"Power corrupts", and power is an integral part of democracy where we elect our representatives and vest them with sweeping powers. Then, why complain about corruption, isn't it only to be expected?
Perhaps corruption is the equivalent of the executive bonus schemes in corporate world. I strongly believe that the reason majority of smart folks enter politics today is for the power it gives them to serve their vested interests. If we completely eliminate corruption, why would the smartest of folks enter politics? An honest man in politics stands to earn a pittance!!
Does that mean that in a non-corrupt government (assuming we can achieve that ideal), we will be left with well-intentioned, but largely mediocre, folks running our country? Can we expect mediocre talent to have the vision and application to take our country to new heights? Are there enough brilliant people out there who are willing to make huge financial sacrifices just to be a part of the government? I doubt it.
Perhaps corruption provides the only incentive today to attract smart people who have the vision to execute some of the boldest development initiatives. Without corruption, we may have the folks with right intentions driving the country, but will we have folks with the right ability? Would eliminating corruption come at a higher cost of incompetence?
So, what's the solution? Are we doomed? I think there needs to be a shift in our thinking, we need to bring the political/governance system closer to corporate world. An MP needs to be as capable as (or more than) a CEO of an organization, and his remuneration needs to reflect that. This is the only way to ensure that being an honest MP is worth the time of some of the most intelligent people in our country. Make sure that the financial incentive is at least at par with an average CEO's income.
And then crack down hard on corruption, and make these MPs accountable. Have them publish quarterly reports in their constituency, have public press conferences and independent political analysts covering them. Bring in electoral reforms to make sure elections are fought freely and fairly. All of this is required, but without the right financial incentives for our leaders, our development as a nation might end up regressing in spite of all well meaning reforms.
If we don't see some change in this direction, I think our democracy is doomed. Cunning and corrupt folks will continue to find their way to politics, and the well-meaning, intelligent folks will stay busy looking at more lucrative and honest ways of making a comfortable lives for themselves. Think about it, when does a wealthy, intelligent person ever think about joining politics? Only when they want to become even wealthier ...
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Is Jan Lok Pal Bill evil?
It is interesting to see all the intelligentsia coming in with their magnifying glasses and scrutinizing and critizing the minutae of the proposed draft of the bill. Constructive criticism will no doubt lead to a better bill, but I have an axe to grind with those who are summarily dismissive of the entire proposal.
I think we need to step back and look at the larger picture here. It is not the time to stand in impartial judgement over our civic activists. I don't think it's sufficient to be intellectually honest in these times, you have to be politically savvy. You have to figure out which side you are on!!! Politicians are very good at it. When the chips are down, they'll do anything to counter it, and get as close to power as possible. It is them that we are dealing with. Take the allegations against the bhushan's. Each allegation has another dimension to it, which involves politicians. And even if true, I think it ought to be much more damaging to the politicians than the bhushan's. Yet, no one is asking for head of politicians involved, the political chorus is only interested in bhusan's stepping down. You don't have to be an einstein to figure out who gains from all this. My personal view is that even if bhushan's are guilty, they can do no harm in helping with drafting of this bill, which is anyway being driven so transparently.
To the cynics of the bill, I want them to ponder over the following. Corruption is rampant, we all experience it every day, but not a single person is punished. This is despite all the media reports and awareness. Our PM claims he is bound by coalition politics. So, how do you propose to fix it? If you can come up with a comprehensive solution, present it and convince a larger set of people that your solution works. If not, step aside and don't create hurdles for those who are trying to do that. I seriously believe that if you spend enough time to understand the current system, and analyze why it fails so miserably, you will realize that there is no such thing as a perfect system. In fact, the current system is quite perfect theoretically, becasue it vests most powers in the elected government. But, this debate is not about theory, it's about practice.
When we have seen the theory to fail miserably, we have to go back to the drawing board to restate the assumptions (in this case that the elected representatives are supreme) and change the heuristics. I think this movement is about going from just "democracy" to "accountable and transparent democracy". The set of activists have studied this problem from within and have come up with some (maybe drastic) suggestions on how to fix it. It is not sufficient to say that their solution is not good enough (no solution will ever be good enough for everyone), but take it further and propose a better solution. And explain how the better solution will help to punish those who have been so deftly manouvering the current system.
It is easy to sit in judgement and pass comments, but it is another thing to work at your convictions and make things happen. I know better ideas exist, but I'll any day accept (and actively support) a sub-optimal idea which gets converted into practice over a brilliant idea which is never implemented!!! And I think we all need to do that for our own good...
I think we need to step back and look at the larger picture here. It is not the time to stand in impartial judgement over our civic activists. I don't think it's sufficient to be intellectually honest in these times, you have to be politically savvy. You have to figure out which side you are on!!! Politicians are very good at it. When the chips are down, they'll do anything to counter it, and get as close to power as possible. It is them that we are dealing with. Take the allegations against the bhushan's. Each allegation has another dimension to it, which involves politicians. And even if true, I think it ought to be much more damaging to the politicians than the bhushan's. Yet, no one is asking for head of politicians involved, the political chorus is only interested in bhusan's stepping down. You don't have to be an einstein to figure out who gains from all this. My personal view is that even if bhushan's are guilty, they can do no harm in helping with drafting of this bill, which is anyway being driven so transparently.
To the cynics of the bill, I want them to ponder over the following. Corruption is rampant, we all experience it every day, but not a single person is punished. This is despite all the media reports and awareness. Our PM claims he is bound by coalition politics. So, how do you propose to fix it? If you can come up with a comprehensive solution, present it and convince a larger set of people that your solution works. If not, step aside and don't create hurdles for those who are trying to do that. I seriously believe that if you spend enough time to understand the current system, and analyze why it fails so miserably, you will realize that there is no such thing as a perfect system. In fact, the current system is quite perfect theoretically, becasue it vests most powers in the elected government. But, this debate is not about theory, it's about practice.
When we have seen the theory to fail miserably, we have to go back to the drawing board to restate the assumptions (in this case that the elected representatives are supreme) and change the heuristics. I think this movement is about going from just "democracy" to "accountable and transparent democracy". The set of activists have studied this problem from within and have come up with some (maybe drastic) suggestions on how to fix it. It is not sufficient to say that their solution is not good enough (no solution will ever be good enough for everyone), but take it further and propose a better solution. And explain how the better solution will help to punish those who have been so deftly manouvering the current system.
It is easy to sit in judgement and pass comments, but it is another thing to work at your convictions and make things happen. I know better ideas exist, but I'll any day accept (and actively support) a sub-optimal idea which gets converted into practice over a brilliant idea which is never implemented!!! And I think we all need to do that for our own good...
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
What's wrong with Indian democracy?
I was intrigued the the criticism of the recent movement against corruption (led by Anna Hazare) by a select group of intellectuals. They claim that this threatens to subvert democracy by undermining the politicians, who are our elected leaders. But, what exactly does an elected leader mean in today's India? What motivates a person to run for elections? We all know that election expenses run into crores, and the winner of the election can not recover that much money on a complete lifetime of a politician's salary. So, how can an honest person even stand for an election without going bankrupt? Unless we fix this, we are stuck with politicians who are forced to recover their political expenses through corruption. And once the greed sets in, they don't stop at just recovering the expenses, they end up making tens and hundreds of times the money they spent. So, what's the solution? I propose that we should forbid the election candidates to spend even a single rupee on campaigning. Instead, the election commission should create a comprehensive platform (TV, newspapers, internet, public meetings, debates) where each candidate is given an equal exposure and a chance to put forward their views and positions. All the cost should be borne by the government. Any candidate violating this should be disqualified. I realized that I didn't even know who my elected representatives were. Once I found out who they were, I could find almost no information about them on the internet, there is no way to find out what their views are or what they stand for, or what they have done or plan to do for the region that they got elected from. Hoping for a fair debate between all the candidates in the next election is a distant dream!!! So, even if I do my homework for the next election, I don't think I will have any basis to vote. So, how does it matter if I vote or not? It is not enough to just insist that everyone should vote. We need to create forums where people get information about their candidates to be able to decide who to vote for. Also, one suggestion that has come up is that there should be an option on the ballot saying "None of the above". Given the current state of things, I feel very inclined to use that option until the candidates feel the need to reach out to me and "earn" their vote. Given all this, I think Indian democracy is in a bad shape, and those who suggest that pushing a stringent anti corruption bill (which politicians will do anything to prevent) will undermine democracy, are in complete denial of the present state of affairs. I think once the anti corruption bill is effectively used to punish some of the most corrupt politicians; some more electoral reforms are in place; and some more accountability is introduced in our governance, only then I will accept that the democracy that we have is worth preserving.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Do we really need charity in india?
Till sometime back, I had this strong feeling for the need to donate regularly to institutions involved in charity work. But, looking at the corruption all around, I am increasingly starting to feel that it is the wrong problem to focus on for well-intentioned folks.
India has seen phenomenal growth over the past few years, and is expected to continue doing so for many more years. The growth brings huge amounts of money into govt coffers through various taxes. But, where is all that going? I'm pretty convinced that if this is properly routed into public welfare, we would have enough resources to provide basic education, health and nutrition to all, something which most of the charitable organizations are busy doing and raising money for.
But, this does not happen due to the rampant corruption. Starting from the ministers who approve these projects, all the way to the petty contractor/vendor who is supposed to seal the deal, everyone takes a cut, and hardly 10-15% of it goes into the real work (sometimes even not that much).
Won't it be a much better use of our time and resources to go after this corruption, and make sure the public resources are funnelled properly instead of donating here and there and feeling good about it. I personally feel strongly that this is how I need to contribute to the charitable cause in our country.
To put it simple, I pay 30% of my income in taxes. If I makes sure that is utilized properly by the government, that is more than enough charity that I need to do.
India has seen phenomenal growth over the past few years, and is expected to continue doing so for many more years. The growth brings huge amounts of money into govt coffers through various taxes. But, where is all that going? I'm pretty convinced that if this is properly routed into public welfare, we would have enough resources to provide basic education, health and nutrition to all, something which most of the charitable organizations are busy doing and raising money for.
But, this does not happen due to the rampant corruption. Starting from the ministers who approve these projects, all the way to the petty contractor/vendor who is supposed to seal the deal, everyone takes a cut, and hardly 10-15% of it goes into the real work (sometimes even not that much).
Won't it be a much better use of our time and resources to go after this corruption, and make sure the public resources are funnelled properly instead of donating here and there and feeling good about it. I personally feel strongly that this is how I need to contribute to the charitable cause in our country.
To put it simple, I pay 30% of my income in taxes. If I makes sure that is utilized properly by the government, that is more than enough charity that I need to do.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
India Against Corruption
I recently came across this facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/IndiACor), and decided to support the cause. The single biggest factor which led me to get involved is this guy named Arvind Kejrival. He is an activist and was one of the main champions of the RTI movement. He is now championing the JLP (Jan Lokpal) movement, which asks for a citizen body to be formed which is powerful enough to punish corrupt politicians.
I did some reading on their approach and what they are trying to do and how. I felt that what they are trying to do makes sense. Basically, corruption goes all the way to the top. Think about what happens if the boss is corrupt. Everybody in the organization gets a license to be corrupt, since any complaints against corruption are not entertained.
I heard this anecdote about corruption in a UP city called Aligarh. Bribes were rampant in the transport department and you typically had to pay about INR 10K to get your shipment across. An honest senior bureaucrat came to the scene and tried to fix the system. He was personally manhandled in the process, and things came to a stalemate, the business suffered. Eventually, after a cool down period, the top politicians got involved and revived the business. But, now the bribe rate had gone up to INR 15K, the extra amount going to the politician for their blessings!!!
So, even though India is riddled with corruption at the lowest levels, this problem can only be fixed top down. But, how do you uncorrupt the politicians? I think there is only one way to do it and it is by using your "vote".
I think the power of public opinion does exist in India, and that's something that the major political parties can not afford to ignore. Politicians take advantage of a common man's ignorance and play the divide and conquer politics by distracting the public with less important issues like religion and caste.
But, no one person individually can do anything. And that is another fact that the corrupt politicians rely on. If the non-corrupt can come together in large numbers, then the corrupt will have nowhere to escape. We can make sure that no political party dares to shield the corrupt, by declaring that they will lose our vote if they do so.
If each one of us goes through this simple logic in our mind, decides to be aware of what's happening around us and use our vote judiciously, we can make a difference. Of course, easier said than done. How do we get this done? We need some great leaders at the grassroot level who can motivate people to awaken and ensure that we control the politicians. Our vast illiterate, poverty-stricken and gullible population is definitely a challenge, but we have to start somewhere.
I did some reading on their approach and what they are trying to do and how. I felt that what they are trying to do makes sense. Basically, corruption goes all the way to the top. Think about what happens if the boss is corrupt. Everybody in the organization gets a license to be corrupt, since any complaints against corruption are not entertained.
I heard this anecdote about corruption in a UP city called Aligarh. Bribes were rampant in the transport department and you typically had to pay about INR 10K to get your shipment across. An honest senior bureaucrat came to the scene and tried to fix the system. He was personally manhandled in the process, and things came to a stalemate, the business suffered. Eventually, after a cool down period, the top politicians got involved and revived the business. But, now the bribe rate had gone up to INR 15K, the extra amount going to the politician for their blessings!!!
So, even though India is riddled with corruption at the lowest levels, this problem can only be fixed top down. But, how do you uncorrupt the politicians? I think there is only one way to do it and it is by using your "vote".
I think the power of public opinion does exist in India, and that's something that the major political parties can not afford to ignore. Politicians take advantage of a common man's ignorance and play the divide and conquer politics by distracting the public with less important issues like religion and caste.
But, no one person individually can do anything. And that is another fact that the corrupt politicians rely on. If the non-corrupt can come together in large numbers, then the corrupt will have nowhere to escape. We can make sure that no political party dares to shield the corrupt, by declaring that they will lose our vote if they do so.
If each one of us goes through this simple logic in our mind, decides to be aware of what's happening around us and use our vote judiciously, we can make a difference. Of course, easier said than done. How do we get this done? We need some great leaders at the grassroot level who can motivate people to awaken and ensure that we control the politicians. Our vast illiterate, poverty-stricken and gullible population is definitely a challenge, but we have to start somewhere.
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