On confronting Corruption in India.

Corruption

    According to Merriam Webster, Corruption is dishonest or illegal behavior by powerful people especially by those in government or Police officers. It typically involves bribery but any conduct encompassing dishonesty, fraud, double dealing, crime, unscrupulousness while acting in official capacity would amount to corruption. It has been considered the Achilles’ heel of the modern societies. In my opinion, it is the cancer that has been consuming us from inside out. If not tackled, efficiently and timely, the results would be fatal to the way we organize our societies at nation state level.  

I was raised in Republic of India, which is proud of its diversity, democratic values and freedom of expression. India is not a perfect democracy, but this euro centric value runs deep in our veins and rightly so. India has always absorbed cultures, traditions, alien to it and molded them according to need of time and its people. As far as the world is concerned, movement of people, ideas and thoughts are freer than any other point in the history of mankind. Long gone are the days of divine kings with superpowers, hereditary rights and absolute rule. There is no emperor in the world whose word would be the law. Most of us live in a democratic world, with China being a notable exception and of course there are few other countries that have monarchs who continue to strangle their populace.  Most of us choose our leaders who represent and lead by forming a government. As I have come to understand, the Government is organized at 4 levels in India. At the bottom is a village council that is headed by an elected representative. Then comes the District level where the geographic unit is larger, includes many villages, towns and at least one city if not more. Third is the State level. There are 30 states in India headed by a state government where their respective Chief Minister is responsible for the smooth running of government bureaucracy. There are a few union territories as well and they are run by a lieutenant governor.    Fourth and the highest would be the Government of India, which is the central authority. This is the highest form of government in India with its seat at the capital, New Delhi. The government of India is run by a cabinet which is headed by a Prime Minister. Even though, the ceremonial head of the state is the president, who also happens to be the head of all armed forces, but it is only the prime minister who holds the ultimate authority to make decisions. There are two houses in Indian democracy, The lower house and the upper house. Then there is a humongous bureaucracy that supports functioning of Republic of India at every level. There are state cadres and national cadres, the very institutions that churn out some of the most brilliant and some of the most corrupt diplomats and government workers. Public representatives are chosen by the people in their constituencies who then represent their constituents. Growing up in India I observed a stark difference in behavior of these public representatives before the election and after being elected. Many of the elected public servants assumed the divine right and became de facto kings (with limited powers) or at least local celebrities. It was the public’s flattering attitude towards elected public servants and lack of accountability that turned a humble public servant into a shadow of an autocrat. I vividly remember how educated men and few women of my hometown used to hover around the government ministers after the national or state holiday celebrations. Alas! India was still a closed economy and cameras and their reels were not readily accessible to an Indian teenager like me. My brain that captured and has kept all those events is a different matter altogether. Was this corruption?  For a teenager who was not even allowed to vote, it was amusing. It was an Indian way of common folk trying to impress upon a public servant if ever there was a need of his/her authority and influence to make ends meet or to get a promotion in a government job, or to get one transferred to a conveniently located institution within the city or to get a tender for one’s business. In retrospect, of course, this was the initial point where the corruption began and it was this vantage point where I saw the need and felt the urge to plant a tree that may bear a fruit someday where we can live in an India which would be efficiently run by a not so corrupt government and public servants. It would be futile to say corruption free as corruption is a behavioral tool and the society is made up of imperfect humans, we will have corruption in some form or the other. Definitely, we can limit it and improve the quality of our lives and enhance the quality of democracy we live in. 

As I grew up, I came across corruption in many forms and realized it is endemic to all societies. During my time in United States, I had ample time to ponder on many issues that societies face. The problem of corruption has many facets and needs comprehensive reform and equal participation of all members of society which is unlikely especially by those who gain extreme benefits. It means diminishing corruption is a hard endeavor, but we have to start somewhere and what better place to do it than from the top. There is a saying in India which roughly translates into “people follow the conduct of the ruler”.  In other words, If the ruler is honest and transparent, many people will do the same.  The way India favors and follows Modi could be a starting point, at least for India. Correcting the behavior of the people at the top may seem insurmountable, but at least it is a smaller group which is usually in the public eye and is easier to scrutinize. 

There are many organizations that collect data on corruption. Readers may refer to them for detailed statistics. As a part of the problem, we all understand what corruption is and therefore, I will not dwell on the issue. Government of India already has several laws on the books that define corruption and provide guidelines to be followed by adherents in public and private arena, In this essay, I am proposing further contemplating of the problem of corruption in Indian context.  I aim to deliver a message to the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi and his cabinet to take the opportunity that he has with majority in both houses and pass relevant reformative legislation that will correct the course of Indian democracy. I request that Mr. Modi mobilize available resources and go ahead with formulating, passing and immediate implementation of a newer, reformed and strictly implemented Anti- Corruption/accountability Act. This act shall deal with elected representatives at all levels of government. I, as an Indian am providing some suggestions that can be used for formation of this new act. The guidelines are but not limited to:

·      Revised code of conduct and guidelines for elected and government officials.

·      Re assessment of pay scale, associated perks and special allowances of all elected representatives at a regular interval to ensure that nominated and elected representatives earn a sumptuous living so as to deter them from engaging in corruption for personal and/or economic gains.

·      Public lives must mean lives lived in public arena and open to public scrutiny except intimate details. Details of corruption cases, investigation and judicial process must become part of social discourse upon completion and delivery of sentence, to determine the accountability of those entrusted with enforcement process.

·      Complete background checks on Politicians and their entourages.

·      Complete ban on criminally convicted felons running for any kind of public office. Freedom fighters went to prisons for a higher purpose. Common criminals using the same logic to justify their running an election is a blemish on Indian democracy.

·      Publishing of changes in net worth of elected officials and immediate family members every year in a national, publicly available and continually updated registry.  

·      Prohibition of election manifestos and declarations promising government spending on appeasing people by dispensing of any public funds or cancellation of prior debts.

·      Transparent contract/tender allocating model accessible to scrutiny by independent experts and public. While outsourcing contracts, Indian government must revise the expenditure model as well. Cheapest is not necessarily the optimum and allocation of tenders to the cheapest bidder usually leads to political wrangling and business profit strangulation. Hence, businesses are forced to engage in shoddy, sub-par business practices and corruption while compromising the quality and life of a given project.

·      Complete check on nepotism and conflict of interest while dispensing government contracts. Public service and business are two separate streams. Government’s job is to provide political stability and regulate business in a profit yielding, socially responsible environment and not interfere in the running of business. Similarly, those engaged in private gain must retire and give up their interests when joining a government position except when invited in an advisory role without any monetary gain.

·      Extensive and exclusive intelligence apparatus dedicated to political corruption with special penalizing provisions for corruption of any form within the department.

·      Accountability and audit agencies tasked with preparing and updating real time expenditure data on public spending administered in each political constituency at national, state and district level on annual basis.

·      Exclusive fast track judiciary for elected representatives and governments officials and any corrupt behavior whatsoever.

·      Establishment of regional special courts under the authority of central government that processes political corruption cases with special powers, time urgency and utmost importance.

·      Severe penalties in case of conviction of an elected public servant. Allegations and accusations do not account for much in a legal system. If an elected official is convicted in a court of law, after all the due process, then it becomes the crime of the highest order and shall be treated as such.

·      Corruption for personal, political or monetary gain be declared a crime as serious as sedition, because corrupt politicians are a serious threat to any society as menacing as outside enemy nations or organizations.

·      Special protections and consideration of leniency for whistle blowers.

·      Substantial monetary incentive and social recognition for informants exposing corruption involving elected representatives.

·      Provision of security during court cases and monetary incentives after the conviction to protect whistleblowers from expected blow back.

I am recommending that Indian parliament pass an act dispensing severe penalties to those who have been elected and committed crimes that fall under this category.

·      During investigation and upon initial hearing, every elected official must have an opportunity to accept his/her crime, offer a written public apology, concede relevant information to the court and to the government, retire from politics voluntarily, submit their passport and commit to repaying the money stolen/received with interest at the time of hearing.

·      Corruption warrants punishment especially by those who have been trusted by millions of Indian citizens to lead them on a constructive path towards a better future. It is not only the scope of monetary value of corruption, but the nature of relationship between electors and the elected and the breach of social contract at a vast scale that justifies severity of the punishment. Once convicted, no elected representative must escape harsh penalizing.

Upon Conviction:

·      15 years of minimum to 25 years maximum prison sentences for people at a village, Gram Panchayat and Block level without the possibility of parole.

·      25 years minimum to 35 years maximum prison sentences for convicts at a district level without possibility of parole.

·      35 years minimum to 50 years maximum prison sentence without possibility of parole at the State and Union Territory level.

·      50 years minimum to 75 years maximum prison sentence without possibility of parole at the central level.

·      The judgements must be combined with the claw back clause where money stolen, and benefits derived will be assessed monetarily at an inflation adjusted value and paid back by the convict and associated and/or indirect beneficiaries with interest at the going market rate at the time of sentencing.

·      Any member of the cabinet at the national level or holding any higher office shall also be a subject to death penalty if the court concludes that corruption was in form of sedition.  

·      No special treatment on medical grounds. Medical treatment available should be at par with common convicts. The public does not need a representative or an official who has breached trust of millions of people.

·      Cases involving corruption and unsolved political scandals in the past must be reopened and judgements delivered. Any of the living conspirators must be imprisoned and/or any indirectly benefitting and currently living descendants must be held accountable for economic recovery.

·      Upon demise of any elected representative during the investigation, court must determine the outcome of the case for the remining co-conspirators. Claw back clause must apply to remaining direct and indirect beneficiaries and associates.

·      Sentenced elected officials must be barred from political discourse in its entirety.

·      Private citizens engaged in corruption involving elected representatives must face the same special court of law at the time of investigation and conviction and must face equal punishment depending on the scope of corrupt practice and illegal benefits derived.

Notable Exceptions: - 

·      Indian Armed Forces have their own procedures regarding conduct and shall pursue their own course.

·      Internal and External Intelligence agencies. Nature of Intelligence apparatus is secret, and their details must be kept secure to maintain national security.

As an observant individual, I would recommend that jurisprudence experts must rigorously draft and formulate the actual language of the act. I also recommend that penalties including period of physical incarceration and claw back clause must not be watered down in any case or event. I also recommend that when this act reaches the parliament for debate, Indian public pay keen, concentrated and special attention to political parties and members of parliaments that oppose the act citing whatever concerns they may have. The proposed law and criteria involve and target only and only the sworn elected representatives who have been elected to represent the Indian public with utmost devotion, complete honesty and trustworthy behavior. And it is only due to the failures of many of our past representatives to keep their oath that the country must revisit the Anti-Corruption statutes and reform them. With Mr. Modi as our honest and committed leader, I think that India has another chance and we will not be let down. 

Also, as a citizen of Republic of India, I propose that if any of us finds our family members engaged in corrupt practices, please report them to relevant authorities. Corruption in private arena is also a big threat to our nation and as citizens, it is our duty to nip this evil in the bud. Dear readers, entire proposal may seem amusing or impractical to some of you and some must be laughing hard at my wild attempt at initiation of improvement of the world’s largest democracy. Please let me remind you, if any person you should be laughing at is you because corruption by elected representatives affects all lives and stagnates progress for entire nation. Legislating and attempting to limit the corruption in political arena is merely a start, but it will have trickle-down effect as leaders will lead by example. Also, once enforced, another set of statues can be drawn and implemented to curtail the corrupt government officials by passing a specific law that targets government sector employees. Once, this legislation is enacted, it will create a domino effect far into all spheres of life with constructive outcome. The stern penalties are expected to garner some harsh criticism, but they are necessary for they will act as a deterrent for anyone joining the politics with a goal of enriching themselves solely by graft.  Thus, it is our foremost duty as Indians to come together in this fight to limit corruption.

Jai Hind

    July3rd, 2020