Since his moral victory in forcing the government to form a joint panel for drafting the long pending Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare has been facing sniper attacks from politicians of all hues.

Anna Hazare

Kapil Sibal took a pot shot at him for his obsession with the Lokpal bill claiming that the people’s problems were different and that the bill had no significance for the illiterate and thirsty.  This was a specious argument, considering the fact that the poor and the illiterate are most affected by corruption because it denies them the their much needed entitlements. Digvijay Singh then suggested that Anna Hazare should fight elections. This was a subtle reminder that the influence veiled by him was extra constitutional and that the government may not be willing to oblige him all the time.  His reference to elections is consistent with the thinking of the political class that considers electoral victory (by fare or foul means) to be the touch stone of all power in a Democracy and attaches no significance to morality. Pranab Mukeherjee dubbed the joint panel as a ‘new experiment‘, the success or failure of which will determine its outcome, hinting government unease and a possible future snub. L.K. Advani in a veiled attack, criticized persons close to Anna Hazare for demonizing politicians. There was even a tame protest by various political parties against the overt attempt of agitating Civil Society activists to distance themselves from all political parties by refusing entry to them. To top it all, an anonymous CD surfaced just days before the first meeting of the joint panel, accusing the Civil society co-chair,Shanti Bhushan of trying to negotiate to fix a judge. Another bomb shell was dropped by the Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, who is also a civil society representative on the panel, by his statement that he was considering to resign from the panel in view of the ongoing slander campaign against them.

All of the above may seem like disparate and disjointed criticism, but their real target is the Lokpal Bill itself. Politicians fear that the presence of civil society  members will throw up a draft that will be politically very costly to oppose. This is why they are desperately trying to nibble away the credibility of the civil society members to turn the panel into a nonstarter . They were all together in condemning Anna Hazare for his denigrating of the politicians. This despite the fact that everyone agrees that the movement would have fallen flat on its face, had it been perceived to be obligated to any political party. This predicament of politicians where it is hard even to argue that there are good as well as bad politicians, is what worries the top political leaders most. Yet the decline has not been sudden. Things have grown from bad to worse. For years civil society activists have waged a loosing battle for reforms. Thinks have failed to take off wherever interests of the ruling elite have converged. Political leadership have also failed miserably in isolating the bad apples amongst them. For too long the law makers have reveled in being the chief law breakers.

Even though in the past too there have been many fasts unto death inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, most have faced public apathy, some were dubbed as maverick acts, some were even made fun of. Very few have received  the wide spread public support that Anna Hazare got. His honesty and simplicity though were only part of the reason. The other important reason was the in rising public anger against rampant corruption and the recently unleashed season of corruption that never ends. Even though there is no denying the danger of a sustained denigration of politicians in general, corrective measures are needed to restore the balance of public concern in governance. Only massive public support can ensure that the involvement of civil society does not remain an isolated experiment but leads to more responsive governance that acts instead of stalling crucial reform legislations such as Women’s reservation, Election reform, Police reform, Witness protection act etc. apart from the Lokpal Bill and the anti corruption measures.

Recently while campaigning for Bihar Elections, Sharad Yadav made a controversial remark about ‘throwing Rahul Gandhi’ into the Ganges. While his remark may simply have been a ruse to draw attention, there does exist a valid case for dumping all the current Maharashtra politicians into the Arabian sea.

New Breed of Maharashtra Politicians

Without that, there can be no fresh beginning. Since Ashok Chavan’s offer to resign over the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the guessing game for the next Chief Minister has already begun, similar to the speculation that was rife when Vilasrao Desmuskh was removed after 26/11 Mumbai attack. Given that multiple relatives of Ashok Chavan have been found to have received allotment of the multi-crore flats in the Adarsh Housing Society, which was cleared in the name of Kargill widows and war heros, his continuation as CM, seems highly untenable. The choices though among the present pool of Maharashtra politicians are horrifying. The usual names of Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Nararyan Rane etc. are doing the rounds, but all of them are part of a discredited lot. It is not just the ruling party that faces such a predicament, its alliance partner NCP is no better and neither is the opposition of Shiv Sena, BJP and MNS. It seems as if the entire polity of Maharashtra has been vitiated. Overdose of money, fame and crime reek from every pore of state politicians, resulting in bad governance, mismanagement and Corruption. Wealth accumulation seems to be their only goal. Behind the public facade of political rivalry, the real race is for money. This last decade and a half has seen a curious game of Musical Chairs being played amongst its 5 ex-Chief Ministers , 2 ex-Depty Chief Ministers and the current CM and Dy CM. Roller coaster rides of some of the key players are detailed below:-

Vilasrao Deshmukh(Congress): CM from 1999-2003, was replaced by Sushil Kumar Sihinde in January 2003 –> Again become CM after 2004 elections replacing Shinde –> had to resign after 26/11 attacks in 2008, was replaced by Ashok Chavan –> rehabilitated into Union Cabinet in May 2009 as  Minister for Heavy Industries.

Sushil Kumar Shinde(Congress): CM briefly between January 2003 – November 2004, replacing Vilasrao Deshmukh –> Won the elections but was replaced by Vilasrao Deshmukh again, and was packed up as Governor of Andhra Pradesh –> inducted into Union Cabinet as Minster for Power in 2006.

Narayan Rane(Congress, ex-Shiv Sena): CM for a brief period in between February – October 1999 from Shiv Sena, lost Elections in 1999. Quit Sena and joined Congress in 2005 and became minister in the state cabinet since then

Chagan Bhujbal(NCP,ex-Shiv Sena): Deputy Chief Minister October 1999 – December 2003 –> quit on account of Telgi Scam –> reinducted as Deputy CM in December 2008 replacing R.R. Patil

R R Patil(NCP,ex-Congress): Deputy Chief Minister October 2004 – December 2008 –> had to resign after 26/11 attack –> rehabilitated as State Home Minister in October 2009

Towering above everyone else there is Sharad Pawar, who formed NCP in June 1999 after quitting Congress over Sonia Gandhi’s foreigner status, yet had no qualms aligning with Congress in the state (1999 onwards) and at the centre (2004 onwards) for power sharing. Besides being the overworked Union Minister for Agriculture and PDS, he still finds time to be the czar of the multi-billion Cricket Industry and the NCP President. He has diverse business interests, majority of which are undisclosed. Closely linked to him is Praful Patel, a businessman turned politician who is currently the Minister of state for Civil Aviation in the Union Cabinet. To give him company there is another businessman turned politician of the Congress party, Murli Deora, who is the Union Cabinet Minister for Petroleum and Natural gas since 2006. None of them however can overshadow Suresh Kalmadi who outshone everyone in the just concluded Common Wealth Games.

The opposition ranks are equally discredited and insipid. The principal opposition party, Shiv Sena formed on narrow, regional parochialism and Hindu right wing ideology is on the decline due to an overage patriarch and the third term out of power. Its writ though still runs large among Businessmen and Film fraternity, whom they armtwist with the threat of violence. Matching them step for step and exceeding in venality is its new off shoot MNS. This new breed of politicians is even more brazen and intolerant.  The BJP has long been reduced to being an appendage of the Shiv Sena and is incapable of independent action.

On closer scrutiny three prominent trends in Maharashtra politics stand out:-

1. All major political parties are controlled by ‘remote control’. In case of Congress it is true nationally, yet the vagaries of changes in Maharashtra have surpassed their own standards. For NCP, the keys to power are securely kept with Sharad Pawar and his confidante Praful Patel.They may be Union Ministers but their heart still lies in Maharashtra. Balasaheb Thakrey of Shiv Sena has always prided himself for being  above the fray. In his hey days, he nominated Manohar Joshi to be the Chief Minister only to be replace him with Narayan Rane towards the fag end of his term. BJP’s remote control used to be with Pramod Mahajan till he was alive, after that it has lost relevance. The politics of extra constitutional authority has often brought in power without accountability leading to more rapid degeneration.

2. Another salient characteristic of Maharashtra politicians is their close association with business community. Mumbai being the business capital of India, most politicians have overt business interests in Sugar, Real Estate, Education or Hospitality besides covert involvement in crime syndicates or illicit businesses. This has created strong vested interests and fueled Corruption at all levels.

3.Whenever someone gets discredited in the public eye or is named in a scam, he is shunted out for a brief period of time, only to return back either in the state or the centre, after the public gaze shifts on to some one else.

There is little hope for Maharashtra with the current batch of politicians. @Chetan_Bhagat has a point when he suggests that may be its time for Rahul Gandhi to try his hand at being the interim Maharashtra CM before he ascends the throne at Delhi.

Strikes are still the weapon of choice for political parties to drive home their point. Yet a look under the hood of a typical strike, fails to reveal anything distinctive or hope inspiring.

The strike date is notified well in advance (so much for spontaneity).  It is then publicised through all means available. Media picks up the announcement and features it prominently, giving it further publicity. At local levels threats and innuendos are used freely to forewarn everyone.  On the day of the strike, hooligans and muscle power is used to force shops & offices to close down. Many though stay away on their own, fearing violence and commotion.  Trains and other modes of transportation are obstructed, with least concern for those caught in the middle. Many a times those in urgent need of hospitalisation are unable to get their, those traveling for work, interview or examination are also made to suffer for no fault of theirs. The more the hardship to the public, the more successful the strike is considered to be. At the end of every strike, supporters always claim that the strike was spontaneous, voluntary & a grand success while the opponents claim it to be a flop show.  No quarters gained, none lost. Net result is loss to the public exchequer and public misery.

Apart from general strikes that are ignited by occasional events, there are the ‘habitual’ strikers. Every year at the start of festive season the municipal workers strike work, the teachers & the non teaching staff go on strike during the admission season, Doctors strike work even when the ICUs are full of critical patients, bankers go on strike just before a long weekend. The intent clearly is to maximise the impact. The apparent success of the strike is again measured by the amount of public hardship.

While it is natural for us to blame the strikers for all the public hardship, the Government is equally to blame. One could understand if occasionally there was an issue that was complicated and could not be solved solved easily, leading to agitation. But strikes have become an integral part of our lives. So much so that first one agitates for constituting pay commission, then agitate if recommendations are not to one’s liking, then on to enforcing its implementation. Once the central Government implements the recommendations, as if on cue, one by one the state Government employees start seeking parity with central employees. On and on the cycle keeps repeating itself. Worst part of the process is that Government frequently goes back on the settlement reached at the end of a strike. There are strikes and agitations to simply get Government to keep its word and sometimes for payment of salary for the previous strike duration.

The frequent agitations are symptoms of a deep malaise in our system. They show that our grievance redressal mechanisms have all collapsed. While the judiciary takes ages to resolve complaints, everyone else is too busy protecting their own vested interests to spare time for problem resolution. Take for example the 3 – 4 PM slot that is normally reserved by bureaucrats to meet public for grievance resolution. Most officials make it a point to be away from office during the time period. Even meeting a public official does not lead to a solution. Things have come to such a pass that even problems referred by the Chief Minister in his Janata Durbar need multiple petitions before they get redressed by the officials down below. Even the courts have to get their judgments implemented by using the ‘contempt’ stick. Officials use every ruse for not implementing decisions that are not to their liking starting with appeals to simply delaying their implementation . Every organ of the state needs to be dragged by the scruff of their neck into doing anything. Often Government becomes the biggest law breaker when it tries to brow beat individuals and smaller groups with its size and power. All this leads to a general environment of non compliance and encourages people to agitate for their just as well as unjust demands . Things can only improve if problems are redressed at appropriate levels and judicial intervention is available in a defined time interval.

Part: 1 2

If yes, then tell us about it. The fight against Corruption may well begin with simple acts of documentation.

For too long we have shied away from disclosing this very personal pain that most of us have to endure. Occasionally people pay a bribe to get something done out of turn or to get things hastened up . The blame in those cases is shared squarely between the one paying bribe and the one receiving it. But in most other cases, one is forced to pay a bribe because there is no other  alternative but to forgo the requested service. All we then do is to pay silently and forget about it. But now there is way to get back – by  creating a ‘virtual record’ of the the acts of bribe. The Bribe Rate Chart is an initiative to use our collective strength[ recall: Why Social Media can fight Corruption - Aggregation] to send a definitive signal to our ruling elite that Corruption is a problem that has to be dealt with expeditiously.

[recall: July 22, 2009, Corruption Unveiled]

“This blog aspires not just to become a forum for discussion to vent pent up anger. It also aims to become a means for gauging the level of corruption in society. One of the primary reasons for corruption to flourish is the utter secrecy associated with it. Everyone knows it is there but no one talks about it. Everything has got a price, they say. What if the price becomes known and the veil of secrecy is lifted? How about a live rate chart for bribes fueled by nationwide personal experience. Let us bring to bear the might of Social Media to unravel the corruption conundrum in India.”

The promise is now live in the form of a Bribe Rate Chart. This is a page to be built by the contributory knowledge of all you. You can directly add to the limited information provided on this page from the wealth your own personal experience or your private sources of information. Your inputs will shape this page. If however you find it difficult to add the information directly you may send us the information in either of the below three ways. We will then include the same in the ‘Bribe Rate Chart‘.

1. Send us via an email at tellus@nobribe.org. Please mention a) Department/ Designation b) Citizen Service c) Location d) Reference (explanation on the help page)

2. Tweet about what you want to add with #NoBribe hash tag.

3. Leave a comment at the bottom of the ‘Bribe Rate Chart’ post.

Its time now that together we force the hands of our democratic masters to deal with this problem. [recall: Obituary to Corruption]

Social Media platforms seem tailor made to fight Corruption. Many of their characteristics are ideally suited for building  a sustainable forum against Corruption.

Some of these favourable characteristics are:

a) Anonymity: A key factor that inhibits many people from exposing Corruption is the fear of retaliation. and how it will affect their day to day life. Social Media provides people with different shades of anonymity to suit individual comfort so that they can voice their opinions freely.  Online anonymity could vary from simply being a name without face  to the much more elaborate open web proxy servers used by the Iranian protesters.

b) Aggregation: This is a powerful tool available on Social Media that can be used to consolidate what is ‘common knowledge’ about Corruption. Consolidation gives information the credibility that it otherwise lacks and makes it difficult to ignore [recall: Obituary to Corruption]. @Gauravonomics refers to it as ‘Collective Intelligence’ in his The 4Cs Social Media Framework. Most common example of aggregation is Wikipedia, written by faceless multitudes, which is now widely used as reference material for a variety of topics.

c)  Interactivity: Public discourse has always been led by the vociferous  few. The silent majority simply endures and is unable to register its dissent. Social media gives voice to the silent majority and allows them to participate in a discussion rather than just be passive observers. ‘Like’,'Dislike’, ‘Share’, ‘Re Tweet’, ‘Bookmark’, ‘Comment’, ‘Poll Vote’ are all instruments  that can drive a new interactive and participative democracy. Those with more followers, fans, readers, subscribers will act as moderators in this interactive discussion.

d) Instantaneity: With growing use of Social Media on mobile, the ‘instantaneous’ factor can also be exploited to fight Corruption. Twitter has already stolen a march in this direction and there is a lot that can be done using such tools. [more on this in a separate post]

e) Viral: The viral nature of the medium makes it easier to spread the message – a task which is other wise beyond the reach of individuals or smaller groups in the physical world.

Despite all these positives, many of the historical negatives of Social Media still remain. Social Media evolved  from Social Networking which came into existence essentially as a ‘virtual  hanging out’ place for the young. So there is still a  preponderance of entertainment, sex, humour,  and the risqué on Social Media. In such an environment it is often difficult to find an audience for anything serious and substantive. [Refer to this Facebook page with 400K+ Fans as compared to our own  Corruption Free India page languishing with just 1.3K Fans] Anonymity too lends itself to spam and fraud where people assume fake identities and resort to spamming.  Many people still consider Social Media to be just a ’storm in the tea cup’ and doubt whether it can ever drive a change in the real life.  However things are bound to change. Even a virtual congregation does consist of real people (leaving aside ‘bots’) and a digital record is still a public record. There may be an impression that no one is listening, yet whenever something significant is said, it finds the audience as if from thin air. With all its imperfections, Social Media is still going to be the medium of choice for fighting Corruption because of the reasons enumerated earlier. With its growing clout evidenced by the rush of celebrities joining Social Media, exit of a Central Minister over charges leveled in Social Media and the growing use of Social Media to check ‘Social Reputation’ before hiring or even marrying, all point to the fact that time is now ripe for a greater use of Social Media in fighting Corruption.

Guest Post by Sivakumar Surampudi, Shiv’s Third Eye

When Sanjay asked me to write a guest post for “No Bribe” on its first anniversary, ironically, I wished I could write an obituary instead. Yes, an obituary for corruption, fulfilling the vision of his blog!

Buoyed by the recent economic growth, all of us have an aspiration to see India as a developed country soon. Investment in infrastructure is considered the best bet to get there. Probably, we will get some distance with that strategy; but, I submit, only rooting out corruption can actually get us to the finishing line. For, corruption has the evil ability to destroy the nation before any benefit of progress reaches the common man.

But corruption is neither a new nor a simple phenomenon to conceive of its ending! In fact, Vedas called corruption a hydra-headed monster! Its heads are bribery, exploitative profit, vested interest, naked selfish desires, hypocrisy in the form of false promises, pride, false ego and calumny. It also takes the other forms like, officiousness, sycophancy, treachery, wickedness etc. If not controlled with true knowledge containing permanent truths, it spreads very fast in politics, economics and various organs of the state and institutions of the society.

With such an overwhelming description, it is not possible to start exploring end of corruption. So, I chose a simpler definition articulated by Transparency International “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”. Looking at it this way, the solution has just two components. Deal with power. Deal with gain.

One can deal with “power” by improving transparency and increasing accountability. Information Technology can improve transparency. We have experienced that from every day examples like railway ticket reservations to mega illustrations like public monitoring of Government projects. Media can play a key role in diffusing the power by raising awareness of people through investigative journalism. This helps instill fear among the corrupt, and also build courage among common people to fight corruption. Media can also show case ordinary people who fought and achieved extra ordinary things. Instead of feeling cynical and helpless, common man will then start blowing whistles! The common man could also be aided by novel tools of expression viz. our own examples such as Gandhigiri and Zero value currency notes or the famous Citizen Initiative for Constant Light from Turkey. Ultimately, the problem will be solved when democracy deals with corruption; after all Kahlil Gibran did say many years ago, “so the wrong-doer cannot do wrong without the hidden will of you all”…

Turning to dealing with “gain”, paying more to those in power is an obvious solution, whether it is done as is by raising pay levels, or hedge through performance based pay that is commonly used in business! In effect, what could be lost if caught while taking bribe, should be more than what one gains through that bribe for a job done. In reality, the playing field is more complex than that. The minds of some of the greedy Wall Street executives became corrupt not because they were underpaid. Nor do many positions of power operate as “markets” to design pay per performance. We need to invoke the social norms to deal with this more complex situation. Ethics & Values must find more emphasis in education. After all that’s where it all begins.

How do we deal with systemic corruption, that is deep rooted; almost institutionalised? Sequence and eliminate corruption sector by sector, start with education and taxation? Two sectors with potentially the biggest impact!

With three cheers to “No Bribe” on its first anniversary in accomplishing its mission….

Sivakumar

Sometime back, there was a high decibel campaign unleashed jointly by Aircel & WWF-India called ‘Save our Tigers‘ . The glitzy campaign, replete with TV spots of M.S. Dhoni, Baichung Bhutia, Kiran Bedi et al. & large hoardings sought to highlight the plea of depleting Tiger reserves and the dwindling number of Tigers in our country. Even the Prime Minister himself sent individual letters around the same time to all the Chief Minsters sensitizing them of the need to save Tigers. During the campaign though, I was constantly reminded of another species that is fast becoming extinct in our country – the Honest Man. No, I am not  just talking about politics and I don’t just mean figuratively. We are quite literally running out of honest men (and women). If you don’t believe me, try answering these two questions truthfully: a) How many truly honest men do you know personally? Isn’t your answer in low single digits. Even among our natural sanctuary of friends, family, teachers, doctors etc. it is difficult to find too many people who are truly honest.  b) What comes to your mind when you think of those honest individuals – aren’t they invariably old fashioned,out of touch with reality, tad eccentric, insufferable fools etc.

Slowly but surely our society is becoming less and less conducive for honest individuals (recall Corruption unveiled). Look at any government department – an honest man can be easily recognised as the one who is economically constrained, has the least number of ‘hangers on’, has had most number of transfers, and whose own colleagues don’t get along too well with him. Similar situation exists even in many private organisations too. If the default is not ‘dis-honesty’ yet it has certainly changed to ‘flexibility’. Inflexible adherence to principles is already a thing of the past.

The reasons for this are not too hard to find. More and more young ones today carry the weight of their parents’ and their families’ expectations. Cut throat competition at every level means that the straightest path is not the surest path to success. With all the emphasis on success, there is hardly any talk of morality and honesty. In such a pressure cooker environment means quickly become unimportant – donations, bribery, cheating, recommendations, falsification – anything goes, to reach the goal. Once there, one has then the obligation to pay back. This creates a vicious circle that is impossible to break.

Overall the societal values have undergone basic transformation . There is less and less pride in being Honest and less successful than in being Successful and less honest. In all walks of life, whether one is looking for a life partner, a friend or a guide, honesty is not a very sought after virtue. Numerous other qualities take precedence, with wealth and comfort occupying the center stage. Even within families, expectations now gravitate more towards wealth and comfort. There is lesser stigma of ‘ill gotten wealth’ as long as it can ensure an easy life. The fundamental question we face today is whether we should raise our children to live by the same values that we espoused earlier with all its impending consequences. Are we not then, raising them as misfits in a society which increasingly values success more than rectitude, net worth more than  integrity. These are important questions and we can hardly turn to any moral authority for guidance. The leaders of our nation have their hands full with multifarious problems that beset our nation and they are hardly in a position to provide any moral leadership. Ultimately the responsibility rests on all of us. Environmental concerns are of utmost importance but we also need to keep an eye on our moral values as we go along. With honesty becoming extinct at an alarming rate, time is not far off when an Honest Man (just like  a Tiger) would only be found in books – “Once upon a time there lived an honest man. His name was…..” . Lets spend time and ponder over this as it could mean a lot for our Children.

There are two main types of Corruption  based on its quantum – Petty Corruption faced by common man in his day to day life and Grand Corruption which takes place at higher levels. While the former is based predominantly on duress, the latter is more consensual and is driven by expectations of mutual gain. Out of the two, Grand Corruption is more difficult to measure as both parties have an interest in keeping things under cover.

Measurement of Corruption thus far, has been limited to measuring perception of Corruption (CPI). This is an indirect measure of Corruption where a sample of population is polled about their perception of the level of Corruption present in a region or service. Since the queries are general and have no reference to specific instances of Corruption, people are more forthcoming and the data is easier to collect. However as the data may or may not be based on ’self experience’, it is likely to vary wildly between real and imaginary. Also since there is also no correlation between when the bribe was paid and when the question was asked, so the responders are more likely to adjust their responses along expected lines with the passage of time. Hence  Perception while being an important indicator can not replace direct measurement of Corruption.

Direct Measurement of Corruption is a daunting task because of the cloud of secrecy and fear associated with it. The victims fear retaliation and the perpetrators have a vested interest in secrecy, leading to a quiet burial of the incident. So most often, any direct corruption data is difficult to obtain and its also more likely to be intentionally tampered . Yet this is an exercise that needs to be indulged into if only to form one of the several indicators in measuring Corruption.

Various approaches to measure Corruption directly may be suggested based on how other intractable quantities are measured.  One such model to measure petty Corruption based on Inflation, is discussed below:-

Inflation Model: As Inflation is measured on the basis of prices of a basket of goods and services, similarly a basket of public services that suffer from rampant corruption may be surveyed on a regularly basis to measure Corruption trends. The basket of services may consists of common services like a) Driving License b) Registration of new Company c) New Vehicle Registration d) Registration for Sales Tax e) Passport Application f) Issuance of ‘C’ Forms etc. Survey questionnaire should cover both the cost of obtaining the service (including legal fee, bribes paid and agent commission etc.) as well as the time taken to obtain the services. Those to be surveyed may be chosen randomly from the list of people who recently availed those services (example- A Harvard Study on Corruption in Driving Licenses). Such surveys should should be undertaken at regular intervals across various regions for each of the services in the basket. Data for the same service across various regions should be compared to find out if there are any location specific bottlenecks. The time duration for obtaining the services may act as an alternate indicator of Corruption trends. The collected data should be aggregated over time to yield a Corruption trend. While this model may fall short of giving an indication of the overall quantum of Corruption, it may be useful in determining the trends as well location specific anomalies.

Other models for measurement of Corruption may be built around Exit Polls or Confession Boxes.  Those who have recently paid bribes or are  likely to have paid a bribe, should be encouraged to anonymously disclose their bribes. Exit polling may be attempted discreetly near the places of service delivery.  Each of these models would require a lot of tweaking before they deliver credible results. Much of this initiative will have to come from the Private sector with the help of academics, media and corporates to make it work. Measuring corruption is also a lot about collective intent.  It will depend upon how serious we are we as a society to uproot this menace.

While searching for information on the scale of Corruption in India, one is struck by the amazing dearth of any credible information.

There are a whole host of scales and indexes for everything under the sun including the esoteric Business Confidence index, Human Development index, Happiness index to the more mundane such as Inflation, GDP, Government Approval ratings etc.
But for an all important issue like Corruption, the sole measure that exists is the Corruption Perception index maintained by an international NGO, Transparency International. While the index has done immense service to the anti-corruption cause, it is primarily meant for a broad level comparison among countries and is based on perception rather than actual ground level data. Its utility in managing our country’s internal affairs is limited. Apart from that, there are no meaningful studies on the geographical spread of Corruption, nor any information on its time line trends, no best practices, not even a common place commission of inquiry on the spread of Corruption.

Overall there are no credible estimates of the quantum or cost of corruption in India. This has led to a situation where a feeble improvement on the Corruption Perception Index off late has hidden an astounding growth in the quantum of Corruption as evident from recent disclosures – Koda scam, I.A.S. raids, 300 Crorepati babus. The monetary estimates of Corruption normally vary from billions of dollars annually to trillions of dollars in accumulated figures. The figures are either based on very broad rules of thumb or are completely a figment of one’s imagination. The higher the estimate, the higher is the air of invincibility around it. Most of these figures have a hollow ring to them and are unable to mobilize public opinion to force the hands of the government. We continue to live in a hazy daze where everyone knows that Corruption exists but there is no official confirmation of the same. It allows the government to put their blinkers on and go about their work ignoring the existence of Corruption completely while continuing to bring out new schemes & policies that benefit the intermediaries more than their intended recipients. There is another school of thought that believes that growth in economy will itself deal with Corruption, so we may choose to ignore it till such time we are riding the growth tiger. In the process however, Corruption has grown stronger and stronger. Most importantly, it has led to a situation where Corruption has become a low risk, high return game and is feeding on itself to grow monstrously.

There are strong reasons for developing new metrics to measure Corruption despite its underlying difficulties. Some of them are enumerated below:

1. Primary reason for measuring Corruption is that measurement is the first step towards a cure. We need to measure something to be able control it.

2. The monstrous growth in Corruption can only be dented by a committed public opinion. Such a public opinion can only be built around a systematic measure of Corruption.

3. Behind the facade of anti-corruption, there is a growing tolerance for corruption in our society. It is undesirable, everyone says, but inevitable. Inevitability blunts public opposition. The inevitability stems largely from our inability to measure and track Corruption.

4. The smokescreen of impossibility of measuring Corruption because it is secret is often used to prevent probing on this front. However secrecy hasn’t stopped us from probing several other clandestine issues such as Sexual preferences & Political inclinations( Election Surveys, Exit Polls).

5. Corruption has always been treated as aberration of individuals who need to be exposed & punished. Hence very little effort has been made to check institutionalized Corruption which needs measurement on an ongoing basis.

6. Most of our present knowledge of Corruption levels is perception based. Even those perceptions are limited and shaped by new disclosures in scams. We have never pro actively sought to measure Corruption, which alone can deal with the fast mutating problem.

We have come a very long way from a Rs. 62 crore Bofors scam which shook the Central Government and led to a Prime Minister loosing election, to a Rs. 4,000 crore Koda scam where another tainted politician was sworn in as state Chief Minister soon after the scam came to light. How much farther do we need to travel before we act? The time to act is now!!

Its not for nothing that Customs is the most sought after cadre behind IAS & IPS in Civil Services Examination. The department reeks of Corruption. Its has got an ever flowing stream of ‘liquid cash’ that beckons new recruits. Estimated average daily bribe collected by Customs officials range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh as per graft investigators. Three recent HT stories give us a glimpse of the rot with in the department.

Hindustan Times, 09 Feb 2010: DRI raids and seizes Rs. 1.75 crores from Ashok Gulati, a Customs House Agent (Private entity who provide services to importers and exporters). He confesses that apart from Rs. 40 Lakhs the rest belonged to 4 Customs Officials including a Deputy Commissioner. DRI transfers the case to the Customs & Excise Department who order an internal inquiry.

Hindustan Times, 11 Feb 2010: The CHA, Ashok Gulati retracts his earlier statement. He now claims that the entire money belongs to him.

Hindustan Times, 21 Feb 2010: The story gives a detailed account of pen drives, cryptic codes & collection agents used by Corrupt customs officials to conceal their activities.

While the stream of corruption flows unabated, vigilance agencies only end up covering up whatever little gets exposed. There are many questions that fill our minds begging for answers:

1) Why were the customs officials not raided immediately after there were enough corroborating evidence.

2) Why was the CHA not used as a decoy to entrap the corrupt officials.

3) Has any systematic effort been made to counter this entrenched web of corruption?

4) How many officials have been raided/caught and successfully prosecuted in the past one year.

5) Are new recruits who opt for Customs asked why they did so?

6) What is it that makes Customs such a lucrative cadre choice, if not Corruption.