Honing graft to craft
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: April 27, 2011 -

The first and perhaps the most self defeating mistake one can commit in corruption is getting caught. Suresh Kalmadi and A Raja have found this out at the cost of their political career leaving the others who share the same passion in jitters.

To lay one's hand on the money meant for the public or some other programmes, one cannot afford to be a dullard. Each track has to be covered and no incriminating evidences should be left behind.

Moreover, knowing the people at the right places and anticipating when one would need to scratch the back of another person, are the de riguer of any new kid on the block who wants to dine and wine with the exclusive 'happening class.' The rule of the game is, 'Don't get caught and even if you get caught, don't spill the beans and implicate us."

The mafianesque unwritten code of conduct runs thick amongst the members and their network can be vast, stretching from the shores of Mumbai to some non-descript town in Switzerland.The bonus point or the approach towards the five star status is to master the art of graft and develop the skills to hone this into some sort of a craft.

The law makers, who are primarily the men behind this 'burgeoning business,' have always shied away from enacting more stringent laws to book the corrupt and it doesn't require a high Intelligence Quotient to understand why this is so.

There would have been no Anna Hazare if the situation was not conducive to produce an A Raja, a Sukh Ram, a Suresh Kalmadi and all those involved in the Aadarsh Housing scam and many others more.

An Anna Hazare would not have made any impact in a country, say Switzerland, Canada or Sweden. There is definitely a reason why the stand of Anna Hazare, found so many supporters across the length and breadth of the country and the message is, everyone is fed up of corruption and it is time something needs to be done to rectify this.

In a way it is a shame and casts the country and the people in very poor light, if we ponder over the question of why a legislation to check corruption has become so important.

Doesn't it reflect the sick mentality of the people, who have been nurtured and trained to believe that without corruption there is no way we can climb the ladder of success.

Each strata of society, each organ of the Government, each profession etc have all been defiled by the pain of corruption and we have no one to blame, not the system, because we created such a system in the first place and certainly not a foreign hand policy.

Instead what the overwhelming culture of corruption exposes is the fact that Indians by and large are crooks and have no allegiance as such to their country or fellow beings.

Remember the numerous times, flourishing cities or kingdoms in the North Western part of the country were plundered and looted by marauding armies from across the Hindu Kush mountain range back in the age of bows and arrows.

Remember how a company comprising of mere merchants was able to serially defeat kingdoms after kingdoms and ultimately usher in the British Raj in India. It was the East India Company and not the Royal Army of the Queen of England who paved the way for the Englishmen to settle here as the Masters of the land.

In other words, corruption is not only about graft or siphoning off public money to line one's own pocket, but it also reflects the mentality of the people and their allegiance or lack of it to the country to which they belong.

Why do you think the streets of any major towns in India resemble a dumping ground ? Other than the reasons which may be specific in each case, the common strand that runs through them all is the total absence of responsibilities towards one's Nation and one's country.

The centrifugal forces at work in different parts of the country is an apt example of how much the people have identified themselves with the idea of India as a Nation. This could be due to the rampant corruption or the other way round, where corruption sows the seeds of such sentiments.

Another feature that has not missed our eyes and attention is the manner in which the Government and its agencies, especially the CBI, has cracked down on corruption cases in other parts of the country, while turning a blind eye to the rampant corruption in the North East region, especially Manipur.

Can the Union Home Ministry explain, how it is possible for an Assistant Sub-Editor or a Sub-Editor in the State Police Department to construct such palatial buildings and send their children to the best and of course expensive boarding schools across the country ?

Or is the Government bearing the education cost of their children as well as footing the bill for the construction of the houses of the policemen ? The answer should be obvious to all, but what is not clear is the deafening silence maintained by the Government over the overt practise of corruption indulged in by its agencies and employees.

Today in Manipur, there is a market, not the black or grey market, where one can buy imported stuff on the sly, but a Government job market, where the price can range from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 20 lakhs, depending on the rank and status of the position sought in the official hierarchy of the Government.

Kalmadi has been arrested over the Commonwealth Games scam, A Raja over the 2G Spectrum scandal, and many other cases. Interestingly no voice has been raised against any wrong doing in the construction of the BT Flyover as well as the ongoing Imphal Sewerage Project and the Capitol Project. We can think of some reasons.

Either the people of Manipur are honest to the core that no one entertains the thought of corruption while taking up such big projects, or else the people who matter have successfully upgraded graft to the level of a craft or else the people are just indifferent, because they have become inured to such cases.