Blog for IAS aspirants

Jan Lokpal is not the final frontier but it emanates from the inner conscience of the society

Corruption breeds very deep into the cultural ethos of a society. The institutions, particularly formal ones, have only so much role in securing a system of integrity and honesty. Formal institutions should always be built on the solid foundation of high moral and ethical base of a society.Institutions are formed by the society and not the other way round. When India adopted many western ideals such as democracy, constitutionalism, fundamental rights etc, they were first imbibed into the nationalist movement which paved the way for independence. The value of free and democratic society could only be realized in the oppressive colonial rule and it bred into the warp and woof of the freedom struggle. However, colonial rule also left the seeds of administrative and political high-handness. The society was inherently weak with maladies of caste-ism, orthodoxy, mass illiteracy and inequality casting a shadow on a newly independent state. The process of social transformation was incomplete or rather inadequate. In such situation the foundation on which formal institutions such as democracy stood was rickety. The politico-administrative corruption is the fallout of this weakness. Our education system could not provide the necessary socialization into the high morals of honesty and integrity. The political leadership progressively declined in vision and mission of social transformation and democracy was reduced to the process of electioneering which by very nature of the society failed to achieve its many objectives.

The point is then what should be the rationale of adopting a yet another west inspired institution of Ombudsman-self styled as Lokpal- into our system? The failure to transplant many of these exotic institutions has only created doubts among the supporters of democracy and caused alienation among lots of people from the system. The demand for corruption free system should come from the society at large and it should be firmly based on the ethical practice in all spheres of lives. Lokpal will not bring the end of all corruption in India. The corruption in the nooks and corner of the country from the villages to the Prime-minister's office,from professor to the politician, needs to be rectified. This will happen only if we as a society steadfastly hold the flag of high morality high. The public outpouring and support for Anna's call should not end there, rather it should flood-open the doors of ethical practice in everyday lives. We need the zeal of Swadeshi and non-cooperation movement, million mutinies have to be launched to root out the maladies that inflict our society. Corruption is only one symptom, the disease is well entrenched in our society.

What is bothering Us

The gross, ugly, dead and rotten are the adjectives to describe the society where men are so lowly, self-indulgent that not a single shred of humanity is left in them. Some are so shameless that it sickens me in the stomach to see their faces. They are power brokers in a democracy where the people are powerless. Powerless, because they produce such leaders; because the collective conscience of the society is dead. The wisdom of our national movement to build a secular, socialist and democratic republic has been trampled by the greed and lust for power and money.

Today Kalmadi was arrested by the CBI. The gross irregularities and obvious lapses made him a clear accused in the scam yet govt. did not fire him or asked for his resignation. He should have resigned for the mismanagement of the games alone. Adamant Kalmadi for whom the post of President of Indian olympic Association was almost a permanent job had hardly any shame in blatant refusal to quit inspite of the clear case against him. On the contrary Kalmadi made several foreign visits apparently to help Indian sports, while it could have provided him with the wherewithal to cover the scam and tamper the evidences against him. Prime Minister was waiting for Kalmadi's decision on the date and time of his arrest or resignation. Kalmadi will get his name cleared or the case will be prolonged due to lack of evidence. CWG was the Jackpot for Kalmadi and could well be the last supper for him but a meal that will satiate his hunger forever. Kalmadi was given time, he was spared but why not? Everyone gets to do it and so will he. He has not done anything which was not done before. The corruption has become so organized and the investigating agencies are so toothless that it is almost impossible to book a criminal. The corruption at the highest level is nurtured and protected and it is no surprise that it blossoms. CBI cannot launch an investigation against a minister without PM's approval. The PM is riding the same boat so cannot order against his own govt. What a sham Indian laws are. Prime Minister thinks that people are foolish illiterates and would fall for his token action against corruption. He has taken his oxford degree rather too seriously or taken the intelligence of Indian people for granted. The time has come for the Indian masses to stand up for themselves. The biggest way to do so is to

Vote against this govt

. This is not to say that other politcial parties are doing well but a message has to be send. Congress has cheated and that too blatantly. It is a gang-rape in broad daylight(Raja, Kalmadi etc being the rapists assisted by PM). The Urban middle class needs to clear it conscience and take up the fight. Make sure that every adult votes and votes against this government. That will be the tribute to democracy.