Government with a difference!

The difference has started showing within two days. For the first time in the history of the republic, we have a Prime Minister who plays on the front foot, who has clarity on the direction the country should take and the measures that would need to be taken to propel the nation towards prosperity and development.

Inviting the heads of SAARC nations for the historic swearing in served twin purposes – first to convey  the message that the country wants good relations with its neighbors and second that India is emerging into a nation that cannot be messed around with. Our heads swell with pride at the bold assertion of the nation’s sovereignty and self respect.

The setting up of a special investigation team for bringing back black money stashed in safe havens abroad clearly shows the will of the new government to eradicate corrupt practices. The missive in the form of an advisory to the members of his cabinet to abstain from nepotism in all their dealings and also not to splurge on improving offices and residences is akin to long awaited music to the ears. 

His message is loud and clear. Gone are the days when we had a reactive chief executive, we are now in an era where the top guy knows what needs to be achieved, how it needs to be achieved and believes that the conduct of those in the business of governance has to be exemplary and above board. The conduct of the government in the first two days gives me ample confidence that the slogan “Acche din aane wale hain” was not merely an exercise in creating a feel good factor.

I am absolutely certain that the message would also have traveled right across the bureaucratic spectrum and would be giving shivers in the spine of the corrupt, especially those who were brazenly indulging in corrupt practices and also exploitation of the government machinery for their personal gains. Yet fixing the bureaucrats would indeed be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack given the chameleon like traits that are widely prevalent in this tribe. Most of the tainted bureaucrats would have already dumped their old masters and would be busy attempting to attach themselves to the new guy in the chair.

The last ten years in the life of this nation displayed the worst that is possible to showcase in the arena of governance. The series of scams – with CWG taking the cake for brazen corruption and accompanied by the likes of 2G, 3G, Coalgate, Railgate, Chara and Adarsh to name a few had jolted the collective conscience of the nation. Open corruption at apex levels inspired the hoi polloi also to partake of the loot whenever they found an opportunity. It is indeed sad that our nation had emerged as an entity where each and every single interaction of the ruler and the ruled was invariably laced with graft. Apparently the book on ethics was thrown out of the window at the first opportunity.

Corruption is an issue, the biggest issue that now stares at this nation, yet it is merely a symptom of a much deeper malaise in governance, in the complexity of our decision making and contractual processes. Why a system designed for the british to rule over Indians is being continued even after sixty seven years of self rule, I wonder? The large number of thumb impressions that are required both for decision making as well as contracting provide a convenient shroud for the corrupt as well as the waster, and unless this realization dawns in, the republic would never get cleansed of this malaise.

Yet for the first time, we the people of India have great expectations, that have a fair chance of being realized and therein lies the ray of hope, the first ray of a rising sun that has started falling on this land, mercifully.

Corruption - Beyond the CBI & CVC

Corruption! Is it really beyond the CVC, CBI and the Courts now?

Yes, it is true that despite the presence of elaborate set ups like the CVC, CBI and a plethora of Courts of various hues, the menace of corruption has been touching new highs with each passing day. A new scam makes its entry on the horizon even before the import of the previous one is fully assimilated by the masses. It is a never ending cycle, almost like the non-stop landing of planes at a busy airport. CWG, 2G, Adarsh and the Coalgate, all got fired in rapid succession as if they were bullets in the defense of the nation. And there have been many more scams before, irrespective of the party in power, that the aam aadmi directly affected by acts of petty corruption covering his every interaction with the sarkari tantra, is unable to retain in his limited memory cells.

CVC & CBI, the overworked organs of the state have almost lost the battle that they were designed to fight. Partly because it appears as if these are the only organs of the state that are mandated to fight corruption, while the others are mandated to perpetuate. That vigilance is the fundamental duty of every executive has unfortunately remained a distant thought in the Indian bureaucratic system.

Tremendous and continued emphasis on fighting corruption has started taking a visible toll on delivery. That the aim of the nation or for that matter any organization has to be delivery should never be in doubt. Eliminating corruption or making people honest can and should never be the aim except when “being on the take” starts hampering delivery. And yes in India it has hampered delivery in the first sixty five years of existence as a free nation and therefore warrants a head on approach. But will a head on approach as is widely visible in the nation, through the aegis of the mandated agencies, be able to give results. May be it will, but the results so far are not in tune with the size of the problem.   

Perhaps the tantra needs to look at issues differently if its drive to eliminate corruption from the face of the country has to show results. The complexity of the processes invariably provides an effective shield to the corrupt and the only way forward lies in the simplification of the complex processes, at all levels. Let us reduce the number of thumb impressions per decision and if possible eliminate or drastically reduce files. This will improve productivity, fix accountability and in the process decimate corruption. Everyone will then be fully accountable for his or her acts of omission or commission and will either pay the price for non-deliverance or enjoy the fruits of delivery in the backdrop of an immediate exposure for acts of impropriety. The process driven, not delivery oriented complex contracting mechanisms that have so far guaranteed shortcomings in quality, quantities and timely execution besides creating ample opportunities for loot also need to be overhauled.

We have to accept that our decision-making and contractual mechanisms, designed in the garb of providing transparency have failed and therefore deserve a total overhaul. This overhaul that may prove to be the single most effective weapon in the battle against corruption has to be wielded by the executive, not the mandated agencies. Status quoism perhaps prevents the executive to make the first move and may be rightly so as many have paid the price of coming out of the shell in their quest for being change agents. 

Yes, it is true that this path is a difficult one. The conventional route is high on visibility, many shades easier and also creates a mirage of action, when none is actually taking place.

The thought processes have to undergo a radical change. 

Insha Allah!

Rotting governance!

The ongoing mud slinging over the coal gate scam is perhaps one of the rare lows that the nation has ever witnessed. That the affairs of the nation shall come to such a pass would have been an unimaginable scenario for the founding fathers of the nation, who without even a shred of doubt would in recent times be madly turning in their graves.

After CWG, 2G, NRHM and Adarsh came Coalgate, the mother of all scams that has changed the way the people of this nation will perceive corruption in the future. The ballgame is now entirely different with figures of the money raked in being in trillions, millions and billions having hit the dust fairly early in the race.

Jokes apart, the situation is indeed tragic. If the office of the top guy and the top guy himself are now not above suspicion, the country has no option other than remaining resigned to its fate.  Cutting across party lines, almost every single politico, ably assisted and abetted by the senior bureaucracy, is busy generating wealth for himself and his family, at the cost of the nation. And the bureaucrats are also making hay while the sun shines.

How does the common man, the common man of Laxman, who is devoid of money or powerful connections survive and lead a life of dignity? The answer is that there is no way he can and therefore he does not. Perhaps the common man himself is involved, in his own small way in partaking of the loot that is on in the entire country, for how else does one explain that only the neta and the babu are corrupt and the common man is not. Both the neta and the babu are products of our society and therefore represent the same in true letter and spirit.

The tragedy of the scenario is not merely in the scams galore, but in the silent acceptance by many of the glaring loot by a few. Being a part of the complex sarkari machinery is even worse as being a close witness to the widely pervasive sloth and rot in the machinery for change and delivery dampens hope for many.

Yet, with a faint ray of hope, life moves on!

Amen!