I have to go with the flow, the system is corrupt !

Corruption is a evil that perpetuates through the veins of the government, the private organisations, the media and almost all of us. From the street police charging Rs 1 from a flower vendor to multi billion dollar scams, corruption is present in all forms and sizes. Over the years it has adapted to the changing environment. From the era of welfarism and licence raj to the era of liberalisation and arbitrary environment clearances and stoppages, corruption charts its own way. Today corruption has become an accepted reality. But isn't it we who have accepted this reality.

The impact of corruption is huge. It stalls inclusive development, undermines social progress, undercuts the confidence of citizens in fairness of the government institutions, erodes rule of law, distort competitive conditions, discourages investment, fosters black market economy, raises new security threats(and this is not an end to it). It sucks through the nation's wealth and values thereby destroying the socio-economic fabric facilitating the powerful and rich to become more and more rich and the poor and marginalized more poor. What is more alarming today in the context of India today is corruption has spread through the judiciary, armed forces and media as well. Even the top corruption watchdog of India - the central vigilance commission is not free from it.

What are the reasons for corruption ? The obvious blame is on the system, isn't it ? The dark reality is that the real cause of corruption lies within us. It is we the people who either out of fear or out of greed act in a manner that leads to corruption. We take unfair advantage over the weaker others, it is we who butter the managers for promotions, it is we who avoid the tax by bribing the IT official, it is we who buy from the black market, it is we who pay the bribes, moreover it is we who form the system. The value system of the society is continuously getting eroded and this acts as a catalyst in the spread of corruption.

The only way corruption can be contained is through integrity of leadership, improved governance, government accountability and most of all active public involvement. It is we who make the system, it is we who elect the system, it is people from among us who give and take bribes. The power lies with us. We can make a hundred anti-corruption laws but corruption obeys the Darwin's theory of evolution. It adapts and finds a way out. Before independence we had the British, after independence we had the licence raj and after liberalisation we have the regulatory bodies. The membrane has never been impermeable.

It is the spirit of law that matters and it is we the people who can make or degrade our own society, our own country. We are lucky to be in a democratic country that gives us the freedom to discuss these issues openly, otherwise who would have thought of a mega billion dollar scam coming to the fore in China ? We need to appreciate the basic human rights that we enjoy, at the same time we should also respect rights of the marginalized. We must not use our relative economic supremacy to gain an unfair advantage over others.

Few of us know that the Indian constitution provides a strong ammunition to the Indian people to fight corruption - The Right to Information Act. It takes Rs. 30 to file an RTI application and find out the details of the money being spent by the MP of your city. Aren't we lucky. It's time the gen-next realizes its responsibility. We have the ballot, we have the RTI, we make the government and we can chose to hold them accountable. All we need to do is to re imbibe the lost values. Its high time we the educated and we the advantageous realized - "Yes, we can"

On a lighter note, here are the three laws of Incorruptibility:

1. Incorruptibility index = f(distraction coefficient), where distraction coefficient is directly proportional to progress.

2. Batman's incorruptibility index is 0.

3. Incorruptibility index of any person is always greater than that of a Batman.

What's your Corruptibility Index ? I am the Batman :P

Naxalism: Causes and trends

Starting as a peasants movement, Naxalism has transformed into a sensitive problem that poses a serious challenge to internal security in India today. The basic root of Naxalism lies in unequal socio-economic development, exploitation and absence of thought leadership among the naxals. Over the years this has taken an opportune shape.

Naxalism is prominent in areas which have more minerals, ores and are mostly forests. Led by the need for economic growth and rapid industrialization, government and industries started exploiting these areas. They did not consider basic rights of the indigenous people living in those areas most of these people being tribal and under-developed. Not only the basic means of livelihood was snatched away from these people but also the impact that these industries had on the nearby environment led to the areas becoming inhabitable and their lifestyle became unsustainable. Absence of thought leadership from among these people led them to adopt the path of violence and extremism to fight for their rights and livelihood. The geographical locations being mostly inaccessible and undeveloped acted to their advantage by providing them hide-outs and inability of the government to counter. In the meanwhile more groups became aggrieved and Naxalism spread its roots.

Policy makers while countering the violence, came up with various policies to address the basic problems of naxals. Various programmes were aimed at providing them with basic health and education infrastructure and employment. Though these have been successful up to some extent, the basic attitude of the naxals have been violative. This attitude is a byproduct of corruption and lack-lusture governance in some cases. Also the radical developments are seen as an intrusion into their indigenous lifestyle. The limited success of the policies have posed a direct threat to self-serving and armed Naxal leadership who otherwise won't survive with democratic means. Even when the naxal leadership has been invited for direct talks, they have been reluctant to come forward which proves the opportune nature of the present day Naxalism which is more of violence and oppression.

Time is to act, to crack down upon the violent elements, and also simultaneously sensitivising with the needs of most of the others. Government policies needs to be implemented properly in a way so that the governance is sensitive to the needs and lifestyle, also fostering thought leadership among them. Radical change will lead to disintegration thus steady and sustainable change should be brought about so as to integrate (and not assimilate) naxals and affected groups into the Indian mainstream.

This post is a synthesis of my discussions with the Riturasssss...

Kashmir: More of an economic and planning failure

The state of affairs in Kashmir during the past two decades have been agonising. The reasons that have been observed by many are Pakistan sponsored insurgency and terrorism, Armed forces act, demand for autonomy etc. These reasons cannot be denied but the major reason for the present state of Kashmir lies in the undercurrent of demographic imbalance and failed economic planning.

Kashmir observed large scale deaths in first decade of 19th century. Epidemics of cholera broke out three times. Three floods and eight earthquakes claimed thousands of lives. Epidemics of influenza, cholera and small pox occurred during the next decade and the 1920s saw another round of diseases and famine. Clearly Kashmir was in a state of despair in the pre-indepence era.

Post independence, there was success in combating this deprivation. From 1971 onwards J&K recorded growth rates higher (40% decadal) than the national average (30% decadal). 1981 census: over 40% of the population was made up of children under 14. The economic gains made during the previous decade ran into a wall. Despite their relative affluence, the economic stress was more on the earning individual. Dependency ratio was around 95 as compared to all India ratio of 78 (Dependency ratio measures the part of society dependent on economically productive individuals aged between 15 and 59). Insurgency started during this very time. Jihadist movement emerged from a demographic tidal wave of unabsorbed youth in late 1980s. Armed forces act was implemented in 1990 to combat insurgency.

2001 census: fall in dependency ratio as the children reached working age. There were no investors willing to sink capital in Kashmir's economy marred by terrorism and war, there was not much progress in the public sector either. Traditional artisanal occupations were in a decline and agriculture presented few opportunities. As a result, today 70% population which is currently under the age of 35, suffers from chronic unemployment and under-employment because of the inability of the economy to absorb a rapidly growing labour force. These are youth who have seen their childhood scarred by war, who grew up surrounded by army and who have become soft targets for Pakistan sponsored power hungry separatists.

Had the economic planning been more sound, based on demographic data analysis and forecasts during 1970s and years following that, Kashmir would have truly been the paradise on earth.

The article is inspired by the Freakonomics' way of exploring things, some hindu articles on Kashmir and data analysis.