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Mainstream, VOL XLIX, No 21, May 14, 2011

Anna Hazare’s Feat: A Sceptic’s Treatise

Tuesday 24 May 2011, by Diptendra Raychaudhuri

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I have no hesitation in acknowledging that I was inspired by Anna Hazare’s fast and the response of the younger generation to it. I was never optimistic that it would be a big step towards some radical change in our rotting system. I knew the hype created by Hazare himself, the media, and the middle- and upper middle-class boys and girls was blowing things out of proportion by creating a myth of the Lokpal as a panacea to weed out corruption. But I thought even a small step towards the right direction was welcome. At least a sort of people’s victory against the colonial type of government that we have is always welcome.

But as days have passed, it seems the euphoria is not going to lead to somewhere worth going. It seems one more institution will be added to our list of institutions for purging corruption from the system. PAC… CAG… CVC… occasionally JPC… and now JLP (Jan Lokpal). I write this with some insider’s information on the working of the committee constituted for the final draft of the Lokpal Bill, though I will desist myself from detailing those. Instead, we should wait for the finalisation of the draft.

Meanwhile, we may analyse a few points that need to be discussed.
At the onset, it must be mentioned that there remains a fundamental question about the path Hazare and his associates adopted to work out an acceptable draft of the Lokpal Bill. They demanded the formation of a joint committee of the Ministers and civil society members. And they got it. A functioning democracy can surely choose new mechanisms to frame legislations, but while the government is chosen by the people, the members of the civil society are, as described by the government notification, just ‘nominees of Shree Anna Hazare’.

The government may be worthless, failing, and open to all sorts of criticism. But, at the end of the day, they are chosen by the people (in this respect I find it very unfortunate that we have a Prime Minister who never cared to get himself directly elected). They are answerable to the people. And at least people have the right to remove them. But to whom are Anna Hazare and his nominees accountable?

Hazare could have placed their draft before the government, could have talked to the government, could have acted as a pressure group. But he went for a formal status. Setting up a formal committee may add to the stature of Anna Hazare and his nominees, but it will only complicate matters. If many people remain dissatisfied with the work of the committee, to whom would they complain to? Against whom will they agitate? If Anna Hazare and his associates compromise with the Ministers, what will be the way out for those opposed to such compromises?

The question arises, not because of Baba Ramdev’s proposed hunger strike for hanging the corrupt. It is naïve. It is an attempt to repeat a feat, mainly resorting to hunger strike, that many people in this country are capable of doing. Clarity about the meaning of ‘corruption’ is not expected from Baba Ramdev. (But, are we clear in our mind about it? We will revisit the question in the next part of the article). The question arises since just after his triumphant hunger strike Hazare came out with his new realisation that our higher judiciary should be left out of the purview of the Lokpal! This was unilateral and quite conciliatory. Soon after, our Chief Justice indirectly gave a broad hint that he would not oppose judges being within the purview of a Lokpal-type institution. Everyone willing for a jihad against corruption will surely agree with and thank Justice S. H. Kapadia.
Even the way Anna Hazare chose the members of civil society was shocking. He could have at least called a small convention in Delhi which all interested and qualified people could have attended. They could have given their opinion on the proposed Bill and the names of the members of the committee. But Anna decided on it unilaterally, assuming that he has the authority to do so. I feel he, or any other single person, does not have the authority to do so.

But the fast and the crowd that had assembled at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar endorsed every-thing he did. I am sure if there were no TV channels, the crowd could not have swelled so much. I am also sure that the TV channels, particularly the English ones run by the dominant elite in their own interest, utilised the opportunity. A crusader against corruption, a demigod, can act as a saviour of the system that is about to crumble. The dominant elite, in dire need to save the system, found one in Hazare. And the TV had its impact. Even those who did not know much about Hazare became sure that he had come, like an avatar, to cleanse corruption from public life through an instrument called the Jan Lokpal.

The hype by the media ensured the creation of a sort of irrational faith in the person of Hazare and in the institution of the Lokpal. Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh found an escape route and yielded soon after realising the quantum of opportunity the media has provided to them. A committee means compromises, a committee means the onus shifting to the members of the civil society. Sonia Gandhi decided to abnegate the National Advisory Council (NAC)’s proposed work on the Lokpal Bill draft. Manmohan Singh formed the committee as desired by Anna Hazare.

Incidentally, when Hazare knew that the NAC (that had helped the nation getting some very important laws) was to take up the Lokpal Bill draft, why did he snatch it away from them? I believe, if we ever get the answer, it will be interesting reading. Anyway, I am not sure what Hazare or his supporters mean by corruption. Is shielding those who have black money or who take bribe corruption? Is giving protection to those government forces or government-backed forces that kill innocent tribesmen and burn their huts corruption? What about not registering cases against the mightier people? What about the endless acts of our police force—with the lower administration and lower judiciary acting as accomplices—that show that they are just government authorised goons? About the last question, I know Arvind Kejriwal is well aware of it. Only recently he wrote about his own experience on this in a national daily.

It is true that we will have to wait till the finalisation of the draft Bill by the committee to get the answers to all these questions. But if the committee fails to grasp the bigger picture, it will be a futile exercise. For it will just ensure that only a section like, maybe, ten out of one of the illegal money-makers will be caught. But the system will still run the same way as it is running now.

A Wider Definition of ‘Corruption’

BUT, what is a broader definition of corruption? What is corruption?

We know the word Thursday is a corruption of ‘Thor’s day’. So corruption means change or deviation from the ideal form. Thus the simple dictionary meaning of the sort of ‘corruption’ we are talking about is ‘dishonest, illegal or immoral behaviour, especially from someone with power’.

It is not only making money. It is not only about what is dishonest or illegal. It is also about ‘immoral behaviour’. In this light, let us try to find out the contours of the broader context of ‘corruption’ in this country.

Recently, two different types of news items recurrently appeared in the press. One set was about the Supreme Court hearings on the case related to black money; the other about the plight of the committed-to-work IAS or IPS officers in Chhattisgarh and Gujarat. These news items reflected where our system is heading to.

First, the case on black money. Here it is worth mentioning that the case was filed in 2009. And what the government came up with was a piece of information that 18 Indians held Rs 438.3 million in Leichtenstein’s LGT Bank, as per the records given by Germany last year. The Income-Tax Department had told the Apex Court that a tax demand of Rs 242.6 million was slapped against the 18 Indians. But, the Supreme Court was not amused. “Is this all the information you got since the petition was filed in 2009,” the Bench asked on January 19 this year.

It is this Supreme Court that nudged an utterly unwilling government to go after Hasan Ali. But despite all its attempts the Central Government led by Manmohan Singh not only proceeded very slowly against Hasan Ali, they did nothing to unearth the long list of the others who had black money in foreign banks. Not surprising, for this government of Manmohan Singh never bothered to take any initiative to sign the international convention on corruption until all its black deeds started tumbling out of the cupboard.

Anyhow, on January 19 the same Bench also said: “It is a pure and simple theft of the national money. We are talking about mind-boggling crime.” The Bench further observed: “One trillion dollars is one estimate of the black money quantum. It is huge money,”

After many hearings and efforts to make the government act, read what the Court had to say on April 22, that is, three months after what we mentioned earlier: “Expressing displeasure over the government’s belated and tardy investigations into the black money issue, the Supreme Court has asked why it was sleeping for years to deal with the problem of huge unaccounted money stashed away in foreign banks. … It ticked off the government for not disclosing the names of the Indians who have parked such money abroad and zeroing in on Pune based stud farm owner Hasan Ali in its investigation.” “Was the government sleeping all these years on the issue of black money,” asked a Bench comprising Justices B. Sudershan Reddy and S.S. Nijjar. (Economic Times, April 22, 2011)

So, even the mighty Supreme Court remains helpless for months!

These months will be of vital importance for those who have huge amounts in foreign accounts to re-route or even enable their money to vanish. They may change their identities also. Allowing time for such things is not new either. Remember how Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh allowed Kalmadi and Co enough time to destroy all evidences by bridling the law for about a month, before and during the Common-wealth Games. Charges abounded against these persons while the Congress supremo and chief of the government gave assurance to the nation(!) that everything will be investigated, alas, only after the Games!

It is not only the judges of the higher courts who are helpless against the system, but also honest and law-abiding, conscientious IPS and IAS officers. Another set of news reports that appeared in The Hindu and some other papers was equally interesting. Three villages in Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) were burned down by the infamous SPOs, while women were raped and three persons were allegedly killed. Swami Agnivesh tried to go to the area with relief material, and was stopped by the goons known as Salwa Judum. Reportedly, the CRPF jawans were given the responsibility of protecting the team. But they all failed. D.K. Maravi, an Additional Superintendent of Police, wanted to lodge an FIR in the local police station. But the SHO, a puny officer much below him, refused to register one.

The District Collector ordered an inquiry into the incident of burning down the villages. Soon, he was transferred. So from a Collector to an ASP—all are equally helpless against a set of people, who have successfully divided the tribesmen, and are using a section of them—in return for a paltry sum—to unleash a reign of terror (the package includes license to rape, murder, arson everything) in the tribal region. This is going on there from 2005. Only recently the Supreme Court has intervened and asked why SPOs should be there. The intervention, however, has come too late in the day.

In the same way, since the genocide of Muslims in Gujarat, Narendra Modi is presiding over the State like a hero. Even outside the State, he has been turned into an icon of the elite. Denuded of higher values by the pursuit of profit, the industry and media decided to overlook the uncomfortable facts. The Supreme Court instituted a special investigation, but the concerned investigators had the temerity not to record the statements of the officers who were to nail down the Chief Minister’s role. When an officer dared to come up to the Supreme Court bypassing the SIT, his security was withdrawn.

These two sets of news point to one thing only: our democracy is succumbing to the power of a tiny elite who have already colonised this country. They will have their way and anybody daring to challenge them will be demolished. A few honest judges or a few disciplined and committed civil servants cannot be the cleansing factor in the system, though they can play a vital role in some publicised acts of evildoing.

What I have stated above provide examples of dishonest and immoral behaviour by those in power. Such dishonest and immoral behaviour is seen even in advanced countries. What makes the difference is the ‘impunity factor’. The rich may pile up black money and if, by chance, are caught, escape just by paying tax. If not caught, they are free to enjoy everything. So one may pile up unaccounted money with a sense of impunity. And in the name of catching those crooks, honest taxpayers’ money will be drained out like anything. But at the end of the day, many of them will escape the net thanks to the help offered by some IAS and IPS officers or politicians. Their records will go missing, and that will be the end of the matter.
The police, the investigators, the bureaucrats and the leaders—all of them are using the same tactic. A young tennis player was molested. Then she committed suicide after watching how her brother was being victimised only because she had protested. Even when the ‘molester’ had retired, a team of investigators go to enquire whether anyone saw the brother being walked on road barefoot, and found no one. This happened despite the names of those who were ready to testify were known. So, what is the source of such audacity of these high-profile investigators, whether they investigate someone accused of molesting a child or they investigate Narendra Modi? How do the bureaucrats flout or bend laws without caring for anything? How is this insensitive system surviving?

Because they know, if they are caught they will be asked only to amend for the wrong done. They may be transferred or, in rare cases, their job terminated. That is no deterrent, for they earn much more than the loss by their acts of omission and commission. There is no provision of sending them to jail for such acts.

The elite have subverted and sabotaged the system to extract impunity. There will be no criminal proceedings against the police officers for refusing to lodge an FIR, for not acting on allegations of rape, murder or even genocide. And, if a police officer is not sent to jail for refusing to lodge an FIR, he will continue to do so, for he knows only in one case out of fifty he will be exposed. The exposure will not harm him anyway. He will just have to reopen that particular case.

Ditto for a large number of babus, politicians, and even judges.

What is clear from all these is that corruption can no longer be fought by an institution that will only identify who has made money in an illegal way. Identifying the perpetrator of an offence is only a small part of the whole. Identifying and punishing, in real terms, the wide support base, that is, the cohorts of the perpetrators of crime is the real remedy. It calls for a radical and total change in laws to punish those who shield the corrupt or the criminal. Unless that is done, corruption can never be rooted out.

Cosmetic or Real Change?

THERE is an even wider context of corruption in this country, like constitution and perpetuation of the caste system denying the vast majority its due share of opportunities. But, for this article let us forget that.

From what we have seen above we can deduce that a narrower definition of corruption will include things like loot or rape by using official power. The larger definition of it includes all the acts of helping and shielding these culprits. I am afraid that the wider definition may include stopping the law from taking its course for years (the telecom scandal), for a few weeks (the Commonwealth Games scam), or for a few days.

The real fight against corruption is to continue for a long, long time. The youth who supported Hazare, the urban middle- and upper middle-class youth, probably see corruption as just an irritating factor. They are in search of an icon to clear this slight hindrance in the path of India attaining the global player status. They miss the bigger picture of India failing in its effort to look after its huge barrage of poor, in its effort to fight the corrupt practice of the high and mighty, in its effort to strengthen democracy by empowering the socially backward population. They miss the bigger picture because they are not aware of it. The media have never shown what has happened to the tribal population of the Bastar region in the last five years. Even the extent of poverty is just a matter of statistical debate for our elite.

The system has started rotting. The system has turned insensitive. Anna Hazare’s effort is a small step in the process of rectification. Just that, a small step. At least Hazare should be aware of it, and should not create any false impression of offering a panacea.

Diptendra Raychaudhuri is a journalist and author of the novel A Naxal Story.

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