Something is Rotten in the State of ...

A for Adarsh

B for Benami Accounts

C for CWG

D for Devas

Go tell the Westerners, we have our own Alphabetrix (inspired by Matrix). With the scams pouring in a dozen a month, we might as well have a whole new vocabulary very soon. 

The awe-mongring scale of scams can be gauged from the fact that it not only dwarfs the GDP of several countries but also makes it look like pittance. A single scam is sufficient to wipe out the entire annual fiscal deficit of the country and bring the budget in surplus. A few together can pay off the external debt. If combined the scams can very well monetize the requirements of social welfare programs (for which the money is never there!) and so on and so forth …

I am not trying to tell that we have a very corrupt system, it is already known anyway, but that the sheer magnitude of money involved has bewildered even the corrupt souls. There is so much scope to make money which a poor-middle class babu never thought about while accepting a few hundred rupees to make the files sail. If this is the kind of inspiring leadership he has, he might as well have made more!

More - that is really a very powerful word. Whatever you have - its never enough. Such an amazing thing it is that, on one hand, it makes a great player like Sachin Tendulkar to go on & on, being completely loyal to the game while on the other motivates the greed to hoard, to loot, to accumulate, to amass wealth that you might never be able to use in this life time by depriving someone of the meal for the day !! 

While these rumblings of a dismayed soul can continue incessantly, a more pertinent issue of discussion which these recent exposures have raised is about the structure of investigative agencies in India.

The three main agencies that are intended to play a very important role in discovering/uncovering abuse of power and issues related to corruption are - The Central Bureau of Investigation,  the Central Vigilance Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor-General. All these agencies although autonomous (and independent for the namesake) are hamstrung by the collusion between the politics and bureaucracy. The laws governing the bodies are intentionally strewn with loopholes for those in power to be able to arm-twist the system when needed. All are handicapped to disallow an impartial investigation. The need of permission from the government before taking an investigative action against a bureaucrat, the absence of any investigative machinery with CVC and reliance on the mercy of support from other organizations, the ministerial power to transfer officers (when on the brink of making a breakthrough in a case) are just a few but glaring shortfalls. Moreover, the attempts to cure the system by passing progressive legislations have always been met with strong resistance. The lapse of Lokpal Bill, which aims to bring ministers including the PM under the scrutiny more than once in the Parliament, is again just one of the examples. 

The picture is dismal and there is an urgent need for action. We have enough evidence before us to suggest that, if allowed to function, these same organization can work wonders. The complete turnaround in the pace of CBI’s work after the Supreme Court taking over the 2G and CWG cases (the first such instance happened in the Vineet Narain Case in 1997 when Supreme Court directed CBI to directly report to it) stands witness to the fact. 

There is a dire need to reform the age-old Delhi Special Police Establishment Act (1946) which governs CBI. As often mentioned by former CBI Director Mr. Raghvan, more freedom has to be divested to the agency, the leadership should be free from the fear of being sent to Andamans  in case they raise an eyebrow. The CVC and the CAG also need to be strengthened - from having just an advisory role, the government should be obliged to note and present a case for not taking action on the CAG report; the CVC should have the power to mandate assistance from fraternal agencies during an investigation. I don’t plead for blanket freedom (we don’t want an Indian KGB) but for a balanced stance where there is no interference in daily activities of these agencies.

A strong public opinion can forcibly inculcate the missing political will. It is difficult to be optimistic, but I do see the glass half-full. Lets hope it would happen soon otherwise there will just be an empty glass - the hopelessness, the despair and the gloom …..

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Thats right! A copied title from a famous Guy Ritchie movie and here’s what Wikiquote says about it -

“Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 film about four London working class stiffs who pool their money to enter a high stakes card game, but things go wrong and they end up owing half a million pounds, with one week to come up with the cash.”

Just change a few words and it makes a perfect story for the world around us today. That’s exactly how the erstwhile masters & policemen of the world (read EU and US) had played the  game. I sometimes picture the globe as their big casino and the EU-US garbed in black robes sitting at the high-stakes table. Much has been lost in these wild-games and to think about what could have prevented it is next to a futile exercise.

A more relevant question is - How are we going to play it?

Much of what is reflected from last year can be a close call. We saw China opening its windows for the westerlies to blow through and India leaving the door ajar. There is no denying the fact that we need the fuel to keep the engines of growth churning - feed the hungry dragon and a famished elephant, but it is also important to do the balancing act. Recent unabated spate of forex flowing through our borders, the increased proportions of FII investments in benchmark indices, the associated volatility dependence in the capital markets, encouragement of derivative instruments are a few  of the many issues that do deserve attention. It should be us who should be playing rather than being played.

Just like a good player we need to be looking at all the possible angles. Optimal engagement with the developed world is already up our sleeves (thanks to an unprecedented media coverage and a proactive government) but on the foreign policy front, although, there had been a lot of hullabaloo about our “Look East Policy” not much has been achieved. While we had just been ogling, China has already proposed the girl. For us the key to the East now lies in the West (not the usual West!). Last few months have seen uprisings, revolts and revolutions in the Arab world; the sole cause - Joblessness. Most destabilized countries such as those of Egypt are looking at regime changes and a possible movement towards democracy. India being the largest democracy in the world owes the responsibility to participate - contribute in the process of reconstruction of these nations. Since, this will a second life for these nations the role that India can play in their formative years will have significant impact. Not only it will promote peace in the region but also allow India to have access to the resource rich Arab world both in Africa and West-Asia. It will also be a stepping stone in balancing the power equation in our immediate neighborhood. 

What we need today is an aggressive foreign policy and the nimbleness to move fast, recognize opportunities and tap them before they are lost. We don’t want to be holding the smoking barrels while someone runs away with all the lock & stock in front of our eyes!

Lost Cause ..

I thought I would complete the travel blog sequel first and then post other articles. But as that doesn't seems to be happening, I will leave it in the limbo - for some other time.

Reverting back to the usual!