Failure seems to be regarded as the one unpardonable crime, success as the all-redeeming virtue, the acquisition of wealth as the

single worthy aim of life. The hair-raising revelations of skullduggery and grand-scale thievery merely incite others to surpass by yet bolder outrages and more corrupt combinations. Charles Francis Adams (18071886) American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. At no other time in the history of democratic governance has this incisive observation held as much relevance as it does today. India, in Dr. S. Purvaja particular, has been plagued by a spate of scams in the recent years. It is an era of corruption boom in our country now with scandals like the 2G spectrum, CWG,

illegal mining, Adarsh cooperative society and many others of the same ilk occupying an integral part of the daily news. Political corruption has plumbed new depths with reports of astronomical sums of black money being stashed away in tax havens. Fainted politicos ride roughshod over established checks and balances and brazenly engage in corrupt practices. Democracy is wilting under pressure exerted by corruption. Any amount of government spending on plan outlays and schemes would not lead our country towards development unless the decline in public ethics and morals is stemmed and the system purified. Efforts should be made to strike at the roots of the evil that would lead to its control in the long run, rather than some turbulent bouts of ethical cleansing. The first and foremost cause that has bred corruption in our polity to haunting levels is that perverse incentives reward rather than penalize it.

Corruption has become a low-risk and high-profit activity. The dignity of Indias public life has declined to such an extent that, but for some exception, many honest people shunpolitical posts and the rapacious ones swarm to it with great relish. Second is the inaction on the part of the government. Even if it unveils an action plan to tackle the menace, it usually is the case of an old wine in a new bottle. Very few in our country believe that our government is either capable or willing to go all the way in bringing to book those guilty of having committed irregularities in handling public funds. Third, the cancer of corruption is in the stage of metastasis today, affecting all the organs of the government including the police, army and the judiciary. It is due to the network of the criminals, police, politicians bureaucrats, lobbyists and the illegal beneficiaries in collusion with each other, that those indulging in such malpractices go scot-free. The magnitude of the problem, thus, has reached

unprecedented levels rendering its eradication very difficult. Fourth, the judicial process is extremely slow in our country. Therefore, people with criminal charges against them, get entry into politics easily as the judgement in their case is pending in the court for a very long time. Political posts give them a huge clout and ensure that charges against them are not pursued. Thus, politics has become a protective cover for criminals leading to the criminalization of politics. Fifth, illegal assets find safe havens in foreign countries. According to reports, around US $ 450 billion to $ 17 trillion of Indian money has been salted away in undeclared bank accounts spread halfway across the world from Lichtenstein and Switzerland to Mauritius and the hayman islands. Finally, corruption has come to be accepted as an inevitable part of life. People are either reluctant or afraid to raise their voice against the evil. There who dare to stand up and

fight against it are brutally suppressed. Many RTI activists, government officials and others who exposed corruption in the system have been seriously attacked and some of them have been even brazenly murdered. India is embarking on a path towards becoming a developed nation. It aspires to be a global power in future. Its economic and strategic clout is growing and it is now a part of a larger economic bandwidth able to buy influence around the globe. However, the change we wish to see would remain elusive until the fabric of our nation stained with corruption is cleansed. In order to achieve this, taking reform measures is an urgent imperative. The scenario where corruption has become a lucrative activity should change. Institutional reforms are very essential for ending to days perverse incentives. A legislation should be made to give top priority for the cases against elected representatives and consequently expedite

their trials. The electoral victory, instead of providing the political immunity they seek, would thus become a curse for them. Next, judicial reforms have to be instituted for ensuring speedier justice. Finally, the police and the other investigating agencies have to be extricated from political control in order to facilitate an impartial inquiry. Such institutional reforms would go a long way in replacing those perverse incentives with incentives for honesty. India is a democratic country where its citizens are the arbiters of its political destiny. An angry electorate, if they decide to do so, can make any political party step down from power. The recent spate of popular uprisings across the Arab world viz. Tunisia and Egypt is a case in point. However, the travesty of democracy here is that people are not able to utilize their right of choosing the right person for the right position, in the right manner.

Tools like the RTI Act are available today for people to enquire about the INDIANEBOOKS.TK PD/May/2011/2110 background of candidates contesting the elections, before voting for them, but the masses remain unaware of these facilities. Many vote on the basis of trivial reasons such as caste, community and so on. Education of the masses would promote awareness among them thus enabling them to elect competent and honest people to power. Such a trend would induce many educated, capable people, who have hitherto chosen to avoid the quagmire of the present political system to take to public life. Such an influx of people with a genuine desire to work for the public good will rupture the network of venality and go a long way in ending the scourge of corruption. Ways and means have to be devised to prevent the diversion of

ill-gotten gains to foreign banks. Absence of a sanctuary to park the clandestine assets would put an additional brake on the corruption spiral. Officials and the public should be encouraged to come out with cases of corruption, in order to control the rot in the system. For this, the Whistleblowers have to be protected first. In the United States and other western countries, there are specific laws to protect the informers. Similar legislation with some teeth is all the more essential in our country, where corruption is endemic. The Right to Information Act, 2005 which seeks to imparts greater transparency to the system has little meaning if such a legislation is not in force. The introduction of Public Interest Disclosure (Protection of Informers) Bill, 2010 is a good move in that direction. Of late, motivated citizens are forming groups, writing blogs and even creating dedicated sites on the net to

protect against and expose corruption in public life. A website somewhat cheekily named as ipaidabribe.com is one such example. Thus, the writing on the wall is clear, mere clamour from the public, lip service by the government and sensational reportage in the media is not enough ! The hydra headed monster of corruption has to be battled with on multiple fronts and all of us must realize the responsibility and do our utmost on each of the possible fronts to slay this demon. As Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation, expressed it. Be the change you want to see in the world.