Emerging from posting exile. Was busy with the move. Then was without internet for two weeks, courtesy the Verizon strike.
The politically out of favour big-wigs are now caught up in their respective run-ins with law enforcement authorities. See here, here and here to get the context. Reasonable citizens are right to question the timing of these investigations. For politicians, all these cases make it very clear that being out of power is not only bad for your career, it could also land you in all kinds of legal trouble. That is unless if your integrity is beyond question. These days in India, finding a politician whose integrity is beyond reasonable doubt is as rare as the Indian cricket team winning a test series in England or Australia.
2011 is proving to be the start of a new era. I cannot remember the last time these many national politicians and bureaucrats were under investigation or sent to prison. Some would say , corruption has never been more rampant. But there is a brighter side . Legal action being pursued against all these worthies shows that people's voices are being heard. And that is no small achievement for a young democracy such as India's.
For the past several decades, people who came to power in all levels of government would start engaging in corrupt practices immediately. The tacit understanding was that everybody did the same and there were no adverse consequences. Help yourself to as much as possible for as long as you were in power.And expect to go unpunished when you are out of office. The numerous investigations this year show that this may slowly be changing. That is the kind of rebound only a democracy with a semblance of accountability can produce.
There is an awful lot that needs to be done to strengthen institutions of justice in the country. People will truly believe things have changed when guilty verdicts and convictions start getting handed to those who richly deserve it.
The politically out of favour big-wigs are now caught up in their respective run-ins with law enforcement authorities. See here, here and here to get the context. Reasonable citizens are right to question the timing of these investigations. For politicians, all these cases make it very clear that being out of power is not only bad for your career, it could also land you in all kinds of legal trouble. That is unless if your integrity is beyond question. These days in India, finding a politician whose integrity is beyond reasonable doubt is as rare as the Indian cricket team winning a test series in England or Australia.
2011 is proving to be the start of a new era. I cannot remember the last time these many national politicians and bureaucrats were under investigation or sent to prison. Some would say , corruption has never been more rampant. But there is a brighter side . Legal action being pursued against all these worthies shows that people's voices are being heard. And that is no small achievement for a young democracy such as India's.
For the past several decades, people who came to power in all levels of government would start engaging in corrupt practices immediately. The tacit understanding was that everybody did the same and there were no adverse consequences. Help yourself to as much as possible for as long as you were in power.And expect to go unpunished when you are out of office. The numerous investigations this year show that this may slowly be changing. That is the kind of rebound only a democracy with a semblance of accountability can produce.
There is an awful lot that needs to be done to strengthen institutions of justice in the country. People will truly believe things have changed when guilty verdicts and convictions start getting handed to those who richly deserve it.
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