A 2G Bench Change? (The Diplomat)

By Madhav Nalapat

That India's Prime Minister is an honest man is well known. Even better known is the fact that he’s thus far done little to prosecute those at the top of the business, administrative and political pyramid that are guilty of corruption. Experts estimate that between one-third and one-half of the money earned in India flows to the ‘black’ (i.e. illegal) economy. While cosmetic measures to reduce this volume have been many, most of those responsible for policy are suspect themselves. 

No one has been a more zealous advocate of additional regulation and multiple penalties than Palaniappan Chidambaram, now the Union Minister of Home Affairs. However, those in the government point out that Chidambaram's son Karthik, along with his cousins and close relatives, witnessed a spectacular increase in their personal wealth during the period of 2004 to 2008, when his father was the Minister of Finance. Family and friends of the current Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, are said to be in similar ‘fortunate’ circumstances.

It’s a small wonder that the Income Tax Department of India, Directorate of Enforcement, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and other agencies armed with draconian powers of search, arrest and confiscation have thus far left the VVIPs (Very Very Important Person) of India alone, except in cases where there was an obvious political motive, such as those involving Bihar's former chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav and Uttar Pradesh's chief minister Mayawati. Still, even the Central Bureau of Investigation keeps changing its stance on the two, depending—it is said—on the signals they receive from the all-powerful Sonia Gandhi, acting through trusted officials and politicians close to her. 

Judges make India proud (PO)

M. D. Nalapat

This columnist switched from journalism to academics in 1999, by which year it was more important for newspapers in India to carry details about the vital statistics of fashion models than it was to investigate the illegal activities of VVIPs. Small wonder that in a country where 300 million people go to bed hungry each night, and 460 million do not have a weatherproof roof over their heads, weeks are spent by newspapers and television channels dissecting the Cricket World Cup series. Soon, Sachin Tendulkar is expected to be given India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, for his skill in using the willow to nudge a ball towards the boundary. A feat that has indeed ended poverty, but only in his family. During the many days when a cricket series gets played in India or even outside, it is torture for television viewers interested in matters other than eleven men staring at the two behind the crease. That the media in India has followed the Rupert Murdoch formula of dumping down its message to as to reduce events to entertainment is clear from even a cursory perusal of column inches or television time in the world’s most populous democracy.

In all the fuss about cricket, the media seems to have paid much less attention to the individual who most deserves the Bharat Ratna, which is Chief Justice of India S G Kapadia, who took office a year ago. Few who knew the courtly Parsi jurist of 63 would have guessed that he would prove so spectacularly wrong those who were confident that the high-octane legal team of the Government of India ( led by Attorney General of India Goolam E Vahanvati, who - like the Chief Justice – cut his legal teeth in Mumbai) would ensure that the Supreme Court would remain passive in the face of the huge increase in corruption that has been witnessed in the country since 2001. Indeed, in India, history seems to move around in circles. During the Vajpayee era, it used to be said that the Sangh Parivar or family (including the RSS) had far less influence over the PM than the “Vajpayee Parivar”. His close friend Brajesh Mishra and his “foster” son-in-law Ranjan Bhattacharya had the run of the government, throwing into the shade senior ministers such as Yashwant Sinha and Jaswant Singh. These days, it is Sonia Gandhi’s turbocharged son-in-law, Robert Vadra, who is said to be playing a key role, especially in matters involving land in and around the vicinity of Delhi, together with relatives of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.