Why India’s elites like corruption by International Tribune
It is a great travesty that the left, right and centre in India have come to the consensus that corruption is a necessary evil. There was a time when Indian leftists used to be against corruption. The workers in the factory were being exploited by the industrialist who was evading taxes, bribing the politicians and that is how the rich were getting richer and the poor, poorer.
The post-Marxist Indian leftist now says that corruption is good because when government officials come to the slum, threatening its demolition, it is by paying a bribe that they can save their homes, they argue. If that is the case, why do we still see slum demolitions? For the simple reason that the real estate moneybags can pay a lot more in bribe than the slum-dweller.
The real reason why the average Indian leftist doesn’t care about corruption is because, until recently, it was the Hindu right complaining about the corruption of the Congress in power. Why did the Congress lose the 1996 election and make way for the BJP to come to power for the first time, despite Narasimha Rao’s liberalisation of the economy? It was clear by then that liberalisation was the right thing to do. But the Congress lost because of corruption and inflation.
A corporate friend argues over a drink that corruption is something India needs. Selling telecom licences to big companies for a pittance makes the companies rich and these companies need to get rich to make India rich, to give Indians cheap phone calls and to buy companies in Africa. Ultimately, the money stays in the Indian economy.
That is an honest view of how the economic right feels. That is why they don’t complain about corruption. The religious right used to be Gandhi-like moralists about such things as money. But power transformed them and they became corrupt, too.
Most non-intellectual type ordinary Indians think that high inflation is caused by corruption. That is why, I think that corruption is a big issue for the average Indian. Yet the intelligentsia, media and the political class have come to the conclusion that corruption is good for the average Indian.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was in power in Delhi state for 49 days. One of the charges against the admittedly impatient government was “vigilantism”. One example of this alleged vigilantism was their announcement that anyone who is asked for a bribe by a government official should do a “sting” on them by audio-recording such solicitation on their mobile phones. Three government officials were charged with corruption thanks to such “stings”.
Auto wallahs who ferried me around Delhi those days told me what an impact it had made. One auto wallah told me that two years ago, he had had to pay a bribe of Rs28,000 to get the requisite documents to drive a commercial auto. Now, he said, such is the fear that the touts have disappeared.
My “leftist” and “rightist” friends didn’t believe this when I told them. They wouldn’t be able to tell either way because their interaction with the government today is minimal as compared to that of the poor. And the Indian intelligentsia has decided on behalf of the poor that they need corruption.
One exception to the media bias against the Aam Aadmi Party was a Times of India report, which actually tested if corruption had reduced. To quote one instance, they found a teenager who repeatedly failed the driving test. He said he’d been looking for a tout who could get him a licence nevertheless, but he was told the chai paani option is not working. That is just incredible in a country where we’re told that corruption is a way of life.
If you listen in to the Indian election discourse you’d think that communalism versus secularism is the big issue in India today. My friend Khalid Anis Ansari, who researches the issues and politics of low-caste Indian Muslims, once told me that the secularism-communalism binary is a conspiracy of the Indian upper-caste elite, be they Hindu or Muslim, to keep the poor and the low caste where they are. Truer words haven’t been said about Indian politics in a long time.
And that is why the Indian elite, whether they call themselves the radical left or the radical right, are so afraid of the AAP. more
The post-Marxist Indian leftist now says that corruption is good because when government officials come to the slum, threatening its demolition, it is by paying a bribe that they can save their homes, they argue. If that is the case, why do we still see slum demolitions? For the simple reason that the real estate moneybags can pay a lot more in bribe than the slum-dweller.
The real reason why the average Indian leftist doesn’t care about corruption is because, until recently, it was the Hindu right complaining about the corruption of the Congress in power. Why did the Congress lose the 1996 election and make way for the BJP to come to power for the first time, despite Narasimha Rao’s liberalisation of the economy? It was clear by then that liberalisation was the right thing to do. But the Congress lost because of corruption and inflation.
A corporate friend argues over a drink that corruption is something India needs. Selling telecom licences to big companies for a pittance makes the companies rich and these companies need to get rich to make India rich, to give Indians cheap phone calls and to buy companies in Africa. Ultimately, the money stays in the Indian economy.
That is an honest view of how the economic right feels. That is why they don’t complain about corruption. The religious right used to be Gandhi-like moralists about such things as money. But power transformed them and they became corrupt, too.
Most non-intellectual type ordinary Indians think that high inflation is caused by corruption. That is why, I think that corruption is a big issue for the average Indian. Yet the intelligentsia, media and the political class have come to the conclusion that corruption is good for the average Indian.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was in power in Delhi state for 49 days. One of the charges against the admittedly impatient government was “vigilantism”. One example of this alleged vigilantism was their announcement that anyone who is asked for a bribe by a government official should do a “sting” on them by audio-recording such solicitation on their mobile phones. Three government officials were charged with corruption thanks to such “stings”.
Auto wallahs who ferried me around Delhi those days told me what an impact it had made. One auto wallah told me that two years ago, he had had to pay a bribe of Rs28,000 to get the requisite documents to drive a commercial auto. Now, he said, such is the fear that the touts have disappeared.
My “leftist” and “rightist” friends didn’t believe this when I told them. They wouldn’t be able to tell either way because their interaction with the government today is minimal as compared to that of the poor. And the Indian intelligentsia has decided on behalf of the poor that they need corruption.
One exception to the media bias against the Aam Aadmi Party was a Times of India report, which actually tested if corruption had reduced. To quote one instance, they found a teenager who repeatedly failed the driving test. He said he’d been looking for a tout who could get him a licence nevertheless, but he was told the chai paani option is not working. That is just incredible in a country where we’re told that corruption is a way of life.
If you listen in to the Indian election discourse you’d think that communalism versus secularism is the big issue in India today. My friend Khalid Anis Ansari, who researches the issues and politics of low-caste Indian Muslims, once told me that the secularism-communalism binary is a conspiracy of the Indian upper-caste elite, be they Hindu or Muslim, to keep the poor and the low caste where they are. Truer words haven’t been said about Indian politics in a long time.
And that is why the Indian elite, whether they call themselves the radical left or the radical right, are so afraid of the AAP. more
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Madam Very nice article. Looking forward to read many more such articles. Regards Vinay Lakhe Vice President (Business Development) KHARE &TARKUNDE INFRASTRUCTURE PVT. LTD. 235,SHIVAJI COMPLEX, W.H.C. ROAD. NAGPURâ440010 DIRECT:0712 -6606341 Mobile :08805999852From: Seema Shah Sent: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 00:12:09 To: vinaylakhe@rediffmail.comSubject: New post "Why Indiaâs elites like..." in [Aam Aadmi Party Mumbai] more
Apr 15
THANKS SUSHIL KUMAR SHAH 9425942710 -------------------------------------------- On Sat, 5/4/14, Seema Shah wrote: Subject: New post "Why Indiaâs elites like..." in [Aam Aadmi Party Mumbai] To: ksushilkumar84@yahoo.com Date: Saturday, 5 April, 2014, 7:42 PM --- REPLY ABOVE THIS LINE TO POST A COMMENT- Seema Shah Seema Shah posted a message in "Aam Aadmi Party Mumbai". Subject: Why Indiaâs elites like corruption by International Tribune. It is a great travesty that the left, right and centre in India have come to the consensus that corruption is a necessary evil. There was a time when Indian leftists used to be against corruption. The workers in the factory were being exploited by the industrialist who was evading taxes, bribing the politicians and that is how the rich were getting richer and the poor, poorer. The post-Marxist Indian leftist now says that corruption is good because when government officials come to the slum, threatening its demolition, it is by paying a bribe that they can save their homes, they argue. If that is the case, why do we still see slum demolitions? For the simple reason that the real estate moneybags can pay a lot more in bribe than the slum-dweller. The real reason why the average Indian leftist doesnât care about corruption is because, until recently, it was the Hindu right complaining about the corruption of the Congress in power. Why did the Congress lose the 1996 election and make way for the BJP to come to power for the first time, despite Narasimha Raoâs liberalisation of the economy? It was clear by then that liberalisation was the right thing to do. But the Congress lost because of corruption and inflation. A corporate friend argues over a drink that corruption is something India needs. Selling telecom licences to big companies for a pittance makes the companies rich and these companies need to get rich to make India rich, to give Indians cheap phone calls and to buy companies in Africa. Ultimately, the money stays in the Indian economy. That is an honest view of how the economic right feels. That is why they donât complain about corruption. The religious right used to be Gandhi-like moralists about such things as money. But power transformed them and they became corrupt, too. Most non-intellectual type ordinary Indians think that high inflation is caused by corruption. That is why, I think that corruption is a big issue for the average Indian. Yet the intelligentsia, media and the political class have come to the conclusion that corruption is good for the average Indian. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was in power in Delhi state for 49 days. One of the charges against the admittedly impatient government was âvigilantismâ. One example of this alleged vigilantism was their announcement that anyone who is asked for a bribe by a government official should do a âstingâ on them by audio-recording such solicitation on their mobile phones. Three government officials were charged with corruption thanks to such âstingsâ. Auto wallahs who ferried me around Delhi those days told me what an impact it had made. One auto wallah told me that two years ago, he had had to pay a bribe of Rs28,000 to get the requisite documents to drive a commercial auto. Now, he said, such is the fear that the touts have disappeared. My âleftistâ and ârightistâ friends didnât believe this when I told them. They wouldnât be able to tell either way because their interaction with the government today is minimal as compared to that of the poor. And the Indian intelligentsia has decided on behalf of the poor that they need corruption. One exception to the media bias against the Aam Aadmi Party was a Times of India report, which actually tested if corruption had reduced. To quote one instance, they found a teenager who repeatedly failed the driving test. He said heâd been looking for a tout who could get him a licence nevertheless, but he was told the chai paani option is not working. That is just incredible in a country where weâre told that corruption is a way of life. If you listen in to the Indian election discourse youâd think that communalism versus secularism is the big issue in India today. My friend Khalid Anis Ansari, who researches the issues and politics of low-caste Indian Muslims, once told me that the secularism-communalism binary is a conspiracy of the Indian upper-caste elite, be they Hindu or Muslim, to keep the poor and the low caste where they are. Truer words havenât been said about Indian politics in a long time. And that is why the Indian elite, whether they call themselves the radical left or the radical right, are so afraid of the AAP. Reply Reply to this email to post a comment. If you believe that this post is inappropriate for this Circle, Click Here to report it. This email was sent to ksushilkumar84@yahoo.com. If you don't want to receive emails from LocalCircles in future, please Unsubscribe. LocalCircles, Inc., 1556 Halford Ave., Suite 290, Santa Clara, CA USA 95051. LocalCircles India Pvt. Ltd., 1105, 11th Floor, Advant Navis Business Park, Sector-142, Noida, India, 201301.Privacy Policy. more
Apr 06
Corruption in any stage should not be encouraged.We have to go to the problem grass roots to solve & succeed in that problem. This is not the problem of people they are habituated by this ongoing system.Hence the system has to be changed. In general any one can't satisfy all the people.we have to see majority to be benefited. People are dived intentionally by big fishes & political leaders so that they life goes smoothly.They know what would happen to them if people are united. As in the case of world cup2007 cricket failure saw entire INDIA was angry( cricket is just a passion to the people, this would not effect their day to day lively hood) how they will react if their lively hood effecting with so many problems. That's the why they divided people in the name of cast, religion,locality. People should not afraid of AAP at present it is the only alternate we are seeing to change the system with their work. Ideas every body says ,even CONG& BJP says they are anti against corruption,but every body knows is that possible for them or not.The intention & honesty will be the key. Small mistakes may happen here & there but there is no doubt about their characters & sacrifices. more
Apr 06
