Whenever I look at the way youth of India like you, working so hard and so sincerely trying to solve whatever problem comes in your way. to help the helpless, my heart goes out for you.
What hurts me and makes me angry too, is the way the corrupt meantime, invest in elections as a simple business deal, to get government under their control, and then make use of the magic tool of keeping the files secret from public, but issue orders to loot us left and right. Then they also get protected by the same government policy of holding the file secret, hiding the documnets so that the aggrieved cannot get justice in time. That lso gives them time to erase evidence and escape.
Once the corrupt get money in hand they become stronger, seduce all the regulatory systems and manipulate press and even the NGOs who come up to fight them.
The simplest requirement that government must publish the full file with every govt order made public ,[ obviously secret orders are not required to be made public] , can make our life different. An aggrieved will have full file to iimediately seek legal redressal. SO in real time we can prevent the corrupt from making money. Stay orders can be easily obtained from a court for a bad order.
But alas, to add insult to injury, the leaders spearheading movement against corruption, even persons like Kiran Bedi and Aravind Kejriwal, act like the Prime Minister's office- refuse to even discuss.debate or respond why they do not want this simple solution. It is not against Janlokpal. A level playing field for getting justice for a citizen aggrieved by the government order, why we should not demand? Publish file with order should be a simple demand which Kiran Bedi and Aravind can agree to demand along with Janlokpal. To implement this demand no separate Act is needed.
It is adding insult to injury, that our own leaders too do not want make this simple demand which can transform our governance. Once corrupt do not find any means to make money from the government, they leave the government power. That helps people like you. It is so unfortunate of this nation that corrupt seems to get support even from those who claim to be fighting them. Asking corrupt to make money and then flee and later we will have batallion of forces to chase you to put up a cop-thief game show is not an honest move, by our leaders, I believe.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
NCTC & Corruption
Wish one serious aspect of the terrorist funding and arms trade route as well as the money laundering route of the corrupt state heads, criss crossing with each other is not forgotten.
If a state has a history of stealing from nation for private stashing out of the country, then terrorists do have a leverage with such states. The compromised heads can never act as honest as they make public utterances. The US agencies identified this serious problem which helps the terrorism. In India, by the mechanism of keeping the files secret but make public orders, hiding arbitrary& bad nature of the order, corrupt generate massive amounts of black money. This has to take the same route as the terrorists use. We get a compromised state.
It is not just NCTC- The corrupt in power can now use this against innocents,not necessarily against the terrorists.
First we must remove this very innocent looking mundane practice of keeping file secret and order public. We must get both file and order published by the Government by exposing this abuse of administration, which has been inherited from the British. This also causes justice to be denied to the aggrieved by denying the needed papers from the file, to get relief from a court. A serious violation of constitutional right to the citizen of the country. So we should get this distortion in administration corrected.
Then the corrupt will lose incentive to rush for government power, because unfair orders will get stayed anyway. It becomes difficult for them to work in government.
Only public service is possible. So corrupt will leave. Then only those honest who want to do public service will aspire for government power.
The terrorist will then have no leverage with those in state power, because the black money flow will not be from the state power seats.
Then NCTC will be the most effective instrument.
Else it will be another state tool to threaten honest citizens and activists.
If a state has a history of stealing from nation for private stashing out of the country, then terrorists do have a leverage with such states. The compromised heads can never act as honest as they make public utterances. The US agencies identified this serious problem which helps the terrorism. In India, by the mechanism of keeping the files secret but make public orders, hiding arbitrary& bad nature of the order, corrupt generate massive amounts of black money. This has to take the same route as the terrorists use. We get a compromised state.
It is not just NCTC- The corrupt in power can now use this against innocents,not necessarily against the terrorists.
First we must remove this very innocent looking mundane practice of keeping file secret and order public. We must get both file and order published by the Government by exposing this abuse of administration, which has been inherited from the British. This also causes justice to be denied to the aggrieved by denying the needed papers from the file, to get relief from a court. A serious violation of constitutional right to the citizen of the country. So we should get this distortion in administration corrected.
Then the corrupt will lose incentive to rush for government power, because unfair orders will get stayed anyway. It becomes difficult for them to work in government.
Only public service is possible. So corrupt will leave. Then only those honest who want to do public service will aspire for government power.
The terrorist will then have no leverage with those in state power, because the black money flow will not be from the state power seats.
Then NCTC will be the most effective instrument.
Else it will be another state tool to threaten honest citizens and activists.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Corrupt are not scared of any Act, but will desert any government with this reform : Publish Order & File not just order keeping file secret.
Why we cannot have wonderful, beautiful cities, clean and well cared for streets, pure drinking water, practically free transport, pollution-free and noise free, practically free energy, communications, shelters too of high quality but low cost, pain-free agriculture and the rural areas too in no way less in standards of quality of living, every one well dressed, literate and well behaved?
I believe we can.
But why we could not achieve over the last 60 years of effort by some well-meaning people, and naturally very intelligent hard working people of India? India’s greatest capital is intellect at all levels.
Excellent democratic systems
Think. It is not because we do not have systems. We have good administrative services, a Police force with 150 years of experience, a free and fair election for choosing own representatives to make laws for us and also head the government to deliver, a truly world class judicial system and a written elaborate constitution, and free press and freedom of speech even to abuse without respect for the authority; in some cases, much more than anywhere else in the world.
Then with all these systems in place why we are where we are today?
Administrative interest vs public interest:
When British left, we forgot one thing: to put a check on the abuse of administrative interest to keep government files secret. They needed it because their administrative interest was to benefit Britain not India. Many things which guided their policy were in favour of Britain not in favour of public of India.
With becoming a Republic and when we rule ourselves for our interest, justification for administrative interest expires the moment the order is finalized. In public interest, the file and order must be made public in our country ruled by us.
There is nothing to hide from the public. The administrative machinery can operate only within announced public policy framework and in public interest. They cannot operate with any secret agenda, particularly when dealing with public affairs and assets.
Administration being a not very well known or popular open system to understand, those who entered services found this facility quite attractive. Not accountable easily but one can give even arbitrary orders. Since the background papers and reasons are not revealed, an euphoric state of self-importance with a sense of power unparalleled the civil services enjoyed.
We are humans-fallible:
Humans being humans, one should always expect a mixed bag of apples. Some honest, some ambivalent, some egoistic, some career minded, some truly service oriented. Over the years the proportion of honest gradually decreased as the awareness of the political class, to abuse the secret file system improved. Progressively likeminded service personnel and the political class joined, to shift the governance to what British designed for- in the name of public interest appear to work but effectively transfer the wealth of public to own coffers.
The result is not just looting the public coffers but has much more wide spread effect on all walks of life. Corrupt and powerful tend to protect and promote own class for own security and effectiveness, at all levels of working of the government.
The result: engineers tend to deliver sub-standard infrastructure, or good quality at three to four times actual value, the police stations become criminal protection centers, the prosecution cases get vitiated with inadequate inquiry and evidence because of making the files missing or losing in “fire”, drag the cases, clog the judicial system with over burden. This allows even in case of a case getting booked, judicial process to be compromised.
Honest Politicians:
Every party has a few honest faces to provide the façade but their presence is tolerated only so long as the purpose of holding power by other smart leaders in the team to make gold is not hampered.
Further these honest politician thinks he is doing honest work so long as he himself does not take personal benefit, but allows his party to benefit by his decisions. He is not worried if it is at public expense, justifying to himself, that after all the party needs the funds to fight the dirty elections!
Dilemma of an honest civil service officer:
In the initial years of service an honest officer entering in to this system, has an adjustment challenge.
He has options like:
1. To make life miserable having direct fight with the formidable unconquerable administration, or try attack head on forces in field who enjoy support from his own superiors and lose face or even life
2. To seek peace in servility killing own spirit, or
3. To be honest personally but use your skills to make money for the political bosses in a smart way, and in return get honours , while having some satisfaction that you did some good to public too.
4. To find the middle path to do as much good as one can within the constraints of the system, to own satisfaction-- overlook trivial issues but address core issues leveraging strength of the system
The recent case of death of an IPS officer, young and dynamic who led his men to stop illegal mining directly trying to stop tractor-trolley, raises many a question. Class I officers must first analyse the core problem- and hit at the nerve center- attacking the tractor trolley may not be the way. When own heads of departments are reporting to the ultimate political boss, subverting the system, a junior officer is handicapped. He paid price with his life. This now sends a message to other young officers to take hands off approach.
It is immoral for others to suggest that other young officers should also be heros like him. I do not subscribe to that. It is irresponsible. It is pointless.
Destruction of indigenous technology & innovation:
This system where power mongers are rushing in only to use the administrative machinery as their tool to make money, can never allow local indigenous innovations to flower in the country. The combined forces of the foreign technology companies money power, local lobbies duly funded by them work for them with perception management in favour of the import and to condemn local initiatives.
The political power favours this approach wherever, technology is not denied from abroad, because of high returns on such decisions. The kind of noting they do on files, manipulation of the systems to sabotage local innovations, favouring our country, but against interests of foreign technologies, remain securely secret in present dispensation.
So in all areas of technology being offered from abroad, one finds India ends up importing. Also one finds no Indian innovation succeeds.
But in cases where technology is denied by foreign countries, and import is not possible, Indian engineers excelled as in space, nuclear and rocket technologies over the last 50 years.
But in railways, signal systems, metro rail, even roads, oil exploration, ammunition , defence equipment, processing, airports and similar fields, one finds imports and collaboration from abroad rampant. Even in sectors where India was having competencies at the time of independence, we lost over these years.
So the price the nation is paying for keeping the British practice in tact helps imports and more imports!
Corruption: Assured risk –free operation:
The stakes are so high to reach powerful positions to control the golden tool of secret file and public order. The corrupt are secure in the knowledge that the documents being kept secret, prevents discovery of their misdeeds. Then even if suspicion arises, the administrative road blocks put in place for pre-sanction, then control of the investigating agencies, further, with time, the missing documents and files managed successfully, and the court process too abused with legal complexity, using their money power, reduces risk of any real punishment to almost zero. That is why the rulers do not mind giving any act one wants to stop corruption, involving police-investigation-prosecution routine. They have many chances of derailing the process. After all, the money has already been made.
Elections- a high stakes game:
The file secret but arbitrary order to distribute favours in return for self-benefit, without risk of getting prevented in real time, creates an attractive, inviting opportunity, to fight elections. The elections, promises, money power, splitting voters in to groups, seducing voters with goodies are practiced by the aspirants to the power. It is like an investment. Actually it creates a self-feeding forced loop for the political parties. So party which wins to rule has to make arrangements for collecting funds, for next fight, and expenses to be incurred as well recover expenses of elections- it all becomes a complex issue, generating automatically black money. No one wants to be publicly exposed. The fountainhead of funding for all these activities is just one single tool- gifted to us by the British. Interestingly the administrative interest of British times meant Britain’s interest, but after independence it has become that of the current ruling political party.
Cascading effect on education, health care, social equity, economy, security:
When the top role models and heads are compromised, they have little moral authority to enforce discipline and regulation. The malaise then spreads in all walks of life. Always on search for designing schemes, which allow transfer public wealth to own coffers, this distorts public-private participated projects too. Education also is leveraged to consolidate vote banks appearing to be acting in public interest. In almost all fields what you see, hear from the rulers is not what you actually get. But they move on from one general election to another.
Today one finds we face
1. Falling standards in public schools and universities
2. Poor sports /games performances internationally
3. Low research and standards performance- no Nobel Laureates form work done in India
4. Ill performing public hospitals –corporate money making health care and now expensive health care insurance schemes to further drain off state exchequer –absence of service orientation
5. Black money- generation in economy- abuse of stock market with protected channels of cash-flows from undisclosed owners, for example PNs
6. Soft corner towards terrorist/extra constitutional operators because of need to move large cash amounts across the continents- the illicit arms and cash flow channels are the same
7. Ironically even the political party which funds their election campaign suffers heavy leakage of own funds- not reaching the target groups- a fitting punishment , one would say
8. Huge funds requirements to build infrastructure-roads or metros [ extra boosted to meet political demands] and a railway network running on a half-century old technology.
9. Falling credibility in various government institutions expected to protect public interest
10. Non-working legislative bodies, where most of the time is wasted in bickering over non-issues, and then important bills and even budget passed in a jiffy
11. Media too actively becoming a perception management agent of the corrupt, doling out controlled information in a sophisticated manner- defending to themselves, as needed to survive in market
12. Tyranny at lower levels of police, bureaucracy, in rural areas, leading to evolution of naxal groups, and they too soon fall in to this trap of losing values duly corroded by nurturing political class
13. Too many citizens are losing lives in this forced drama of democracy, the way we are practicing- system designed for the corrupt by the British for draining India.
14. NGOs and activists claiming to fight corruption, shout shrill for more Acts and more police and more powerful judges- well practically want to create another parallel government.
15. Even the respect due for Parliament also is denied today, by some activists- a sad commentary on our democracy.
16. With the need to handle massive funds for the party secretly, finally each political party has to become dynastic rule based, to assure the needed trust and confidentiality. We are seeing it happening. Control of funds gives the control of the party.
17. The manipulation of voting in the parliament using the funds or remunerative powerful post, becomes routine for ruling party to hold on to power.
18. The easy money of the corrupt flowing unaccounted in the markets, fuels inflation and honest citizens suffer rising prices and continuous loss in quality of life, unable to afford homes, education, health care for instance.
NGOs and activists:
All publicly hate corruption. But Indians are so effectively conditioned mentally, over a century of British rule, that for any case of corruption in government, one needs to play only the cop-thief game and the criminal justice systems has to be used. So stronger Lok Pal Acts, larger more powerful investigating agencies stringent laws, almost bordering on creating a parallel government to watch the elected government becomes a war cry. But the effectiveness is doubtful because, it is like we allow the thief to steal and run away, allow him to tamper with evidence too, then we move in trying to put together some evidence to prosecute. But too delayed. But interestingly government too is willing to give more and more acts so long as they can control the process. The RTI Act also is one for example. But note, the basic tool of converting power in to money by arbitrary abuse of administrative interest, is never allowed to be touched. For some reason our activists also never demand to address a method to make this tool ineffective. It is not even discussed.
Many think, it is not material, perhaps. SO the activists keep on thinking of new Acts and new methods of investigations etc but never try systemic correction to prevent the corrupt from being corrupt.
For that they plan to educate voters to become more vigilant, better educated, improve character of all humans, find purest of humans to man the proposed investigative agencies and judges. It is impossible practically speaking. But looks like they are happy making the right sounds and beating around the bush.
No one is questioning why the government public order should have a secret file in background.
Let us now question this practice, please note, it is not right of the government. A secret administrative order only for the administration is not our concern. But any public order, dealing with citizens or citizens’ property or public order, cannot be based on some secret policy or considerations against public policy. SO what is the justification for the file to be kept secret?
Legislators work in open, judges have to work in open and give full documents and reasons for their orders.
Similarly, all government public orders, which obviously do not involve state security, should be made public along with full file and the entire process should be accessible to any single citizen of the country. Olden days , practical difficulties could be cited. But courts even today follow old systems but all documents are available to all the stake holders. With current technology, it is easy to scan a completed file with order finalized, and post on secure government web server.
Solution: [POF] Publish Order & File instead of current [POO], Publish Order Only.
SO what happens when we force the government process and order made public? Though it looks not as glamorous as demand for complex Jan Lok Pal stepping on the toes of all existing institutions, it has a magical effect to bring to life all existing institutions of checks and balances. Let us see how.
Firstly, the officials and the competent authority now become cautious not to write any recommendation or decision, which can be blatantly against public policy and interest. Now they know the file is visible once the order is finalized and issued.
Secondly, in case still they try to obfuscate and try to push through an arbitrary order, to bestow undue favour in return for some benefit to themselves, since the full file and order is available, the party who is wronged, will have enough documentation, to seek intervention of a court- a right granted by our constitution, but effectively denied today, because enough documents are not available under current dispensation.
So the constitutional protection through judicial system for an aggrieved party, is available in real time in this POF system.
Impact is the benefit of an arbitrary order is not realized, because a bad order gets automatically stayed pending examination and review.
Soon with a few case of decisions by the corrupt getting blocked, people seeking favours will lose trust in the capacity of the political leader holding power to favour them out of turn. The post loses the charm If only right things can be done, then why spend money and seek to hold such post?
The power now can be used to do only public service. Naturally those who desire to serve, and of course get in return the perks of the post as due, will come forward. The outright corrupt will now have no attraction for such positions.
The cascading effect is, the value systems will get restored back down the line. The corrosive influence of corrupt once eliminated from top, the various institutions which got marginalised, will spring back to life to do their bidding.
The top political boss being forced to be free from corruption, will not allow any corrupt heads of institutions. Actions will become quick and effective.
The trust of public in governance will get restored back.
The soft easy life of comfort attained by some using corruption to make money for themselves without contributing to the society, as well as by those who appear to fight corruption but make sure that the cause remains eternally alive, will be denied. So these groups will fight hard to their best of abilities, to avoid the POF.
Legal hurdles for POF:
Actually it is a right of the citizens under republic, as the stakeholders, to know why and how their assets are managed by the government, as their agent.
No new Act is required to correct distortion in our system caused by the abuse of administrative interest of yester years, taking precedence over public interest.
Injustice is caused to scores of citizens in our country, because of partial publishing of the order, without full file, thereby, denying their constitutional right of availing judicial remedy by subjecting them to run from pillar to post to acquire the needed documentation, results in justice delayed & denied.
This injustice is now corrected by the POF.
We are only implementing the fundamental right of the citizens of the country under our constitution. If needed we should get our right restored by the Supreme Court, if government and almost all political parties along with a few comfortable NGOs and their media friends doing perception management join forces to block POF.
Once corrupt get repelled from power- the entire election system gets cleansed. Governing no more becomes a case for doing business at the expense of public. With corrupt out of power, a balance is restored in economy and the business world too.
This one single simple step will truly liberate our beloved country to reach her true potential and rightful place in the comity of nations. We do not need any new Acts or authorities.
I believe we can.
But why we could not achieve over the last 60 years of effort by some well-meaning people, and naturally very intelligent hard working people of India? India’s greatest capital is intellect at all levels.
Excellent democratic systems
Think. It is not because we do not have systems. We have good administrative services, a Police force with 150 years of experience, a free and fair election for choosing own representatives to make laws for us and also head the government to deliver, a truly world class judicial system and a written elaborate constitution, and free press and freedom of speech even to abuse without respect for the authority; in some cases, much more than anywhere else in the world.
Then with all these systems in place why we are where we are today?
Administrative interest vs public interest:
When British left, we forgot one thing: to put a check on the abuse of administrative interest to keep government files secret. They needed it because their administrative interest was to benefit Britain not India. Many things which guided their policy were in favour of Britain not in favour of public of India.
With becoming a Republic and when we rule ourselves for our interest, justification for administrative interest expires the moment the order is finalized. In public interest, the file and order must be made public in our country ruled by us.
There is nothing to hide from the public. The administrative machinery can operate only within announced public policy framework and in public interest. They cannot operate with any secret agenda, particularly when dealing with public affairs and assets.
Administration being a not very well known or popular open system to understand, those who entered services found this facility quite attractive. Not accountable easily but one can give even arbitrary orders. Since the background papers and reasons are not revealed, an euphoric state of self-importance with a sense of power unparalleled the civil services enjoyed.
We are humans-fallible:
Humans being humans, one should always expect a mixed bag of apples. Some honest, some ambivalent, some egoistic, some career minded, some truly service oriented. Over the years the proportion of honest gradually decreased as the awareness of the political class, to abuse the secret file system improved. Progressively likeminded service personnel and the political class joined, to shift the governance to what British designed for- in the name of public interest appear to work but effectively transfer the wealth of public to own coffers.
The result is not just looting the public coffers but has much more wide spread effect on all walks of life. Corrupt and powerful tend to protect and promote own class for own security and effectiveness, at all levels of working of the government.
The result: engineers tend to deliver sub-standard infrastructure, or good quality at three to four times actual value, the police stations become criminal protection centers, the prosecution cases get vitiated with inadequate inquiry and evidence because of making the files missing or losing in “fire”, drag the cases, clog the judicial system with over burden. This allows even in case of a case getting booked, judicial process to be compromised.
Honest Politicians:
Every party has a few honest faces to provide the façade but their presence is tolerated only so long as the purpose of holding power by other smart leaders in the team to make gold is not hampered.
Further these honest politician thinks he is doing honest work so long as he himself does not take personal benefit, but allows his party to benefit by his decisions. He is not worried if it is at public expense, justifying to himself, that after all the party needs the funds to fight the dirty elections!
Dilemma of an honest civil service officer:
In the initial years of service an honest officer entering in to this system, has an adjustment challenge.
He has options like:
1. To make life miserable having direct fight with the formidable unconquerable administration, or try attack head on forces in field who enjoy support from his own superiors and lose face or even life
2. To seek peace in servility killing own spirit, or
3. To be honest personally but use your skills to make money for the political bosses in a smart way, and in return get honours , while having some satisfaction that you did some good to public too.
4. To find the middle path to do as much good as one can within the constraints of the system, to own satisfaction-- overlook trivial issues but address core issues leveraging strength of the system
The recent case of death of an IPS officer, young and dynamic who led his men to stop illegal mining directly trying to stop tractor-trolley, raises many a question. Class I officers must first analyse the core problem- and hit at the nerve center- attacking the tractor trolley may not be the way. When own heads of departments are reporting to the ultimate political boss, subverting the system, a junior officer is handicapped. He paid price with his life. This now sends a message to other young officers to take hands off approach.
It is immoral for others to suggest that other young officers should also be heros like him. I do not subscribe to that. It is irresponsible. It is pointless.
Destruction of indigenous technology & innovation:
This system where power mongers are rushing in only to use the administrative machinery as their tool to make money, can never allow local indigenous innovations to flower in the country. The combined forces of the foreign technology companies money power, local lobbies duly funded by them work for them with perception management in favour of the import and to condemn local initiatives.
The political power favours this approach wherever, technology is not denied from abroad, because of high returns on such decisions. The kind of noting they do on files, manipulation of the systems to sabotage local innovations, favouring our country, but against interests of foreign technologies, remain securely secret in present dispensation.
So in all areas of technology being offered from abroad, one finds India ends up importing. Also one finds no Indian innovation succeeds.
But in cases where technology is denied by foreign countries, and import is not possible, Indian engineers excelled as in space, nuclear and rocket technologies over the last 50 years.
But in railways, signal systems, metro rail, even roads, oil exploration, ammunition , defence equipment, processing, airports and similar fields, one finds imports and collaboration from abroad rampant. Even in sectors where India was having competencies at the time of independence, we lost over these years.
So the price the nation is paying for keeping the British practice in tact helps imports and more imports!
Corruption: Assured risk –free operation:
The stakes are so high to reach powerful positions to control the golden tool of secret file and public order. The corrupt are secure in the knowledge that the documents being kept secret, prevents discovery of their misdeeds. Then even if suspicion arises, the administrative road blocks put in place for pre-sanction, then control of the investigating agencies, further, with time, the missing documents and files managed successfully, and the court process too abused with legal complexity, using their money power, reduces risk of any real punishment to almost zero. That is why the rulers do not mind giving any act one wants to stop corruption, involving police-investigation-prosecution routine. They have many chances of derailing the process. After all, the money has already been made.
Elections- a high stakes game:
The file secret but arbitrary order to distribute favours in return for self-benefit, without risk of getting prevented in real time, creates an attractive, inviting opportunity, to fight elections. The elections, promises, money power, splitting voters in to groups, seducing voters with goodies are practiced by the aspirants to the power. It is like an investment. Actually it creates a self-feeding forced loop for the political parties. So party which wins to rule has to make arrangements for collecting funds, for next fight, and expenses to be incurred as well recover expenses of elections- it all becomes a complex issue, generating automatically black money. No one wants to be publicly exposed. The fountainhead of funding for all these activities is just one single tool- gifted to us by the British. Interestingly the administrative interest of British times meant Britain’s interest, but after independence it has become that of the current ruling political party.
Cascading effect on education, health care, social equity, economy, security:
When the top role models and heads are compromised, they have little moral authority to enforce discipline and regulation. The malaise then spreads in all walks of life. Always on search for designing schemes, which allow transfer public wealth to own coffers, this distorts public-private participated projects too. Education also is leveraged to consolidate vote banks appearing to be acting in public interest. In almost all fields what you see, hear from the rulers is not what you actually get. But they move on from one general election to another.
Today one finds we face
1. Falling standards in public schools and universities
2. Poor sports /games performances internationally
3. Low research and standards performance- no Nobel Laureates form work done in India
4. Ill performing public hospitals –corporate money making health care and now expensive health care insurance schemes to further drain off state exchequer –absence of service orientation
5. Black money- generation in economy- abuse of stock market with protected channels of cash-flows from undisclosed owners, for example PNs
6. Soft corner towards terrorist/extra constitutional operators because of need to move large cash amounts across the continents- the illicit arms and cash flow channels are the same
7. Ironically even the political party which funds their election campaign suffers heavy leakage of own funds- not reaching the target groups- a fitting punishment , one would say
8. Huge funds requirements to build infrastructure-roads or metros [ extra boosted to meet political demands] and a railway network running on a half-century old technology.
9. Falling credibility in various government institutions expected to protect public interest
10. Non-working legislative bodies, where most of the time is wasted in bickering over non-issues, and then important bills and even budget passed in a jiffy
11. Media too actively becoming a perception management agent of the corrupt, doling out controlled information in a sophisticated manner- defending to themselves, as needed to survive in market
12. Tyranny at lower levels of police, bureaucracy, in rural areas, leading to evolution of naxal groups, and they too soon fall in to this trap of losing values duly corroded by nurturing political class
13. Too many citizens are losing lives in this forced drama of democracy, the way we are practicing- system designed for the corrupt by the British for draining India.
14. NGOs and activists claiming to fight corruption, shout shrill for more Acts and more police and more powerful judges- well practically want to create another parallel government.
15. Even the respect due for Parliament also is denied today, by some activists- a sad commentary on our democracy.
16. With the need to handle massive funds for the party secretly, finally each political party has to become dynastic rule based, to assure the needed trust and confidentiality. We are seeing it happening. Control of funds gives the control of the party.
17. The manipulation of voting in the parliament using the funds or remunerative powerful post, becomes routine for ruling party to hold on to power.
18. The easy money of the corrupt flowing unaccounted in the markets, fuels inflation and honest citizens suffer rising prices and continuous loss in quality of life, unable to afford homes, education, health care for instance.
NGOs and activists:
All publicly hate corruption. But Indians are so effectively conditioned mentally, over a century of British rule, that for any case of corruption in government, one needs to play only the cop-thief game and the criminal justice systems has to be used. So stronger Lok Pal Acts, larger more powerful investigating agencies stringent laws, almost bordering on creating a parallel government to watch the elected government becomes a war cry. But the effectiveness is doubtful because, it is like we allow the thief to steal and run away, allow him to tamper with evidence too, then we move in trying to put together some evidence to prosecute. But too delayed. But interestingly government too is willing to give more and more acts so long as they can control the process. The RTI Act also is one for example. But note, the basic tool of converting power in to money by arbitrary abuse of administrative interest, is never allowed to be touched. For some reason our activists also never demand to address a method to make this tool ineffective. It is not even discussed.
Many think, it is not material, perhaps. SO the activists keep on thinking of new Acts and new methods of investigations etc but never try systemic correction to prevent the corrupt from being corrupt.
For that they plan to educate voters to become more vigilant, better educated, improve character of all humans, find purest of humans to man the proposed investigative agencies and judges. It is impossible practically speaking. But looks like they are happy making the right sounds and beating around the bush.
No one is questioning why the government public order should have a secret file in background.
Let us now question this practice, please note, it is not right of the government. A secret administrative order only for the administration is not our concern. But any public order, dealing with citizens or citizens’ property or public order, cannot be based on some secret policy or considerations against public policy. SO what is the justification for the file to be kept secret?
Legislators work in open, judges have to work in open and give full documents and reasons for their orders.
Similarly, all government public orders, which obviously do not involve state security, should be made public along with full file and the entire process should be accessible to any single citizen of the country. Olden days , practical difficulties could be cited. But courts even today follow old systems but all documents are available to all the stake holders. With current technology, it is easy to scan a completed file with order finalized, and post on secure government web server.
Solution: [POF] Publish Order & File instead of current [POO], Publish Order Only.
SO what happens when we force the government process and order made public? Though it looks not as glamorous as demand for complex Jan Lok Pal stepping on the toes of all existing institutions, it has a magical effect to bring to life all existing institutions of checks and balances. Let us see how.
Firstly, the officials and the competent authority now become cautious not to write any recommendation or decision, which can be blatantly against public policy and interest. Now they know the file is visible once the order is finalized and issued.
Secondly, in case still they try to obfuscate and try to push through an arbitrary order, to bestow undue favour in return for some benefit to themselves, since the full file and order is available, the party who is wronged, will have enough documentation, to seek intervention of a court- a right granted by our constitution, but effectively denied today, because enough documents are not available under current dispensation.
So the constitutional protection through judicial system for an aggrieved party, is available in real time in this POF system.
Impact is the benefit of an arbitrary order is not realized, because a bad order gets automatically stayed pending examination and review.
Soon with a few case of decisions by the corrupt getting blocked, people seeking favours will lose trust in the capacity of the political leader holding power to favour them out of turn. The post loses the charm If only right things can be done, then why spend money and seek to hold such post?
The power now can be used to do only public service. Naturally those who desire to serve, and of course get in return the perks of the post as due, will come forward. The outright corrupt will now have no attraction for such positions.
The cascading effect is, the value systems will get restored back down the line. The corrosive influence of corrupt once eliminated from top, the various institutions which got marginalised, will spring back to life to do their bidding.
The top political boss being forced to be free from corruption, will not allow any corrupt heads of institutions. Actions will become quick and effective.
The trust of public in governance will get restored back.
The soft easy life of comfort attained by some using corruption to make money for themselves without contributing to the society, as well as by those who appear to fight corruption but make sure that the cause remains eternally alive, will be denied. So these groups will fight hard to their best of abilities, to avoid the POF.
Legal hurdles for POF:
Actually it is a right of the citizens under republic, as the stakeholders, to know why and how their assets are managed by the government, as their agent.
No new Act is required to correct distortion in our system caused by the abuse of administrative interest of yester years, taking precedence over public interest.
Injustice is caused to scores of citizens in our country, because of partial publishing of the order, without full file, thereby, denying their constitutional right of availing judicial remedy by subjecting them to run from pillar to post to acquire the needed documentation, results in justice delayed & denied.
This injustice is now corrected by the POF.
We are only implementing the fundamental right of the citizens of the country under our constitution. If needed we should get our right restored by the Supreme Court, if government and almost all political parties along with a few comfortable NGOs and their media friends doing perception management join forces to block POF.
Once corrupt get repelled from power- the entire election system gets cleansed. Governing no more becomes a case for doing business at the expense of public. With corrupt out of power, a balance is restored in economy and the business world too.
This one single simple step will truly liberate our beloved country to reach her true potential and rightful place in the comity of nations. We do not need any new Acts or authorities.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Make corrupt leave government-making it a useless place where only public service can be done!
Corrupt will leave the government once government is forced to Publish Order& File instead of current money making Publish Order Only practice. All the ills of our nation will vanish. It can be forced on govt because injustice is done today to the aggrieved party, as justice cannot be accessed without documentation which is kept secret by the govt. So fundamental right of citizen to avail justice is denied, by wanton delay caused by the govt, putting hurdles to get the documents. The corrupt even have chance to tinker with the evidence by removing papers, burning the file , "missing" the file etc.
Today there is no level playing field for the honest. So constitutional right we can enforce, by getting Supreme Court rule that every public order should be published with file, so that justice is not denied by delay, and in real time we get judicial review.
Just think, why a public order should have secret file?
But the day POF..publish file &order is is practiced, then corrupt do not like to do "useless" public service, and desert the government. We can live happily ever after.
Today there is no level playing field for the honest. So constitutional right we can enforce, by getting Supreme Court rule that every public order should be published with file, so that justice is not denied by delay, and in real time we get judicial review.
Just think, why a public order should have secret file?
But the day POF..publish file &order is is practiced, then corrupt do not like to do "useless" public service, and desert the government. We can live happily ever after.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Corruption is good for the country, just as greed is good for the market?
A simple step of demanding implementing the public right of access to full order of government concerning public, which means the entire file also containing the order, can prevent any arbitrary order against public interest taking effect. Then corrupt will not have attraction for the power in government, whether politician or bureaucrat.
But then only honest public service is possible in such a system of governance. You cannot distribute favours.
But the fun is lost for many a player. All those power brokers in Delhi will get unemployed.
Elections too will lose colourful campaigns. The media too will not get their revenues.
The activists, the NGOs will not have any cause to go about giving the media interviews and become important in society shouting at the corruption.
Then tweeters and Facebook groups deceive themselves that they are doing something for the country raising slogans and condemning corruption and following the leaders, demanding for more police and more investigation!! This in spite of proven history, that these methods had grandly failed.
The CBI and the judges will rather have uninteresting murders/criminals on hand, not connected with big money. They too love to deal with big money cases.
SO activists want corrupt to steal and make money & run away. They want only more and more cops and more and more powerful judges- but the powerful judge has no meaning unless a case is presented properly.
Then they tell us we must get the purest of pure human to be the judge and also pure cops who are incorruptible to investigate! Both impossible, given what we are.
Naturally those political parties who have to take the risk of being corrupt to feed all this economic activity, will not like the really effective simple preventive step. But, no problem in giving more Acts- after all implementation is again in their hands.
So our nation will happily continue to be corrupt, activists putting up shows, Tweeters angrily complaining, but rulers smugly watching while we have a rising economy and GDP!
So corruption is good for the nation just as greed is for market!
Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu!
But then only honest public service is possible in such a system of governance. You cannot distribute favours.
But the fun is lost for many a player. All those power brokers in Delhi will get unemployed.
Elections too will lose colourful campaigns. The media too will not get their revenues.
The activists, the NGOs will not have any cause to go about giving the media interviews and become important in society shouting at the corruption.
Then tweeters and Facebook groups deceive themselves that they are doing something for the country raising slogans and condemning corruption and following the leaders, demanding for more police and more investigation!! This in spite of proven history, that these methods had grandly failed.
The CBI and the judges will rather have uninteresting murders/criminals on hand, not connected with big money. They too love to deal with big money cases.
SO activists want corrupt to steal and make money & run away. They want only more and more cops and more and more powerful judges- but the powerful judge has no meaning unless a case is presented properly.
Then they tell us we must get the purest of pure human to be the judge and also pure cops who are incorruptible to investigate! Both impossible, given what we are.
Naturally those political parties who have to take the risk of being corrupt to feed all this economic activity, will not like the really effective simple preventive step. But, no problem in giving more Acts- after all implementation is again in their hands.
So our nation will happily continue to be corrupt, activists putting up shows, Tweeters angrily complaining, but rulers smugly watching while we have a rising economy and GDP!
So corruption is good for the nation just as greed is for market!
Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Amazing India! We fight for "right of corrupt to steal"?
Amazing we, the people of India!
Perhaps we are special. We elect our legislators in open elections conducted fairly, and hand over all the assets of the nation and our lives to them to manage in our interest.
Then we also bestow the boon that they can write whatever they like in secrecy to manage our assets, and need to only reveal final decision-not how or why they arrived at the decision. Full freedom we grant to act arbitrarily in secrecy.
After years, when we get a doubt we meekly, apply for information on files dealing with our assets, as to how and why they did some thing years ago. We accept to pay for that service too. We also watch colleagues beaten up or even killed in some accident like event, when sensitive information is sought for. Still we feel proud we got the RTI ! The government uses it as their Right To Insult us. It is ok with us.
Then we have iconic great leaders who wage war against corruption. They tell us we should have more powerful autonomous investigating agency, stronger police, and then the purest of pure human Jan Lok pal who must be above normal human standards. Then and only then we will be able to hunt down the culprits chasing all round the world. More budget , more expenditure from us. It like adding insult to injury: our money stolen and the thief has made good. Now spend more money to catch first, then inquire, then prosecute in a court over a decade. We pay all the bills.
It is easy first to demand that no order is fully disclosed unless, the file also is made public. Thus in real time we can stop culprit even before stealing money by going to a court and getting a stay in case orders are arbitrary. But our iconic leaders do not like this demand. neither the government nor the opposition , who are likely to come back to government like this. Media too does not seem to like this.
Amazing all of them want the corrupt to operate with full freedom , and we allow them to steal and later only, much later only, after giving head start to the culprit, we want investigation to slowly start.As things unfurl media makes a show of it, activists will have a great day to condemn the culprits and give us sermons as to how people shd be reformed, the responsible way to vote, how to reject candidates, how to produce purest of pure humans out of us, and then strong laws and increased staff to enforce the act etc.
Wonder why activists are so ferocious in protecting the "Right of the corrupt to steal and run away". They refuse to even demand for the right of public to know how their assets are being disposed off. Web post order-file is a very simple demand, not hurting national security interest. But they do not even want to discuss or debate.
Amazing beyond imagination!
Perhaps we are special. We elect our legislators in open elections conducted fairly, and hand over all the assets of the nation and our lives to them to manage in our interest.
Then we also bestow the boon that they can write whatever they like in secrecy to manage our assets, and need to only reveal final decision-not how or why they arrived at the decision. Full freedom we grant to act arbitrarily in secrecy.
After years, when we get a doubt we meekly, apply for information on files dealing with our assets, as to how and why they did some thing years ago. We accept to pay for that service too. We also watch colleagues beaten up or even killed in some accident like event, when sensitive information is sought for. Still we feel proud we got the RTI ! The government uses it as their Right To Insult us. It is ok with us.
Then we have iconic great leaders who wage war against corruption. They tell us we should have more powerful autonomous investigating agency, stronger police, and then the purest of pure human Jan Lok pal who must be above normal human standards. Then and only then we will be able to hunt down the culprits chasing all round the world. More budget , more expenditure from us. It like adding insult to injury: our money stolen and the thief has made good. Now spend more money to catch first, then inquire, then prosecute in a court over a decade. We pay all the bills.
It is easy first to demand that no order is fully disclosed unless, the file also is made public. Thus in real time we can stop culprit even before stealing money by going to a court and getting a stay in case orders are arbitrary. But our iconic leaders do not like this demand. neither the government nor the opposition , who are likely to come back to government like this. Media too does not seem to like this.
Amazing all of them want the corrupt to operate with full freedom , and we allow them to steal and later only, much later only, after giving head start to the culprit, we want investigation to slowly start.As things unfurl media makes a show of it, activists will have a great day to condemn the culprits and give us sermons as to how people shd be reformed, the responsible way to vote, how to reject candidates, how to produce purest of pure humans out of us, and then strong laws and increased staff to enforce the act etc.
Wonder why activists are so ferocious in protecting the "Right of the corrupt to steal and run away". They refuse to even demand for the right of public to know how their assets are being disposed off. Web post order-file is a very simple demand, not hurting national security interest. But they do not even want to discuss or debate.
Amazing beyond imagination!
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