While there is no denying the fact that corruption in the political system in India is rampant, irrespective of the political parties, it is still far too less than it prevails in bureaucracy and “other important arms of the government with unbridled power”.
The recent instance of the wads of notes allegedly found at the residence of a judge has once again focussed teh attention on “non-political” corruption prevailing in the country. The particular judge has already denied the allegations.
This is not to say that the entire bureaucracy or the “other arms of the government” are corrupt. Like there are people of highest integrity in politics, the same is the case with the other two branches of the government.
But the level of corruption prevailing in these branches has mostly been ignored and overlooked. It is only the politicians who are exposed and held in dock.
The interpretation of most of the laws anywhere in the world, and so in India, is highly subjective. At times the decisions come as a shock for even the layman, leave aside the legal experts.
There may be reasons for such decisions, which are of course beyond the comprehension of a layman. But the “particular and the powerful arm” of the government remains a holy cow in the country beyond and above the public scrutiny.
There is still hope among people about the fairness of the judicial process in the country, at least in the High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. “Have full faith in the judiciary and process of law”, is the common refrain of any person facing a legal challenge.
Unlike the bureaucracy and police, the judiciary, despite being an important and integral part of governance, does not have direct interaction with the day-to-day governance in the country.
It acts as the guardian of the constitution and the protector of the rights of the people. It has overriding powers over everyone else. It can even overrule the laws made by the parliament.
It is actually the bureaucracy that rules the roost across the country. While at the central government level, depending on the party and the sort of leader/s in governance, the bureaucracy does not have much say.
Things there are controlled mainly by the political leadership. However, in the states/provinces, the bureaucracy and the police remain most powerful and wield unbridled authority. The level of corruption among the bureaucracy and police in states is always several times more than what the politicians are accused of.
No matter how much the political leadership of the country may be maligned and vilified, the fact remains that it is still accountable and answerable to the people of the country. Politicians have to face the public every five years.
While most of them are made to face the long arm of law, they have to fight the perception battle as well. Compare the number of politicians prosecuted by various law enforcement agencies on the charges of corruption with those in bureaucracy or any other branch of governance. It is negligible.
Compare the “professional” career of a politician and a bureaucrat. While there is no guarantee for any politician as for how long s/he remains in office if ever s/he makes it to an office as the success rate is not even five percent, the bureaucrats come with a “life-time” job guarantee.
There are no checks and balances. There is no report card to be evaluated for promotions.
There is no accountability. Practically they enjoy unlimited “immunity” from law. And if, by chance, any of their colleagues is found guilty, the entire ecosystem comes forward to protect him/her.
In Punjab, when the Aam Aadmi Party government took over, it targeted political opponents extensively, mainly the Congress leaders, some of whom had served as ministers in the past.
When one of the senior IAS officers was found allegedly involved in a case and named in an FIR, the entire bureaucracy went against the government, which first went slow and eventually dropped the case against her.
As already mentioned earlier, while there are some scrupulously honest bureaucrats with exemplary and incorruptible integrity, there are many others who are known for indulging in corruption.
And this is always a public knowledge as it is impossible to keep such things hidden. Yet there is no action ever taken against such officers, whether in the police or in the bureaucracy.
Rather contrarily, such officers end up as favourites of every regime for reasons not very difficult to judge. Such officers have a unique modus operandi. At least one, and at times some, of their “relatives”, like brothers, brothers-in-law, sons, sons-in-law etc, must be “doing very well” in business.
Sometimes, it is a “close friend” also, who does “so well” in business for unexplained reasons. The same is the case with those working in positions of power in other branches of the government.
Curbing corruption is a humongous task. But there can definitely be a check on it by removing the “immunity”, and enforcing accountability. It is very much possible.
If the investigating agencies start independently and honestly probing everyone, it will be established beyond any doubt that the level of “non-political” corruption in the country is much more, by several times, than the “political corruption”.
Political corruption gets exposed due to political rivalries, while bureaucratic corruption gets shielded due to bureaucratic camaraderie.
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