Corruption is an abstract
term. According to World Bank report
1997 abuse of public power for private gains is described as corruption.
But this appears to be too simplistic explanation of corruption. In fact
it is a multi-faceted evil, which gradually kills a system. Power tends to
corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is not easy to define
corruption. But in a narrow sense, corruption is mostly concerned with briber
and it takes several forms. Corruption is a global phenomenon and it is
omnipresent. Corruption has progressively increased and is now rampant in our
society.
The history of corruption in
post-Independence India starts with the Jeep scandal in 1948, V.K.Krishna
Menon, the then High Commissioner for India in London involved.
In 1950, A.D.Gorwala, an
eminent civil servant was asked by Government of India to recommend
improvements in the system of governance.
In his report submitted in 1951 he made two observations: “One, quite a
few of Nehru's ministers were corrupt and this was common knowledge. Two, even a highly responsible civil servant
in an official report as early as 1951 maintained that the Government went out
of its way to shield its ministers” (Report on Public Administration, Planning
Commission, Government of India 1951)
Corruption charges in cases
like Mudgal case (1951), Mundra deals (1957-58), Malaviya-Sirajuddin scandal
(1963), and Pratap Singh Kairon case (1963) were levelled against the Congress
ministers and Chief Ministers but no Prime Minister resigned.
The Santhanam Committee, which
was appointed by the Government in 1962 to examine the issue of corruption in
its report submitted in 1964 observed: “There is widespread impression that
failure of integrity among ministers and that some ministers, enriched
themselves illegitimately, obtained good jobs for their sons and relations
through nepotism and have reaped other advantages inconsistent with any notion
of purity in public life.”
Nehru had soft approach on corruption, see (Pathology of Corruption by S.S.Gill) .
Nehru’s tolerance of corruption among his ministers legitimized this malady,
his daughter Indira Gandhi institutionalized it by holding both the posts of the
Prime Minister and party president. By doing
so she was herself controlling the party funds, which gave birth to the money
power in politics. The famous
V.P.Malhotra (Chief Cashier of State Bank of India) case in which he got a
telephone call believing from Indira Gandhi to pay Rs,60 lakhs to one Nagarwal
remained a mystery.
Corruption cases like Fairfax,
HBJ Pipeline, and HDW Submarine deal came up since then. The famous Bofor’s deal is well known. Narsimha Rao was the first Prime Minister
being prosecuted in corruption charges.
Cases like Rs.2500 crore -Airbus A-320 deal with France involving
kickback (1990), Harshad Mehta security scam (1992), Gold Star Steel and Alloys
controversy (1992), JMM bribery case, Hawala scam of Rs. 65 crore and Urea scam
(1996) also came up during the period of Narsimha Rao Government.
Criminalisation of politics is
another facet of corruption. N.N.Vohra,
Union Home Secretary in his report (1995) on this issue observed:- “A network
of mafias is virtually running a parallel Government pushing the state apparatus
into irrelevance. Quoting some ‘DIB’
sources, he added, “….there has been a rapid spread and growth of criminal
gangs, armed senas, drug mafias, smuggling gangs and economic lobbies in the
country, which have over the years developed an intensive network of contacts
with bureaucrats, government functionaries at local level, politicians, media
persons and strategically located individuals in non-state sector. Some of these syndicates have also
international linkages including the foreign agencies.” The small portion
of India’s corruption is ‘visible’ to us, the vast bulk being hidden from
view; ‘below water’.
1) Visible Corruption
The visible tip of the iceberg
is corruption experienced by ‘common’ people. It comprises many types such
as transactional, prioritizational and avoidance.
Transactional corruption is
where the people have to pay a bribe over and above the government-established
charge to get a service which they were entitled to get without the bribe.
Prioritizational corruption is
where people get ‘out-of-turn’ favours through ‘speed money’. Such
corruption was more relevant in the past where government interventions
had resulted in shortages of telephone connections, cars and so on. This kind
of corruption has significantly reduced after liberalization. Obtaining
gas cylinders now does not require bribing a host of people any longer.
Avoidance corruption is
where people pay a bribe to avoid a fine or wastage of time. This is still
quite prevalent when people bribe a police constable to avoid a speeding
ticket, a tax avoider pays a bribe to an income tax officer, or the truck
driver avoids a detailed inspection from the police by handing over Rs.100 at
each check post in India.
As a result of some
improvements in governance coupled with liberalization, most of us do not face
visible corruption to the extent we used to. In any event, the bribe of a
few rupees taken by a lowly government functionary – no matter how deplorable –
is the least of our problems in India.
2) Hidden Deep Corruption
Below the visible
corruption is a mammoth amount of possibly increasing, hidden corruption.
This is where the bulk of the ‘money’ is made by politicians, run into
thousands of crores of rupees each year. The malaise of hidden
corruption goes very deep into the vitals of India and provides evidence
of its existence from time to time in frightening ways, as it festers for a
long time and then erupts.
3) Hidden Policy Corruption
But there is an even worse,
more insidious and dangerous form of corruption not even thought about by
most people. Policy corruption, or policy neglect on account of our political
leaders devoting their entire waking energy to making money, weaken the
foundations of our country. Ministers of education spend most of their time in
transfers and appointments of school teachers, for a fee. Other ministers
consort with tenderers who bid for government contracts with a view to finding
out who will pay them the most dakshina.
National scenario
Corruption in India is a consequence of the nexus between Bureaucracy,
politics and criminals. India is now no longer considered a soft state. It has
now become a consideration state where everything can be had for a
consideration. Today, the number of ministers with an honest image can be
counted on fingers. At one time, bribe was paid for getting wrong things done
but now bribe is paid for getting right things done at right time. Election
time is a time when corruption is at its peak level. Big industrialist fund
politicians to meet high cost of election and ultimately to seek personal
favour. Bribery to politicians buys influence, and bribery by politicians buys
votes. In order to get elected, politicians bribe poor illiterate people, who
are slogging for two times meal.
Effects of corruption
Indian administration is tainted with scandals. Transparency
International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI) placing it at 94th rank out
of 176 nations this year. . Corruption
in India leads to promotion not prison. It is very difficult to catch big
sharks. Corruption in India has wings not wheels. As nation grows, the corrupt
also grow to invent new methods of cheating the government and public.
Causes of corruption
The causes of corruption are many
and complex. Following are some of the causes of corruption. Emergence of political elite who believe
in interest-oriented rather than
nation-oriented programmes and policies. Artificial scarcity created by the people with malevolent
intentions wrecks the fabric of the economy. Corruption is caused as well as
increased because of the change in the
value system and ethical qualities of men who administer. Tolerance of people towards corruption,
complete lack of intense public outcry against corruption and the absence of
strong public forum to oppose corruption allow corruption to reign over
people. Vast size of population
coupled with widespread illiteracy
and the poor economic infrastructure lead to endemic corruption in public life.
In a highly inflationary economy, low salaries of government officials
compel them to resort to the road of corruption. Graduates from IIMs with no
experience draw a far handsome salary than what government secretaries draw.
Measures to combat corruption
Foolproof laws should be made
so that there is no room for prudence for politicians and bureaucrats. The role
of the politician should be minimized. Application of the evolved policies
should be left in the hands of independent commission or authority in each area
of public interest. Decision of the commission or authority should be challengeable
only in the courts. Cooperation of the people has to be obtained for
successfully containing corruption. People should have a right to recall the
elected representatives if they see them becoming indifferent to the
electorate. Funding of elections is at the core of political corruption.
Electoral reforms are crucial in this regard. Several reforms like: State
funding of election expenses for candidates; strict enforcement of statutory
requirements like holding in-party elections, making political parties get
their accounts audited regularly and filing income-tax returns; denying persons
with criminal records a chance to contest elections, should be brought in. Responsiveness,
accountability and transparency are a must for a clean system. Bureaucracy, the
backbone of good governance, should be made more citizen friendly, accountable,
ethical and transparent. More and more courts should be opened for speedy &
inexpensive justice so that cases linger in courts for years and justice is
delivered on time. Local bodies, Independent of the government, like Lokpals,
Lokadalats, CVCs and Vigilance Commissions should be formed to provide speedy
justice with low expenses. A new Fundamental Right viz. Right to Information
should be introduced, which will empower the citizens to ask for the
information they want. Barring some confidential information, which concerns
national and international security, other information should be made available
to general public as and when required. Stringent actions against corrupt
officials will certainly have a deterrent impact.The Right to Information Act
(RTI) gives one all the required information about the Government, such as what
the Government is doing with our tax payments. Another potent check on
corruption is Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). Strong and stringent laws
need to be enacted which gives no room for the guilty to escape. In many cases,
the employees opt for corrupt means out of compulsion and not by choice. Some
people are of the opinion that the wages paid are insufficient to feed their
families. If they are paid better, they would not be forced to accept bribe.
-2013 Agusta Westland chopper deal scam: The deal amounts to Rs 74.5 crore.
-2013 Vodafone tax scandal:
The scandal involves Rs 11, 000 crore tax dispute.
-2013 Saradha Group chit fund
scam: Earthed recently, the Saradha Group chit fund scam caused a loss of Rs
20,000 crore to the exchequer.
-2013 Railway promotion scam:
Infamously known as Railgate, it involves former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal
and his nephew, Vijay Singla for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 90 lakh from
a Railway Board member.
-2012 Coal mining controversy:
Also called Coalgate is one of the well known scams. The scam, where the UPA
Government reported a loss of Rs 185,591 crore.
2012 Tatra scam: Bharat Earth
Movers Ltd in collaboration with Tatra Vectra Motors had produced over 7000
trucks to the Army. When General VK Singh took over as the Army Chief, he
refused to authorise the purchase of trucks after he was offered a bribe. The
scam was estimated at Rs 750 crore.
-2012 Uttar Pradesh NRHM scam:
Under Mayawati's regime, this scam caused a loss of Rs 10,000 crore to the
State. Politicians and senior bureaucrats are alleged to have siphoned off a
massive booty from the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM), a Central
Government programme meant to improve health care services in rural areas.
-2011 Antrix Devas deal: In
2011, G Madhavan Nair former ISRO chairman and three other scientists were
involved in a controversial deal between the Indian Space Research
Organisation's (ISRO) commercial arm Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia.
-2010 2G spectrum scam:
According to the CAG, the scam amounts to about Rs 176,000 crore, whereas the
CBI estimates it at Rs 30,984 crore.
-2010 CWG scam: It consisted
of a number of corrupt deals involving overstated contracts. Kalmadi also
handed out a Rs 141 crore contract to Swiss Timing for its timing equipment;
the deal was inflated by Rs 95 crores.
-2008 cash-for-votes scandal:
It is a scandal, in which the UPA, the majority-holding Parliamentary-party
alliance led by Sonia Gandhi, allegedly bribed MPs in order to survive a
confidence vote on July 22, 2008.
-2001 Stock market scam: Stock
market king, Ketan Parekh used UTI, Calcutta Stock Exchange and his own index
K-10 to swindle investors. When the scam was unearthed, it was reported that he
had wiped off over Rs.1 lakh crore of investor's market capital.
-2002-2010 UP Foodgrain scam:
Uttar Pradesh food grain scam also dubbed as Mother of all scams took place
between years 2002 and 2010. The grain worth Rs 35000 crore, meant to be
distributed via PDS to the poor under several schemes like Antyodaya Anna
Yojana (AAY), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana and Midday Meal Scheme for Below Poverty Line
(BPL) card holders, was diverted to the open market.
-2009 Satyam Computer Services
scandal: It was a corporate scandal that occurred in 2009 where Chairman
Ramalinga Raju confessed that the company's accounts had been falsified. he had
manipulated the accounts by $1.47 Billion.
-2002-2003 Taj Heritage
Corridor case: It is an alleged scam wherein 2002-2003, the then Chief Minister
of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati and a Minister in her Government, Nasimuddin
Siddiqui, were charged with corruption.
-1996 Fodder scam: This scam
broke out in 1996 in the town of Chaibasa, Bihar when the animal husbandry
department embezzled funds of around Rs 950 crore meant to purchase cattle
fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment in Bihar. Chief Minister Lalu
Prasad Yadav was forced to resign along with former Chief Minister Jagannath
Mishra.
17 -1996 Telecom fraud: Former
Minister of State for Communication Sukh Ram was accused of causing a loss of
Rs.1.6 crore by favouring a Hyderabad-based firm in the purchase of telecom
equipment.
18-1996- Urea scam: The scam
came into light after a shortage of fertiliser in 1996 was reported, a clutch
of businessmen in connivance with top officials of the National Fertiliser
Limited, cheat the Government of Rs.133 crore for the import of urea, which was
never delivered.
19 -1992 Securities scam:
Harshad Mehta manipulated banks and the stock market, pushing shares like ACC
from Rs.500 to Rs 10,000. The stacked-up claims of the brokers were a
staggering Rs 10,000 crore.
20 -1990 Airbus scandal:
Indian Airline's signing of the Rs.2,000-crore deal with Airbus instead of
Boeing caused a furore following the crash of an A-320 airliner.
-1980-90s Bofors scandal: It
was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s and 1990s, initiated by Congress
politicians and implicating the prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi and several others
who were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to
supply India's 155 mm field howitzer. -1989 St. Kitts forgery: Documents were
forged to allege that former Prime Minister VP Singh was a beneficiary of his
son Ajeya Singh's account in the First Trust Corp at St Kitts, with a deposit
of $21 million.
23 -1987 HDW commissions: The
German submarine maker was blacklisted after allegations that commissions worth
Rs 420 crore had been paid in the 1987 deal in India.
24 -1981 Antulay Trust: AR
Antulay, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, allegedly garnered Rs 30 crore
from businesses dependent on State resources.
25 -1948 jeep scandal: It was
first major corruption case in independent India. VK Krishna Menon, the then
Indian high commissioner to Britain, ignored protocols and signed a Rs 80 lakh
contract for the purchase of army jeeps with a foreign firm.
Conclusion
Corruption is an intractable problem. It is like diabetes, a virus,can only be controlled, but not totally eliminated. It may not be possible to root out corruption completely at all levels but it is possible to contain it within tolerable limits. Honest and dedicated persons in public life, control over electoral expenses could be the most important prescriptions to combat corruption. Corruption has a corrosive impact on our economy. It worsens our image in international market and leads to loss of overseas opportunities. Corruption is a global problem that all countries of the world have to confront, solutions, however, can only be home grown. We have tolerated corruption for so long. The time has now come to root it out from its roots.
The feudal outlook of the
ruling class polluted the people’s mindset, which judge the status of an
individual on his capability to flout the law to favour them. This is the reason why corruption is no more
viewed by people with hatred in Indian society.
Leaders like Laloo, Jayalalitha, Sukhram and others, who are facing
corruption charges, continue to have wide range of people’s support. Transparency, responsiveness, accountability,
probity in public life and good governance are now only slogans. The legislature has failed to make the
judiciary, executive and even media sensitive to the cause of the common
people. The failure of the political
leadership to take a principled stand against corruption has clouded the system
to the extent that it is now difficult to understand whether the system is alive
or dead.
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