Nice article. Hope more and more Indian's can read this to understand the true nature of Indian political philosophy - whether it is Democracy or Bureaucracy.
However, I must argue that most of the democratic countries (including the big names such as US, UK, Germany, France and Australia) are suffering from the changing nature of democracy and political philosophies leaning towards bureaucracy. If we look at the American policies the US has agreed upon in the last decade or so, we will notice that the government officials make most of the decisions. Most of these decisions are in fact taken by the non-elective bodies (such as the dept. of state, sumpreme courts and police authorities). Most of these decisions help the ruling elected body - politically, financially and religiously.
The Indian non-elective bodies (such as the office of collectors, commisioners and judiciaries) have been proved to have made many decisions in the favor of the people. For example, people like comm. Rao, TN Seshan, Justice Krisnamurthy have made some bureaucratic and moody decisions on their own whims and thoughts, but many of them have proved out to be wonderful for the people.
True, some of the babus are currupt and some of them are over ambitious and are ready to do anything to please their political bosses. In any society there are good and bad people and Babus are no exceptions. But one has to appreciate those who do good work for the country and the society. Today India is progressing not just because of enterprising businessmen but also because of hard working babus in various government departments. These babus do the hard work just for a small fraction of money compared to that their counterparts earn in private sectors. For example scretary of a government department (say, e.g., Min. of Telecom) has got more critical work and responsibilities than CEO of a major company (say, e.g., Reliance telecom), but there is huge-huge difference in their salary and perks. Moreover, the company bosses use all methods (sometimes unlawful) for the sole benifit of the company and that kind of liberty is not available to Babus to make progress for the department. Often Babu's work under political bosses who have their own political agenda. So, in general, Babu's are not paid enough for the work and they work in tight environment - unsung & blamed for all ills.
This is a disturbing trend. Now I know the reason why many indians abroad absolutely hate india. I am an NRI and no so long ago, stayed in India but this disgusts me beyond explaination. I am proud to be an Indian and always will be but I hate the political system and corruption. From peon babu's to corporate babu's, all are epitome of rotting system.
In the past few days, IAS, Air Force, Politicians (as usual) and Judiciary systems have come under fire for being corrupt. Is there not ONE single entity that works FOR THE PEOPLE? What has this country come to?
RE:This is disturbing
by Ryan on May 17, 2005 07:46 PM Permalink
If the gutters are dirty, shouting "dirty ! dirty" doesnt help at all....who's gonna get in there...get their feet dirty to clean them up ? If all the "honest and patriotic" people like you keep fleeing India....I dont think brooding about it is going to be of much help !
A forest can only be as green as its individual leaves are !
I find it difficult to digest such poor journalism, bereft of any objectivity or truth. The report just draws from the various 'leaks' engineered by the government which is desperately trying to discredit an honest IAS officer, Mr. L V Saptharishi.
Here are my observations:
1. The whole 'quid pro quo' conspiracy theory seems stupid actually. Why in the world, would anyone risk making an allegation of this sort for a return favour, when infact, this would be the most obvious angle anyone would follow. As with any Sherlock Holmes story, the answer is anything but the obvious.
The reality is that Mr Saptharishi, a gandhian, and a vedic scholar, could not take it any longer; the hypocracy in the system. And he simply had to expose such criminals.
2. Mr Prakash Karat of the CPIM issued a statement referring to Mr Saptharish as a honest & upright office. Why in the world did you miss that point?
3. The Indian Express now reports that Mr. Saptharishi indeed sent the letter/fax to the Law Minister. Apparently, someone did not give it to the Minister. This seems quite ridiculous isnt it. It is like saying that the Prime Minister was not 'informed' about the Kargill incursions.
RE:Neither objective, nor true. Just poor journalism.
by Dr YNI Anand on May 18, 2005 03:13 PM Permalink
It is nice to know that there is at least one person who has spoken in support of Saptharishi. The point missed however, is that no one objects to someone exposing the ills that are happening in day to day life. However, there is a method to do the same especially when one is bound by certain service regulations. He can not just rush to the press and issue statements or walk into another minister's office, demand an audience to hand over a letter through "Improper Channel" and yet claim to be a Gandhian.
Again, about Prakash Karat certifying Mr Saptharish as a honest & upright officer, I have two comments; "Neem is the witness for Bitter Gourd (Karela)". The other one is "A thousand painting is spoiled by a few drops of black paint". You take either of them.
Only three names do not justify the article. There are hundreds. However cleansing has to start from the top i.e., from political levels. Till people like Lalu, Mulayam, Mayavati, Raghuvansh, Sadhu yadav, Pappu yadav, Sharad Powar,and a lot of them simolar ones continue to be political big wigs, this will continue. One remidy could be scrapping universal adult franchise, qualified eligibility for voting and making voting compulsory.
Your say: "We are reluctant to admit it, but in India, which has been ranked 90th, along with Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Russia and Tanzania, among 145 countries where corrupt practices were scrutinised by Transparency International (the higher the rank, the more corrupt the country) corruption in public life is a reality. And, it is a reality that we cannot wish away."
Ms. Gupta Transparency International does not scrutinize corrupt practices. However, it did attempt to measure the perception of corruption. Your work is admirable, yet do handle the intricacies with care. It puts to doubt the authenticity of a well argued thought.
Instead of calling IAS officers as 'The unprincipled babu'; it would be more apt to call them 'Men with no scruples'.Corruption is ever on the increase and this Country has no future. Regards, colonelrajan@rediffmail.com
RE:IAS: Men with no scruples
by Ryan on May 17, 2005 07:54 PM Permalink
Don't be so pessimistic...India will rise again and lead the world as it did before. I am sure of that...this is just a testing period - a passing phase !
The first step is to get back our self respect...because from my experience, majority of the Indians are a self-negating mass suffering from an inferiority complex - still trying to get over the hang-ups of Islamic Rule and British imperialism !
Not to divert attention from the Saptarishi episode but here is something that wrenched my heart when I learnt of it. About twenty years ago, when an friend of mine appeared to interview for a police constable job, they asked him if he would be able to provide Rs.15,000. This was the good old times when Bangalore was still green and wasn't quite the Silicon valley it is today. Normally a drivers license would cost a reasonable Rs.100 -Rs.300, depending on one's urgency. And then there were Muncipality inspectors who had snatched away equipment from our construction site because we hadn't gotten "approval" of our plan to their satisfaction. A sum of Rs.750 solved our problem.
Today, I hear that every Government official transfer, to the lowest clerk, costs Rs.100000. A police constable has to shell Rs.300000 for his job. And I believe suitcases still need to be delivered to the high command every month! Nobody wrote how the Telgi stamp paper scam financed some election campaigns. I would have imagined that with all the new found prosperity and thriving Indian economy, with all the computerization, the curse of corruption would have all but vanished. Mera Bharat Mahan!
