I laud the fact that Anna Hazare and his co-workers could exercise their rights for freedom of speech and expression to extol the virtues of the Jan Lokpal Bill. If nothing else, this makes me glad to be an Indian, rather than a citizen of the multitude of countries where the whole gang would have been arrested, and/or executed.
But being a citizen of a democratic republic can be quite a double-edged sword.
I lament the fact that Anna Hazare could publicly fast for 13 days, and in effect hold the Government at ransom. Call me heartless or unpatriotic, but weighing the wishes of one organization against the actual good of the 1.2 billion people we have does not quite make sense to me. What I do applaud AH & Co. for doing, is bringing the issue of corruption to the fore-front. On a more practical level, does it actually stop people from paying off the policeman, the babu, the clerk, the conductor, buying a movie ticket in black and the other small "chalta hai" corruption we see and actively participate in? Not really. Did the hunger fast make a lasting change on our mindset? I have my humble doubts.
As I understand it, these three demands have been tentatively met: Lokayuktas in every state, citizen's charter in each government department and inclusion of lower bureaucracy under Lokpal, with some others under discussion (I apologize if I misrepresented any facts). My do paisa views on them:
Lokpal/Lokayuktas: To expect one "God-sent" (Anna-sent?) Ombudsman to take care of the corruption that happens everyday around us, is logistically ridiculous. As is the idea that this one authority would be able to dig deep into the lives of our political and bureaucratic elite and reveal the corruption that lies there. So this person would need to be surrounded by staff members, in essence, another bureaucracy. Has anyone thought about running this organization or are we expecting it to materialize out of thin air? Who will elect/select/nominate people for this post? Will we have another election for this, and if so, who will fund it? Also, would will investigate the corruption in the Lokpal's department?
Inclusion of the lower bureaucracy: Many of the same issues as above. We have this whole convoluted, multi-office bureaucratic system. From my experience of trying to work with it, most of it involves corruption, either by money or by "influence". Monitoring the activities of this giant, and handling the complaints that are likely to float in from the public is daunting. Also, the Lokayukta will only investigate the complaints, the trial and prosecution rests in the hands of the over-burdened judicial system. So how does that improve the efficiency of getting an actual result?
Citizen's Charter: Eh? Let me ask you this, as an Indian, the most binding Charter on you is the Constitution of India. Now I don't expect you to know it in any detail, but do you remember maybe the Preamble or the Fundamental Rights and especially the Duties of the Indian citizen? In case this makes you go "of course I do", when did you last actively follow through on any of them? Except use the right to talk and blog, we do that incessantly.
Now that I have finished my rant, I admit that the movement, and the power of the Indian public behind the movement is admirable. What I question is the effect of these on the public, after the shor, the noise has died down. The issue is larger than AH's fast and demands for a Big Brother bill.Tackling corruption by increasing bureaucracy is a self-defeating cycle. Putting the power of the public behind a movement to increase the transparency of the existing babudom may yield better results. Modernizing the way our country is run is important, as is making the government servants accountable for their work. Six sigma and lean management theories, anyone?
For our sake, I hope the whole Lokpal movement brings a positive awakening within the public, within us. But if I can't bribe the Customs official at Mumbai airport, how will I smuggle in the extra iPhone and the bottles of alcohol into the country without paying excise? Quite an ethical conundrum, ain't it?
But being a citizen of a democratic republic can be quite a double-edged sword.
I lament the fact that Anna Hazare could publicly fast for 13 days, and in effect hold the Government at ransom. Call me heartless or unpatriotic, but weighing the wishes of one organization against the actual good of the 1.2 billion people we have does not quite make sense to me. What I do applaud AH & Co. for doing, is bringing the issue of corruption to the fore-front. On a more practical level, does it actually stop people from paying off the policeman, the babu, the clerk, the conductor, buying a movie ticket in black and the other small "chalta hai" corruption we see and actively participate in? Not really. Did the hunger fast make a lasting change on our mindset? I have my humble doubts.
As I understand it, these three demands have been tentatively met: Lokayuktas in every state, citizen's charter in each government department and inclusion of lower bureaucracy under Lokpal, with some others under discussion (I apologize if I misrepresented any facts). My do paisa views on them:
Lokpal/Lokayuktas: To expect one "God-sent" (Anna-sent?) Ombudsman to take care of the corruption that happens everyday around us, is logistically ridiculous. As is the idea that this one authority would be able to dig deep into the lives of our political and bureaucratic elite and reveal the corruption that lies there. So this person would need to be surrounded by staff members, in essence, another bureaucracy. Has anyone thought about running this organization or are we expecting it to materialize out of thin air? Who will elect/select/nominate people for this post? Will we have another election for this, and if so, who will fund it? Also, would will investigate the corruption in the Lokpal's department?
Inclusion of the lower bureaucracy: Many of the same issues as above. We have this whole convoluted, multi-office bureaucratic system. From my experience of trying to work with it, most of it involves corruption, either by money or by "influence". Monitoring the activities of this giant, and handling the complaints that are likely to float in from the public is daunting. Also, the Lokayukta will only investigate the complaints, the trial and prosecution rests in the hands of the over-burdened judicial system. So how does that improve the efficiency of getting an actual result?
Citizen's Charter: Eh? Let me ask you this, as an Indian, the most binding Charter on you is the Constitution of India. Now I don't expect you to know it in any detail, but do you remember maybe the Preamble or the Fundamental Rights and especially the Duties of the Indian citizen? In case this makes you go "of course I do", when did you last actively follow through on any of them? Except use the right to talk and blog, we do that incessantly.
Now that I have finished my rant, I admit that the movement, and the power of the Indian public behind the movement is admirable. What I question is the effect of these on the public, after the shor, the noise has died down. The issue is larger than AH's fast and demands for a Big Brother bill.Tackling corruption by increasing bureaucracy is a self-defeating cycle. Putting the power of the public behind a movement to increase the transparency of the existing babudom may yield better results. Modernizing the way our country is run is important, as is making the government servants accountable for their work. Six sigma and lean management theories, anyone?
For our sake, I hope the whole Lokpal movement brings a positive awakening within the public, within us. But if I can't bribe the Customs official at Mumbai airport, how will I smuggle in the extra iPhone and the bottles of alcohol into the country without paying excise? Quite an ethical conundrum, ain't it?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI bribe officials? Well, yes. you would too if you had a set of imported daru crazy family and friends :P
ReplyDeleteThe impracticality of the logistics worry me the most. As for the if and when, we will just have to wait for another hunger strike.
When I was thinking of titles, there was all this corny Hindi cinema-ish titles floating through. "Anna ka tamasha" was a close runner-up, as was "Chor machaye Shor", which I sterilized to "Shor" :)
Dilshad darling this was an excellent write-up. The reason I say so is that lately I had a chance to read up on some of your very first posts, haven't had the time to comment or read them properly but it was fun to read whatever little I could.
ReplyDeleteAbout the post itself, I think you've brought up a fantastic point about the working of the institution itself. Are people forgetting that ultimately they are dealing with another set of people and the basic human tendencies will creep in no matter what?
Like you mentioned and Sadiya, in Brijender's post's comments, that cutting out the scotch and the smokes sounds too much of a compromise and that is exactly it. You cannot have a set of individuals with exactly the same values and thoughts and therefore it is more a fight at the grassroots, within individuals than of anything else.
Another example of a similar matter is of that of The Iron Lady from Manipur, human rights activist Irom Sharmila Chanu. She is apparently on a hunger strike for the past 11 years. Is anyone listening?
PS: I have nothing against the mentioned indulgences, I'm just being blunt about the difference between white and black.
hie dilshad!
ReplyDeletelinked baq from brijender's blog to read ur take.
i louvve louuve how simple uve made it all sound :)
in essence i think d ombudsman is going to become very similar to what we have as the CAG fr public companies- d all important guy who's reports r hot news, long due n largely focused on keepin everyone happy- bluntly put, sold out!
if v kno anythin abt our mummy land, dis is hw its goin to end up!
citizen charter- hehe u got me dere! *likes* :D
yaar u kno wat i think?? d bestesttt way to get out of dis whole corruption mess is to giv all dese new ppl fillin in frm nex elections an extreme makeover.
i mean mayb dey want all d money cos dey r unattractiv *wich v kno fr sure* n henc hav low self esteem.
y els amass so much wealth wen u cant possibly blow it on urself n dont even HAV children in d frst place????
if dey wear xpensiv stuf, hav a swanky haircut n wel manicured nails im sure dey wudn wanna bicker fr favours cos dat wud b too LS.
hence howevr high maintenanc, it wud stil cum fr cheap in contrast to scams. tadaaaa! ;)
wadduyu think?? *eyes flutterin*
p.s- hey u may wanna consider substitutin d wrd 'excise' wid 'duty' up dere :)
@Richi ji, thank you; but it pales in comparison to the lovely stories you weave :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it just amazes me that people think that the Lokapal & Co. will be these uncorruptable paragons, and they will remains so while trying to run this department. To generalize, I think we have grown up with this lax attitude to corruption around us, such so that we are inured to it in our daily lives. Education and movement at the grassroots is essential to resolve any social issue. Charity beings at home, and so does the correct way to live!
Sharmila Chanu does not have the benefit of having 100s of cameras posted on her day & night. AFSPA (apparently) does not have the same evocative call as corruption. Except if you live in troubled areas, that is. Ironically, I think there are many similarities between AFSPA and the Lokpal Bill. One give special powers to the Armed Forces, and one proposes to give extra-judicial powers to a separate machinery, the Lokpal.
Please be blunt. We all have two faces, if not more!
@Sadiya, welcome. It is sad how convinced we are about the fall of the Lokpal & Co., even before it is established. How does our motherland manage make us so cynical? Yet, we love her, no other place ever matches up!
ReplyDeleteWhy do the politicians and bureaucrats want money? Because they can have it, more often than not, without any fear of retribution. But maybe a makeover and gym membership will help us digest the hoopla they throw out a little better!
Richi, you may like to read this blogpost:
ReplyDeletehttp://yap-n-crap.blogspot.com/2011/07/my-letter-to-irom-sharmila-chanu.html