FIGHTING CORRUPTION

MORAL VALUES MUST PREVAIL

A World Bank defines corruption as use of public office for private profit. When the world was divided between the two superpowers and the Cold War was on, the World Bank did not focus on the issue of corruption as a significant issue. The reason is obvious. So long as the Cold War prevailed, what mattered was the ideological orientation of the country receiving the aid. It used to be said by the superpowers, "We know that so and so is a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch". This approach underwent a massive change when the Cold War ended. The taxpayers in the aid-giving countries started questioning whether the aid given was reaching the beneficiaries in the recipient countries. That the issue of checking corruption and thereby ensuring good governance was an important pre-requisite for development and removal of poverty in developing countries is now widely recognized. Corruption, therefore, has become an issue of global concern. It is not only in the area of public governance that fighting corruption became a central issue. Even in the area of global business, thanks to the scams in the year 2000, when Fortune 500 companies like Enron and universally reputed companies like Arthur Anderson were exposed as having indulged in financial engineering and window-dressing of accounts misleading the market and the investors, the issue of corporate governance assumed equal importance. Honesty is the best policy, is a discovery the world made once again in the 1990s. Stringent legal steps, like the Sorbonne Oxley Act in the United States, were taken. Matter of concern As we look ahead, the question before us is will corruption continue to plague the country? Corruption is anti-poor. In a country, where 26 per cent of the population is below the poverty line, corruption hits the poor very badly. Many of the development schemes meant for the weaker sections do not benefit them at all. Rajiv Gandhi remarked that only 15 paisa out of every rupee meant for the anti-poverty programme reaches the beneficiaries. In fact, the major point of criticism about the Government of India's Employment Guarantee Act, which visualizes a Rs 1,50,000-crore scheme - to ensure that all citizens in the rural areas are assured of a minimum 100 days of work with a daily wage of Rs 60 - is seen as a tremendous opportunity for corrupt elements among the bureaucracy and politicians to siphon off huge funds. Even the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme, on which the Central Government's scheme has been modeled, also offers no hope. Even in that scheme, there are false muster rolls. Aruna Roy through her Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Samiti brought home in Rajasthan the extent of leakage in development funds. As we look ahead to the next 10 to 15 years, what is it that we can hope for on the corruption front? It is very easy to be pessimistic. The pessimist can always argue that corruption has always been with us like the poor and it is a global phenomenon. Nevertheless, the fact is that while corruption is a global phenomenon, we have seen countries which were corrupt, reforming themselves and getting the benefits of corruption-free, good governance in our own lifetime. Singapore is a classic example. Botswana has also been quoted by the World Bank as a good African country, which has done well on the issue of fighting corruption. If we look at history, thanks to the highly ethical William Gladstone, four times Prime Minister of

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Britain, the UK which was a corrupt country in the 19th century became a well-governed country by the be-ginning of the 20th century. Begin with schools In India, this whole concept of good behaviour got crystallised in dharma, or the set of duties every person has to perform. In the Bhagvadagita, Lord Krishna says in Chapter 3 "swadharme nidhanamshreya paradharmo bhayapaha". Doing one's own duty is the most desirable and if one cannot perform duty, death is a better option. This inculcation of values in the educational system is possible. This, in turn, would mean referring to the sources of tradition which will involve a reference to some religion. Today, for example, these values of good conduct, based on Hindu traditions, are taught in the DAV and the Ramakrishna Mission schools. In Christian missionary schools, the moral lessons are drawn on the basis of Christian teachings. But our government having been secular, it has been remarkably successful in totally eliminating any induction of values in our educational system. We have, there-fore, a whole lot of students coming through the schools where they do not learn any values. This big defect has to be rectified. I am happy that this seems to have been realized especially after the scams of 1997 and 2000 in global business. In the institutions like Anna University, engineering ethics has been introduced as a separate subject. But what about other streams of education? If we want India to become less corrupt, if not corruption-free, we must start with the educational system and ensure that moral values are inducted. Role models The second factor which decides the level of corruption is a set of social values. Here, opinion makers in society have to become role models. Unfortunately, our politics has become criminalized. Law-breakers are lawmakers today. The only people the youth probably look upon as role models are politicians and media stars who collectively represent what is called the Page Three culture. So far as professions are concerned, every professional association can uphold ethics and codes of conduct, and thereby build role models and benchmarks for guiding society. The third important factor is the system. In any society, from the ethics point of view, 10 per cent may, by nature, be ethical and 10 per cent will, by nature, be corrupt, and 80 per cent will modify their behavior depending on the system. One simple example of this is how, while an Indian may throw rubbish on the streets without batting an eyelid, the same Indian, when he reaches Singapore, is on guard and may not commit nuisance or throw rubbish on the streets. We must redesign our system of governance to check corruption. Corruption today is a game in which five major players are involved. They are the corrupt neta, the babu, lala, jhola and dada-the corrupt politicians, the corrupt bureaucrats, the corrupt businessmen, the corrupt NGOs and criminals. For tackling each of them, I would suggest the following: Political corruption is at the root of all corruption in our country. Our politics is corrupt because it is based on black money. Every political party collects cash, which is black money. Black money is oxygen for corruption and corruption is oxygen for black money. Therefore, we must focus on electoral reform and reducing black money. Simultaneously, we must also bring greater transparency in the raising of funds by the political parties. Some steps have been taken for removing restrictions on political contributions. We should try to create a situation similar to that of the United States or Britain in

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so far as fund-raising is concerned. This would provide an opportunity to reduce corruption. Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, a very committed IAS officer who resigned and set up an NGO, Lok Satta, in Andhra Pradesh, has highlighted the need for changing our electoral system itself. Instead of the British system of first past the post, which only nine out of 47 countries have adopted, we should opt for a system of proportional representation. He also suggests direct elections for the post of chief minister, who can then appoint a cabinet of talent. It is an interesting idea and worth trying. To begin with, it is necessary to build a consensus in the country on this idea. Winning formula So far as bureaucratic corruption is concerned, the following three-point formula must be adopted. Simplification of rules and procedures to reduce the scope of corruption; Transparency and empowering of public, and Effective punishment. There is an urgent need to bring a sense of accountability in bureaucracy. Article 311 provides so much protection to the public servant that it is very difficult to take action effectively and in time against corrupt officials. Fighting corruption is a hard task. There cannot be a single-point approach to the task. We have to adopt a multi-point approach, some of which I have indicated above. We then come to the basic question. The powers that be, whether in politics or bureaucracy or business, are benefiting from the corrupt system. Can there be a situation where these beneficiaries of corruption will initiate action to check corruption? That may amount to causing hara-kiri. My perception is that as far as our politicians are concerned, they act only under two circumstances: One, where the TINA (There is no alternative) factor prevails; and two, where there is a vote bank advantage. The TINA factor can be created in our country by broadly two methods. One is by using the route of the public interest litigation and activating the Supreme Court so that the persons concerned have no alternative but to implement it. The enactment of the CVC Act and the practice of the candidates declaring their criminal record while filing nominations are examples of this type. However, there are also limits to judicial intervention. The second instrument that can create the TINA factor is technology, particularly information technology. We have seen how in the railway reservation system, the use of IT has brought down corruption. I understand that even in the issue of passport, computerization has helped in bringing down corruption. So greater use of IT and reforming and simplifying the procedures can be the second broad strategy to help create the TINA factor. Finally, we have to practice the advice given in the Taitreya Upanishad to arrive at constructive solutions to our problem: Sahana vavatu Sahanau bhunaktu Saha Viryam kara va vahai Tejas vina maditha vastu Ma vidh visha vahai Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti (Let us come together. Let us enjoy together. Let our strengths come together. Let us move from darkness to light. Let us avoid the poison of misunderstanding and hatred. That way lies progress.) Adopting this strategy, we can definitely see India becoming a less corrupt, progressive and developed country in the next 10 to 15 year

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PRAVIN KAUSHAL Ref: The Hindu, ET, HT, CNN-IBN, Lok Sabha Channel Choice: aptitude>polity>disaster