MNC Bashing: Playing Chicken with the Economy

(Originally appeared in the 1990s in the Times of India, as published in M. D. Nalapat's book "Indutva", Har-Anand Publications, 1999)

Lizards have a trick of shedding their tails when in danger. The

animal chasing them gets diverted by the wiggling castaway,

and the lizard escapes. In like fashion, instead of pursuing the

terrorist monster threatening the land, the Hindutva champions

are getting diverted by a wiggly "tail" of an issue—Kentucky

Fried Chicken. Not that one should blame them, it is less

dangerous to attack two pieces of chicken on a plastic plate than

to, say, organise anti-terrorist demonstrations in Sopore or

Srinagar.

Those familiar with the hygiene conditions in Delhi’s

eateries—and obviously Madan Lal Khurana is not one of

them—may wonder why KFC was shut down rather than given

an award because only two flies were found in its New Delhi

outlet. Most of the rest have a larger number per square foot.

More importantly, by making Delhi—and India—an international

joke, the Hindutva crusaders should be awarded the Nishan-e-

Pakistan, having furthered one of the primary objectives of the

Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of derailing the developing

economic ties between India and the US. ISI strategists fear that

should such links develop, a lobby could form in the US which 

would reverse the traditionally pro-Pakistan tilt of the State

Department and the Pentagon.

This is not to deny the fact that the Clinton tilt is responsible

for KFC'S woes. It is no coincidence that after more than four

years of economic liberalisation, only during the past year has

there been a surge in anti-MNC (specifically anti-US) sentiment.

This is the result of the US policy towards New Delhi and

Islamabad, a policy which is about as ”non-aligned" as Cuba’s

was during the period when the USSR was still around. Pakistan

is given critical defence equipment but not India. Islamabad can

arm and train terrorists to wage a war against this country, but

India should not protest. Abdul Ghani Lone can meet key US

officials who, if Lone is to be believed, encourage him to break

up the Indian Union, but Altaf Hussain, despite avoiding any

talk of secession from Pakistan, is kept at arm's length lest

"Pinky" (Benazir Bhutto) minds.

And yet, despite the Clinton administrations bias, opposing

KFC and other US companies because of Clinton’s military help

to Islamabad makes about as much sense as the 1928-33 line of

the German Communist party that the Nazis and the Social

Democrats were "not antipodes but twins". Thanks to this

policy, much of the time of the comrades was spent in breaking

up socialist meetings and in abusing the SPD in the communist

press. Helped by this internecine war between their two biggest

enemies, the Nazis came to power in 1933 and promptly liquidated

both the socialists and the communists. By punishing KFC and

other US companies operating in India for the misdeeds of the

Clintonites, our Hindutva warriors are antagonising the one

force in the US powerful enough to end Washington's love affair

with Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s stengun-wielding "moderate

democrats".

An investigation into those leading the Chicken War would

show that most have visited the US several times, and many

have children studying there. Barring a few, the lifestyles of most

of them are elitist. Is it to cover this up that they rant about

chicken and flies? It is one thing to demand a "level playing

field" for foreign and domestic industry, another to seek to ban

external competition totally. Such an approach does not take

into account the strengths of local brands. In fast food, for

example, it is highly unlikely that brands such as Nirula's can get

affected by KFC’S entry—unless they are killed by their owners

themselves and are sold out to the foreign competitor, like

Thums Up was. Indeed, brands such as Nirula's have the

potential to go international, just as Taj and Oberoi have already

done in hotels. Crusaders like our chicken fighters may not,

however, appreciate this.

Where India scores over Pakistan is in the fact that it is a

liberal, secular democracy. In the Narasimha Rao era, one of

many beneficial changes is the fact that government is no longer

regarded with awe. Whether in the print media or on celluloid—

as films such as Oh Darling Yeh Hai India exemplify—even the

'PMji' is getting a taste of the lampoon. By their ISI-style

fanaticism, the Hindutva chicken fighters are attempting to wipe

out the difference between a tolerant India and a bigoted

Pakistan.

Yes, there are major threats to Indian security. For this,

antidotes need to be found through the development of defence

systems, not by protecting our intestinal tracts from harmless

chemicals. Lest we forget, the one factor that will keep this 

country from becoming another Bosnia is economic progress.

And the antics of those with flies on the brain is threatening this 

progress almost as much as the ISI fanatics are. 

Rescue Bid if West Agrees

(Originally appeared in the 1990s in the Times of India, as published in M. D. Nalapat's book "Indutva", Har-Anand Publications, 1999) 

National Security Guard commandos are on stand-by in Kashmir

ready to go into action in an effort to free the four surviving

Western hostages. However, the government of India is waiting

for a "go-ahead" from the United States, Britain and Germany,

before launching the operation. A high level source connected

with the effort to get the hostages released said that "our priority

is not to score political points, but to get the hostages released.

For this we are following a policy of wide consultations with the

Western countries involved and transparency in our actions", he

added.

Home ministry sources say that Pakistan is the key to getting

the hostages freed. They can claim that Al-Faran "was

continuously in touch with Harkat-ul-Ansar, which is controlled

by Jamiet-ul-ulema Islam of Pakistan". This was why Maulana

Fazhur Rehman, a supporter of Pakistan prime minister Benazir

Bhutto, came to India in July end "after admitting that he had got

three telephone calls from the abductors". The Maulana's mission

failed, according to home ministry sources, because "he was

insistent that at least three Pakistani prisoners Sazad Afgani,

Nazrullah Langryal, and Massoud Azhar, be released in exchange

for the hostages". Interestingly, the abductors of Kim Housego

as well as those who kidnapped four foreign tourists in 1994 had

also demanded the release of the very same prisoners. An official

involved in the debriefing of the escaped hostage John Childs

and a Kashmiri guide who had been with some of the kidnapped

tourists revealed that both were clear that "of some two dozen

kidnappers, only one spoke in Kashmiri, roughly half seemed to

be Pakistanis and the rest Afghans".

Indian negotiators in touch with the abductors said that "our

message to them is simple; killing the hostages will harm your

cause, free them and you can make your way to Pakistan". They

confirmed that there was "no question of releasing any of the 

terrorists demanded by the kidnappers", adding that in the

Rubaiya Sayeed case, in which the V.P. Singh government

released hardcore terrorists in exchange for the then home

minister’s daughter five years ago, "India has paid heavily for

this deal".

While officials in the home ministry appear hopeful that

"behind-the-scene" pressure by the Western countries on Pakistan

and Pakistan financed secessionist groups in Kashmir will help

to have the hostages released, the counter insurgency experts are

sceptical. They pointed out that "releasing the hostages means

that the Pakistan hand becomes clear". Rather than this, it suits

Islamabad to prolong the crisis, thereby keeping Kashmir in the

international spotlight. They further pointed out that Islamabad

gains by the drying up of tourism in the Valley and the

consequent extra hard-ship to the local people. A senior Indian

official claimed that messages intercepted from across the border

clearly specified that "political leaders, government officials and

foreigners should be kidnapped to bring the Kashmir situation

to the attention of world media". Indian officials are however

hopeful that "because of the policy of transparency, there are few

takers for (Pakistan foreign minister) Assif Ali’s lie that India

was responsible for the kidnapping". They say that "unless

Western powers openly call a spade and demand that Pakistan

forces the Harkat-ul- Ansar to handover the hostages, the crisis

is likely to get prolonged.

When asked why a commando operation has not yet been

launched, the counter-terrorism experts pointed out that "unlike

buildings or aircrafts which are enclosed spaces, the hostages are

being held in the open, thus the element of surprise in a raid will

be missing". They repeat that the "decision whether or not to

launch a raid has to come from the three Western countries

involved, namely US, Britain and Germany". They added that

"as of now all the three countries are still trying to use their

influence with Pakistan to get the hostages released".

Autonomous Airwaves - Getting the Picture Right

(Originally appeared in the 1990s in the Times of India, as published in M. D. Nalapat's book "Indutva", Har-Anand Publications, 1999)

"Have any colour car you like, so long as it is black", said Henry

Ford to customers of his Model T. So long as the company had

a monopoly in its price-quality range, sales were brisk. Once

competition revved up, they crashed. Some civil servants resemble

Henry Ford. Steeped in memories of the Imperial Civil Service,

when there were no pesky legislators or irreverent journalists to

worry about, many officials equate public good with their

personal opinions.

No Surprise

Which is why it came as no surprise when Jaipal Reddy replaced

the tyranny of the PMO and the information and broadcasting

ministry with that of a Prasar Bharati board that evidently

believes it has been given the divine right to force-feed the rest

of us with its standards. India Today carried an interview with the

new CEO of Prasar Bharati, in which the retired (and now

retreaded) bureaucrat has been admirable in his candour. "I

have to decide". If anything conflicts with his standards," it will

be thrown out without ceremony". Clearly, the information and

broadcasting ministry's views on democratic functioning are not

far removed from what they were during the Emergency.

Media pundits groan about the malign influence of proprietors

who cut into press freedom by dictating the direction and

content of writing. Clearly, there are publishers who believe that

what they and their social group like must necessarily be similar

to what the (somewhat larger) markets of their publications will

appreciate. However, there are at least as many editors who

routinely churn out views at variance with theirs, and who seek

to convert their publications into vehicles for their idiosyncrasies.

Quite a few newspapers and magazines have folded up as a

result of having been in the hands of such "activist" editors for

too long. Of course, it is a difference matter that many publishers

are attracted to such characters in the same way as damsels are 

said to swoon over ”strong" men, an attraction that seems to last 

long after their publications begin to nosedive. 

Clearly, the new Prasar Bharati team feels the same way. Just the 

as officials sometimes dream (and act) as though they were on 

horseback kicking the natives, our commissioners are acting as 

though Cuba or China are the proper models to follow. That and 

the glorious examples of the "civilising" of the aborigines in 

Australia or the native Indian communities in America. Both 

were taught that their own cultural inheritances were inferior 

and needed to be replaced with “advanced" models. In the same 

way, the new Prasar Bharati team reportedly feels that such 

"rubbish" as Indian mythological serials should be trashed. 

Programmes based on Indian mythology cannot be considered

religious epics. In fact, mythological stories should be taught to 

every Indian child. The kind of "secular" mind that condemns 

such works is the same one that pushes communities into the 

arms of fundamentalists. Some more of such policies and the 

VHP will expand several times as a reaction. Hopefully, the new 

Board will soon realise that its job is not to enslave the 

professionals who are working in All-India Radio and 

Doordarshan but to give them the freedom to make decisions. 

Even the CEO should intervene only by exception, when  

suspected breaches of taste or integrity take place. The country

has come a long way from the patemalism of the Nehru family.

After reading Satish Gujral, one realises how very close the 

Gujrals were to the Nehrus. However, hopefully this does not

mean that the political style of the dynasty will be followed.

The Nehru family, thanks to its western upbringing, made

secularism a bad word among those Indians not fortunate

enough to have studied in Europe. The best bulwark against

fanaticism is Indian tradition, as expressed in its literature and

mythology. Should the reported thinking of the new masters of

DD and AIR be correct, then classical dances and music may be

next on the chopping block, because both are staples of temple

festivals. Instead of such models of "secularism".

S. S. Gill and his commissioners need to allow fully the reflection

of local talent. After all, the taxpayer has paid for DD and AIR.

She has a right to programmes which she finds pleasant and

useful.

New Team

Next, the new Prasar Bharati team should unshackle radio and

television from the government’s grip, and give Indian companies

the right to uplink and to freely generate radio and television

programmes and air them. Should foreign companies be given

permission, they should commit themselves to airing India-

generated programmes on their international networks for fixed

time slots. The syncretic traditions of this land will thus be

beamed to other regions. The new team—and this includes the

CEO—comprises people of experience and integrity. Hopefully,

rather than micro-manage, it will ensure that it itself becomes

irrelevant by truly freeing the airwaves within the parameters of

the law. 

During the past few years, competition to the state-owned

media has emerged in television more than in radio. This process

needs to be taken further, so that the diversity of India is

reflected in its broadcast media as well. Had those in charge of

administering the country ever taken a break from living off the

exchequer and attempted to run even a pan-shop using their

own funds, they would have realised the value of capital. Sadly,

few “public servants” have such an experience. As a result, they

are cavalier when it comes to spending other people’s money.

PILs get filed to block project after project, and few object. These

days, the legal system is seldom used to obtain justice. Most

often, the motive is to delay. And hence the numerous stays and

adjournments. It should be mandatory for the judge to be told

how much a stay is costing the country in terms of wasted

resources. Were this to be done, the eagerness to grant them may

diminish.

Best Service

One can only admire the judges who believe so passionately in

this country that they feel that it is feasible to set in place

improvements that even rich countries cannot afford. Thus

orders are sent out to close down hundreds of units in the

expectation that jobs will easily be available in cleaner enterprises

elsewhere. Dams that may—in the absence of the development

of nuclear power—help bridge the shortfall in power are halted

in mid-construction so that environmental interests are satisfied.

Strangely, many of our Greens lead very comfortable, even

luxurious lives, in the most tony colonies complete with polluting

refrigerators, air-conditioners and automobiles. However, the

rest of us have to pay the price of political correctness in the

shape of ramshackle infrastructure. Yet, no serious attempt has

been made to ensure that private funding can be given the

conditions to flow freely into key infrastructural areas such as

roads, power, ports and communications. 

Mahatma Gandhi talked of the daridra narayan. Before framing

policies or judgements, those living off the exchequer need to The

work out the impact of their decisions on the honest taxpayer. 

They may then find that several of them are the wrong ones. 

They may also find that the best service they can do is to create 

systems that ensure that they are no longer needed. 

India-Pakistan Talks - Keep your Fingers Crossed

(Originally appeared in the 1990s in the Times of India, as published in M. D. Nalapat's book "Indutva", Har-Anand Publications, 1999)

Judging by their quick adoption of the military line on India-

Pakistan relations, it appears that politicians in Islamabad are

once more letting slip an opportunity to make their country a full

democracy. This will entail the curbing of the powers of the

unelected President and Chief of Army Staff, and closing the

shop of the Council for Defense and National Security, a thinly-

disguised cover for military preponderance in Pakistan’s decision-

making machinery.

Once the euphoria generated by his landslide fades, Prime

Minister Nawaz Sharif will find it difficult to implement an

agenda designed to restore power to the elected representatives

of the people. This will open the door to his second dismissal a

couple of years hence.

The significance of this for India is that concessions are

possible only to a Pakistan that is fully democratic. As in the case

of Bangladesh, where India could make major adjustments to

Dhaka’s point of view only after the India-baiting regime of

Khaleda Zia was defeated, Pakistan cannot expect similar

treatment unless it gives concrete evidence that the generals no

longer dictate policy. Otherwise, as took place after Tashkent

and Shimla, concessions made to Islamabad will be used by the

authoritarian forces for their consolidation against democratic

elements.

Nepal is an example where a tough line by India helped the

collapse of the authoritarian order. It was only after his much-

reviled blockade that Rajiv Gandhi witnessed the transformation

of Nepal into a genuine democracy. Similarly, the generals and

the feudals in Pakistan - with their dream of a chain of terrorist

states owing allegiance to the ISI - need to be made aware that

until their country becomes a full democracy, it cannot be treated

as one. This is where Siachen comes in.

There has been a lot of comment about the "uselessness" of

defending Siachen. The US ambassador to India, Frank Wisner,

has spoken movingly about the need to avoid losing precious

lives in maintaining an outpost in the region. However, if

Siachen is so "useless", why are Islamabad and Washington so

keen on an Indian withdrawal?

Perhaps it is because of two reasons: (1) Siachen gives the

Indian army the ability to interdict supplies along the Karakoram

Highway, and (2) the post gives an observation platform to

watch over the activities taking place on the road, such as

supplies from the ISI to rebels in Xinjiang. While Pakistan will

want to snuff out the first, the US would be bashful about

revealing the extent to which the ISI is useful in its strategic

games. Thus the coming together of both countries to preach to

India about the "insignificance" of Siachen.

Unfortunately, New Delhi has to take a more hard-headed

view of realities. So long as Pakistan continues to arm and

support insurgents in India, the conditions for an Indian

withdrawal from Siachen will not be met. Such concessions can

be given only to a friendly Pakistan, not one that continues to

follow the dictates of its generals in relations with India. To take

the Bangladesh example, now that she is out of power, Khaleda

Zia has admitted to helping insurgents in the Northeast of this

country.

Oddly, the "anti-terrorist" chancelleries of the west have

failed to respond to this admission of guilt, even while they send

messages of support to representatives of "Khalistan".

The letter by US Vice President AI Gore to a known ISI-

financed lobbyist, in which he talks of "Khalistan", has been

sought to be dismissed in this country as one more example of

the sloppiness of the US bureaucracy, However, this is of a piece

with statements that the CIA has "not yet" uncovered hard

evidence of Pakistan-China missile supplies.

Rather than rush to accept conspiracy theories about

insurgencies in India, it would be more sensible to accept the

premise that AI Gore’s office has about as much knowledge

about the internal situation in India as a gorilla in the New York

zoo has.

The third hypothesis is that the letter was, in a sense, paid

for by hefty contributions by ISI fronts in the US. Certain

politicians such as Dan Burton are known to be getting hefty

sums from such groups, so it may not be a surprise if some major

contributor to the Democratic party was behind the Gore reply.

However, contrary to the belief in Pakistan, the US has very

limited capabilities to influence a government in Delhi to make

concessions that would enrage public opinion and lead to

impeachment of those making them. Thus the efforts of

Washington to repay the ISI for its services against Iran, Russia

and China by making New Delhi make strategic concessions will

come to naught.

Indeed, thanks to the ISI, a pattern is becoming clear even to

the Chinese in the activities of fundamentalists in Chechnya,

Kashmir, Shiraz and Xinjiang. Despite efforts to disrupt India-

China ties by revving up activities of Tibetans on foreign

payrolls, it is unlikely that the process of normalisation will slow

down. Hopefully, New Delhi will wake up to what is going on

in the "Buddhist" retreat of Dharamshala and ensure that those

who are being instigated to violence are told to pipe down or get

out.

Unlike transient ties, a mature relationship comes about

when both sides acknowledge current realities and adjust to

them. While the opinion of launching a war to wrest back POK

from Islamabad may not be realistic, neither is the expectation

that US or other pressures can make India agree to the Pakistan

agenda on Kashmir. In case Islamabad is willing to "agree to

disagree" on Kashmir, the way can be opened for measures that

will benefit it substantially, such as enhanced exports to India

and full participation in the CIS-Iran—India economic linkage.

New Delhi, while refusing to make strategic concessions to

an Army-dominated Pakistan, should announce unilateral

concessions on trade, culture and other fields, to signal to the

Pakistani people that the desire is for reconciliation. The final

objective must be a friendly western border, hopefully with a

united Pakistan, or with the successor states in case Islamabad

continues to bleed itself to collapse by its ISI wars.

The minimum condition for even a Siachen agreement is

proof of complete cessation of the ISI's war against India. The

condition for peace is that both sides accept the present borders

and unitedly defend them.

The bluntness of Dewie Gowda on Kashmir is preferable to

the prevarications of the Rao period, the flipflops that convinced

Pakistan that a democratic government in India would, in effect,

blow itself up by surrendering the unity and integrity of India.

To say that suicide by India is the price of friendship, as the

generals in Pakistan argue, is a tad unreasonable.

Nuclear Neo-Racism - Ending Technological Apartheid

(Originally appeared in the 1990s in the Times of India, as published in M. D. Nalapat's book "Indutva", Har-Anand Publications, 1999)

After 500 years of domination over the earth, the Caucasian races

are finding it difficult to adjust to a universe in which the lesser

breeds challenge their supremacy. The first blow was struck in

1947 by India, which forced out the British through non-

cooperation and a no-tax campaign. Finally, the colonisers had

to accept the inevitability of withdrawal in an environment in

which fewer and fewer local quislings obeyed their orders.

Indian independence from British rule ignited a firestorm against

European colonisers, which led to their withdrawal from most

colonies by the 1960s. Today, only a handful of entities such as

Diego Garcia and the Falklands remain under western suzerainty.

Turning Point

However, of the four white supremacist immigrant countries, 

only one has thus far come under a genuinely multi-racial

administration. This is South Africa, where Nelson Mandela’s

emergence has ensured a fairer share in both power and wealth

for hitherto-colonised races. The other three countries still retain

administrations dominated by Caucasians; moreover, they have

put in place immigration regimes that prevent a sufficient inflow

of citizens from Asia, Africa and Latin America. These countries

are Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Just as South Africa

once was, they need to be the target of an intemational campaign

to ensure that their racial mix more correctly reflects international

reality.

It is not a coincidence that it is the Australians, New

Zealanders and the Canadians who served as the shock troops·

for the Caucasian races recently when 'low-caste' India matched

’high-caste' technology, and had the gall publicly to demonstrate

it on May 11 and again on May 13. The rhetoric used by these

three countries brought back memories of a century ago, when

the intellectual progenitors of the Axworthys and the Downers

were inventing justifications for the continued exploitation of the

'lesser' breeds.

Sadly for such individuals as Jamie Rubin, who made

disparaging remarks about Indian leaders, the world has changed

somewhat since the first half of this century. If India'; accession

to freedom on August 15, 1947, marked a turning point in

international relations, then so did the two rounds of tests in

May this year. Pokhran-II showed that a country that had been

starved of access to sophisticated technology by the US and other

western powers, could by its own efforts catch up to them.

Unlike the "Pakistani" bomb - which is a China-created device

and whose detonation was intended to help persuade India to

retrace its path of technological advancement - the Indian nuclear

and missile programme is indigenous. Not accidentally,

"international opinion" (which is how the BBC describes the US-

UK perspective) tacitly condoned the decades of Sino-Pakistan

collaboration, while continuously striving to force India to "cap,

roll back and destroy" its nuclear and missile programme. 

Should a genuine non-proliferation treaty get negotiated -

one that blocks transfer of strategic technology between borders - 

India can be expected to sign up. However, it cannot accept any

slowdown in its drive to become a technological superpower.

The more the United States, the United Kingdom and other

countries try and impose an international caste system that puts

India in the role of Ekalavya, the greater will be New Delhi’s

motivation to challenge the policy of technological apartheid. In

this, Beijing can soon be expected to become an ally, as also the

fiercely nationalistic post-Yeltsin Russia that is waiting to be

born. The Gulf and even Pakistan can in course of time be

expected to sign up, as can the peoples of countries that were

former colonies. Within South America—notably in Mexico and 

Brazil—there is a new pride in indigenous culture.

Racial Tolerance

This is the strategic alternative in the event of the Caucasian

powers attempting to destroy the Indian economy—and with

that the country’s unity—through sanctions. However, there is

no doubt that this is a less attractive alternative than a strategic

alliance with the democracies of the western world. Western

society today is very different from what it was during the

colonial era. Extensive travel and generous immigration policies

in much of Europe and the United States have resulted in a

change in societal attitudes. Despite the skinheads, the dominant

mood in major western countries such as Britain, France and

Germany is racial tolerance.

Even during the struggle against colonial oppression, many

of the most active participants were themselves Caucasians.

Annie Besant, Madeleine Slade and others come to mind. Today,

that liberal trend is slowly elbowing out the racists, though in

some sections of the media, attitudes of caste superiority remain

strong. Media commentators, however, are not half as offensive

as Robin Cook or Madeleine Albright, both of whom evidently

believe themselves to be schoolteachers ordering around a

cowed set of truant children. Thanks to such "diplomats", the

western world may forfeit as an ally a country that is the Mother

Civilisation of the West’s cultural inheritance.

Far-reaching Results

However, there is an Indian saying that there can be true

friendship only between equals. If President Clinton truly feels

that nuclear weapons are an abomination in the emerging

century, he should initiate steps to follow his own advice to

India, and unilaterally destroy the US strategic arsenal. It is

ludicrous to hear the president of the world's most weaponised

country preach abstinence, just as it is to hear the BBC fulminate

against "immoral" India, when they have yet to mention that

Britain (who perhaps faces a strategic threat from France) is a

nuclear-weapon state, and therefore as culpable. Should the

western powers continue their current tirade against this country,

then New Delhi cannot be blamed for turning away from

cooperation with them to a policy that returns to its anti-colonial

roots.

The events of the coming years will have incalculable

consequences on the future international balance of power, for

they will determine the strategic direction taken by an India that

will inevitably take its pride of place in the international order.

Widening the NEt - Bringing a Corrupt Elite to Book

(Originally appeared in the 1990s in the Times of India, as published in M. D. Nalapat's book "Indutva", Har-Anand Publications, 1999)

India’s miserable performance in athletics reflects the national

tendency to lose steam after a good start. After the initial burst

of enthusiasm and energy, we tend to peter out and the final

result is usually dismal. This situation obtains in corruption

investigations as well. As numerous infructuous enquiry

commissions have shown, an unwillingness to concentrate on

crucial issues and delays in investigation often lead to the

punishment for graft being merely some bad publicity.

Lok Pal Bill

That the political class in India is unwilling to stem the flow of

cash in its own direction has once again become clear from the

draft Lok Pal Bill. Instead of protecting the citizen from venal

politicians, the present draft Bill will serve to gag the media and

enable wrongdoers in government to avoid accountability by

directing enquiries into other more convenient channels. As the

hawula and other scams have shown, unless there is constant

media and judicial scrutiny of cases, these will become

progressively more diffused and finally die out. Public opinion

needs to be mobilised to ensure the framing of laws—and the

creation of institutions—that can lessen, if not destroy, official

corruption.

In this campaign, winning a few battles—such as sending a

Sukh Ram into custody for a few weeks—is not enough to win

the war. Only a system of checks on the political and bureaucratic

elite can do this. The main thrust should be targeting the top

echelon because corruption flows from that level to others. If the

highest level of the administration is seen to be honest, the rest

will follow suit contributing to a better regime. This was evident

in Kerala during the time (1969-77), for example, when C.

Achutha Menon was chief minister. Or, look at a wider all-India

example. Government functioning was far more honest and

transparent during the short period (1964-65) of Lal Bahadu

Shastri than it was subsequently. However, a Menon or a Shastri

are rare. And, after full-fledged "family rule" began in the 1970s,

such people foimd it almost impossible to get anywhere in durbar

politics, where what matters is to catch the eye of the ruler

through sycophancy. Small wonder then that politicians are

resisting the efforts of the Election Commission to democratise

their party structures.

Defining the political and the bureaucratic elite for purposes

of legislation is easy. The "political elite" comprises the presidents

and legislature party leaders of all recognised political formations,

both at the central as well as state level. It also includes all past

and present cabinet ministers, again at both the Centre and the

states as well as all current MPs, and MLA/MLCs. The

"bureaucratic elite" comprises all those whose salaries come

from the state exchequer and which exceeds a total of Rs. 10,000

per month, (all inclusive). This includes public sector officers as

well as those from the administration and the police. Needless

to say, this definition also includes the spouses and the children

of those listed. The judiciary and the armed forces will also need

to develop systems to identify and punish the black sheep within

them. The new legislation would cover all their actions from the

period they enter into its scope.

Apart from a Lok Pal rid of the opacity and toothlessness

patent in the current draft legislation, the CBI needs to be vested

with the same level of autonomy which the Comptroller and

Auditor-General and the Election Commission enjoy at present.

This new CBI should have as its mandate investigations into

charges involving the political and bureaucratic elite. Cases

involving smaller fry should be devolved to other organisations

set up for the purpose. At present, rather than concentrating on

major cases, the CBI has got far too much on its plate. It is no

surprise, therefore, that it has been unable to frame chargesheets

on time in several cases, thus leading to the accused being let free

on bail. Were the CBI to concentrate only on involving those at

the top, or those where the loss to the exchequer is computed at

over Rs. 100 crores, such delays would hopefully not occur.

Special Tribunal

However, investigating agencies by themselves are as useless as

water without irrigation canals to take it to the fields. The

existing criminal justice system—clearly designed for a population

the size of the British Isles—would not be able to take the burden

generated by a campaign against high-level graft. It needs to be

supplemented by a system of special tribunals which will try

such cases. These tribunals could be modelled on, for example,

the land boards set up by the Devaraj Urs government in

Karnataka during the 1970s. These boards had wide powers and

strict limits on appeal procedures. As a result, decisions were

taken and implemented speedily.

The experience gained since the investigations into the Jain

hawala case shows that there is a lack of coordination between the

key investigating agencies, in particular the CBI, the Directorate

of Revenue Intelligence and the Enforcement Directorate. In

order to investigate cases involving the elite, or those where the

loss to the exchequer exceeds Rs. 100 crores, a coordinating

mechanism needs to be set up so that information can be pooled

and duplication of work avoided. Contrary to the intentions of

the framers of the present draft of the Lok Pal Bill (which is to

prevent media scrutiny), there is need for constant monitoring

by the media of the activities of these watchdogs, so that they

themselves do not fall prey to corruption. Given that India is by 

and large a functioning democracy, the best guardian of public

standards is a citizenry kept informed by an alert press.

Two Gifts

While the British enriched themselves during their uninvited

sojourn in India, their crimes were mitigated by two gifts that

they—perhaps unintentionally—left behind. These are the English

language and the system of parliamentary democracy. Both have

resisted the efforts of Indian goons and cultural fascists to banish

them. Thanks to the two legacies, over time a vigilant press and

judiciary have also emerged that have combined to carry forward

the present drive against corruption. In particular, the present

Supreme Court has ensured its place in history by taking the lead

in bringing the mighty who have transcended the law to book.

However, an institutional framework needs to be created to

ensure that this achievement is permanent.

Only sustained public pressure can shame the political class

into setting into place systems and procedures that would deter

a member of the political or the bureaucratic elite from becoming

corrupt. A start has been made by the forced arrest of Sukh Ram

for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of

income. However, the politician from Mandi is not the exception

in his class, but the rule. Those in authority, however, should not

be allowed to escape by making scapegoats of a few like Sukh

Ram. The net needs to widen so that it covers the activities of all

those who have held prominent positions during at least the past

ten years. Narasimha Rao and Sukh Ram are not the only

politicians to have bent the rules. Many of those now leading the

wolf pack against them are no less guilty. At present, the "drive"

against corruption has all the orderliness of a Roman arena

where the crowd screams for the fallen gladiators to be

despatched. Such frenzy needs to be replaced with the putting

into place of new systems designed to identify and punish graft

and misuse of office.