Colour or Color?

I recently had a conversation with C, who seemed to like 'the Amerikka' a lot. I told C that yes, it is a likeable country with good folks, and is very similar to ours. That last phrase touched off a separate strain pertaining to how bad our country is, with bad roads, poor facilities, corruption, and so on and on and on. I tried convincing C that yes, our country has issues, but nothing insurmountable, and this side of the Atlantic too has a quite a few. After all, the so-called rich developed nations are so after being in India's current position. Alas, that did not help. C was on a mission to convince me that India is bad and worsening and that I should not come back. This was followed by an inexhaustible (to me, it seemed) list of complaints, and I began to wonder if C was a recent convert to some (dystopian) strain of Orwellian theory. Finally, I ended the conversation by saying that C should personally visit other places and find out personally.

This was followed by more conversations with others, so many of them that I cannot assign code names such as A, or B, since I would run out of all the letters of the alphabet. The only thing I gathered was that India was going down the drain and the US was everybody's idea of utopia. This observation was further reinforced by a recent poll in Reader's Digest where India had the highest proportion of polled people expressing an inclination to live in the US.

Why are folks so desperate to leave? Why is everyone trying to convince anyone who wishes to live in India not to?

I suppose the grass is always greener on the other side... and having US currency coloured green adds to it? Or maybe spelling that word 'color' is more attractive? :)

Time to call a spade a spade (or is it a toothpick?)

How does one know if one is being taken for a ride? Simple, look at the latest draft of the Lokpal bill presented to the cabinet. By saying, TIG (trust in the govt. not God), the powers-that-be have managed to solve the issue of corruption thoroughly, and may I add, permanently. Going forward, India will again become a land of milk and honey, of just rule of law and dharma, much like how it supposedly was during the Mauryan era.

Am I serious? I must be joking, right? What do you think?

This is precisely what the common man is confronted with, when reading the different versions of the Lokpal issue that has animated public discourse recently. Of course I am joking. We will not know for a fact how life under Mauryas were, just like how we will not know how life without corruption will be. But by confusing the public, and pulling wool over the eyes of the people, the present govt. has almost succeeded completely legalising corruption, and privatising govt. Next time one goes to register a piece of land, one must carry a sackfull of CASH, for it will demanded as a right to service by the public servants. Since they are servants, they need to be paid, and the Lokpal bill (in)directs the public to bear the salary expenditures of officials. If we take exception to this odious practice, what are our options? File a complaint, of course! But with whom?

There lies the beauty of this bill: first we have to find out what 'grade' the concerned official is, then file a complaint with the CBI or Lokpal, depending on the grade. How do we find out that info? Good luck, and let me know if it is easy to get. Of course, the CBI is not going to do anything, unless the Supreme Court breathes down its neck, and since the SC cannot humanly monitor each and every complaint, forget the complaint. Let's say that the official is a higher grade, and complaint gets filed to the Lokpal. What next? There is no next - the Lokpal will not be able to prosecute - it can determine cause and forward the case to a 'competent authority', whatever that means. Who is the competent authority to investigate a Chief Secretary? CBI? Then why have the Lokpal? What if the official a state govt. employee - then the Lokpal has no jurisdiction. We are at the mercy of the benevolent state having established a Lokayukta, which is optional today.

Let's say the complaint is against a minister. So the person summons up enough courage to actually file a complaint. The Lokpal may then investigate and pass the file to the speaker of Parliament. That's it. No issuing warrants, prosecution, etc. It's upto the speaker/Parliament to investigate itself. What does one expect here? Of course, the said minister is guilty as charged? Maybe in the mythical land of Oz, not in the corridors of Delhi.

That said, I agree that the office of Prime Minister should not be under the Lokpal - but I think the person himself/herself occupying the post should be held accountable *after* the term expires - this would act as a deterrent that they are not fully immune from their actions, and also not affect national security, if at all.

Why the above state of affairs? Enough has been said in the public media recently, so let me just summarize the errors committed by this govt.:

1. No genuine interest in setting up a true Ombudsman.
2. Keeping the Lokpal under the govt.'s thumb - at first glance, it is not even as autonomous as the EC or the CAG.
3. No prosecuting power, since CBI is out of the Lokpal's purview - much like a toothless grandfather who says, 'hey kids, don't eat chocolate, it's bad for you', but cannot hide the chocolates.
4. Saving the goose that lays the golden egg for posterity - so future MPs/bureaucrats can partake in its offerings.
5. Closing of ranks - I know this MP is a friend, and is corrupt, so I will declare myself as clean and turn a blind eye (sound familiar?)
6. No real concern for the common man (what's new?) - lower levels can continue to take bribes as they do without fear of sanction or prosecution.
7. Consulting the states about setting up Lokayuktas - when needed, the Centre can invoke enough authority to do what it wants, but that is not the case here.
8. Finally, the most grievous error of all: 'Trust the govt. to come up with a clean bill'. This, from one of the most corrupt administrations in our long history.

Though I too have a lot of respect for our truly esteemed PM, it is sad that he is heading such a govt. and not showing any teeth. He should either take charge, or just resign so he does not get tarred with the same brush. At this rate, his legacy is going to be poor in comparison with his intellectual stature. I am sure that the lady from Lusiana can ask her 'inner voice' to find another replacement to do her bidding.

To conclude, what should the common man do when going to the land records office? Cash and carry, no need to worry!