Democratic corruption

I cannot lay a claim to even minimalist understanding of the spate of scandals (in India, they go under the rubric scams) that currently overwhelm not just the front page, the editorials and the op-ed pages of newspapers but also all the other so-called inside pages. Therefore, you understand that anything I say on scandals cannot carry much credibility; yet, I am exercising my right to say what I want to say.

To talk about scandals, the first thing I needed was a listing of scandals, and there is always Wikipedia [1]. Now, please do not lecture me; I know Wikipedia is not authoritative on anything, much less on something as nebulous as scandals in India, many of which get swept under the carpet. But, there is nothing wrong in taking it as the lower bound and that is what I intend to do.

There are some inescapable conclusions from the list. Starting with the not-so-important, I noticed that not all scams had a rupee values assigned to it. So, apparently there is categorization. Monetizable corruption and the others. Only 20 of the 40 plus listed under 2012 carry a Rupee and Dollar number. This must be of interest beyond the fact that only half the scandals have been monetized. What is the CAG doing, when it was so ready with the eye-catching number Rs. 1,76,000 crores for the 2G Scam? In 2010 only two of nine scams could be monetized! CAG might counter that it has more important fish than Toilet Scam or Delhi Surgical Gloves Scam to catch!

Going beyond, I notice that the list uses a fixed exchange rate of about 54.94 rupees to a dollar. Can this be applicable to the Cement Scam of 1981 – Rs. 30 crore (USD 5.46 m)? Is there any rhyme or reason in the choice of the current exchange rate? I suspect that Rs. 30 crore in 1981 was more eye-catching than Rs. 3,000 crores is in 2012. As far as I can see, there is no mention at the Wikipedia website that the amounts had been normalized to any year. My observation here is that the list does not seek to enlighten, only to capture attention.

Coming to the more important aspect, the list mentions only the year the affairs came to the notice of the public and not the year of their genesis. For example, the 2G Spectrum Scam is listed out for 2010, but we know its origin traces itself back some years. We have to bear this in mind when we reckon the annual-density of scandals, like 43 for 2012, 23 in 2011, 10 in 2010, stabilizing in single digits for a few years, then for one decade and on down – 9 scandals between 1951 and 1989. These numbers have to be taken with a pinch of salt as the Wikipedia list has some “named scandals” in a box but surprisingly Nagarwala Scandal and Bofors (the ones with true names!) are listed not in this box, but outside! I also may be excused for not being diligent enough to avoid double counting. But, I am confident that the trend will stand up to scrutiny even if the lists were put under a more rigorous scanner.

It is from here we quickly conclude that we have reached the apex (or is it the nadir) of venality in 2012. However, it is simply not the matter of politicians becoming venal, but the political system becoming vulnerable. If you are as cynical as I am, you may even want to say the system is designed to be vulnerable.

There is a rightful claim to the spoils of governance (a nice phrase isn’t it?) from those outside the power-enclosure as it is for those within. The system is tuned to serve all the potential power-holders alternately so that none loses out. It is just that over time the entities demanding a share of the loot has increased and also the number of deprived among them. Therefore, it is necessary that instances of the loot be brought to the notice of the public.

The media get into the act. The list of scams grows. Bingo, wailing and breast-beating by the so-called civil society, particularly the aam aadmi. Aam aadmi gives rise to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The list of stake holders in Governance Looting, in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, is like the Hilbert Hotel, never saying no to any visitor – there is always a room in the hotel of corruption.  

The whole thing is a farce. It is not about corruption at all. It is all about democratic looting. “You have had the opportunity. Now, it is our turn. I am ready with my party. Bring on the elections!”

It is, after all, democracy at work, in the service of corruption, scam and scandals.

Raghuram Ekambaram

References

1.    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scandals_in_India