of it’. And this is only obvious in a country like India because it is getting richer fast, and the faster its economy grows, the more chances arise for mind-boggling theft.

This new age democracy needs a leviathan revolution to eliminate corruption. The UPA government has several challenges to tackle besides the anti-graft agitations heating up the nation; like rising food inflation, petrol prices and a dancing Sushma Swaraj to name a few.