Will corruption in India ever end?
India's favourite vocation remains corruption and re-electing the corrupt to positions of high office time and time again, These corrupt people have caused national loss and brought global shame for India. They are accused of being the shameful faces of mafia-like corruption. The good news is that citizens are finally refusing to take corruption lying down anymore and are demanding immediate accountability from those who they elect.
India's second war for independence, this time for freedom from corruption by our own rulers, not the British, began in right earnest in 2010.
There are four immediate steps, which can be taken to control corruption. First, the government must notify the rules for the confiscation of assets of corrupt officers. This will allow the state to confiscate properties into an escrowed account where no claimant shows up, and if he does, then the tax laws can be invoked to inquire into the source of income for purchase of the property.
Second, India must enact strong anti-perjury laws to stop frivolous, false complaints under oath; this would be a necessary step to prevent witnesses and complainants from frequent retractions which one currently observes in court.
Third, reverse the onus of proof. The accused must demonstrate why illegal cash or real estate suspected to belong to them is not theirs or face confiscation. Today, the standard of evidence followed is cumbersome. Taking cues from the US system, one must trace the money trail rather than paper trails of files of decision-making.
Lastly, post the right man for the right job. There is a tendency to turn a blind eye to the rape of the treasury by one's colleague and his own family.
There is a fear that India's second war for independence may not spread much further. Soon the principal culprits may get forgotten, witnesses may get purchased or might 'voluntarily' withdraw their statements, bail might be granted by friendly judges, back-door deals for mutual protection may get struck across party lines, some elections might get won, and the same people might get back in power. And the circus can begin all over again.
India's favourite vocation remains corruption and re-electing the corrupt to positions of high office time and time again, These corrupt people have caused national loss and brought global shame for India. They are accused of being the shameful faces of mafia-like corruption. The good news is that citizens are finally refusing to take corruption lying down anymore and are demanding immediate accountability from those who they elect.
India's second war for independence, this time for freedom from corruption by our own rulers, not the British, began in right earnest in 2010.
There are four immediate steps, which can be taken to control corruption. First, the government must notify the rules for the confiscation of assets of corrupt officers. This will allow the state to confiscate properties into an escrowed account where no claimant shows up, and if he does, then the tax laws can be invoked to inquire into the source of income for purchase of the property.
Second, India must enact strong anti-perjury laws to stop frivolous, false complaints under oath; this would be a necessary step to prevent witnesses and complainants from frequent retractions which one currently observes in court.
Third, reverse the onus of proof. The accused must demonstrate why illegal cash or real estate suspected to belong to them is not theirs or face confiscation. Today, the standard of evidence followed is cumbersome. Taking cues from the US system, one must trace the money trail rather than paper trails of files of decision-making.
Lastly, post the right man for the right job. There is a tendency to turn a blind eye to the rape of the treasury by one's colleague and his own family.
There is a fear that India's second war for independence may not spread much further. Soon the principal culprits may get forgotten, witnesses may get purchased or might 'voluntarily' withdraw their statements, bail might be granted by friendly judges, back-door deals for mutual protection may get struck across party lines, some elections might get won, and the same people might get back in power. And the circus can begin all over again.
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