Corruption in India: Why One Lokpal Can't Control Corruption?
2. Can the institution of Lokpal reduce corruption in India?
Corruption is a universal phenomenon. No society is free from it. As far back as 200 b.c., Kautilya had defined and identified different varieties of corruption and had lamented that, “Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey that finds itself at the tip of tongue, its impossible for the government servant not to eat up a bit of king’s revenue, Just as it is impossible to detect whether a fish swimming through water drinks it or not, so is it not possible to detect whether government servants are taking money for themselves of not.”
The summer of 2011 witnessed unprecedented democratic protests in India across the length and breadth of the country. People voluntarily poured into the streets across all major cities in India, in support of Anti corruption crusader,Anna Hazare’s agitation for a strong Lokpal in the country. A kind of euphoria was created in the country when the electronic media gave a wide coverage of the agitation and the resistance encountered from political parties for the passing of this long pending LOKPAL bill (introduced way back in 1969)gave an impression to the people that Lokpal is the be-all end-all solution to eradicate the scourge of corruption once for all from this country.
In order to understand whether Lokpal can end or at least reduce corruption in government, its very apt to consider the causes of corruption in India. India is one of the worst ranked countries in The Corruption Perception Index prepared by Transparency International. Corruption is a complex phenomenon, highly endemic in India because of a combination of Social, Economic, Legal, Administrative, Political factors. Former chief vigilance commission of India, Mr. N Vithal, opined that corruption in India is a cumulative outcome of the activities of NETA(The politician), BABU(The bureaucrat), DADA(The criminal), LALA(The businessman) and JHOLA(NGO). It has become a normal thing, a part of our
Corruption is a universal phenomenon. No society is free from it. As far back as 200 b.c., Kautilya had defined and identified different varieties of corruption and had lamented that, “Just as it is impossible not to taste the honey that finds itself at the tip of tongue, its impossible for the government servant not to eat up a bit of king’s revenue, Just as it is impossible to detect whether a fish swimming through water drinks it or not, so is it not possible to detect whether government servants are taking money for themselves of not.”
The summer of 2011 witnessed unprecedented democratic protests in India across the length and breadth of the country. People voluntarily poured into the streets across all major cities in India, in support of Anti corruption crusader,Anna Hazare’s agitation for a strong Lokpal in the country. A kind of euphoria was created in the country when the electronic media gave a wide coverage of the agitation and the resistance encountered from political parties for the passing of this long pending LOKPAL bill (introduced way back in 1969)gave an impression to the people that Lokpal is the be-all end-all solution to eradicate the scourge of corruption once for all from this country.
In order to understand whether Lokpal can end or at least reduce corruption in government, its very apt to consider the causes of corruption in India. India is one of the worst ranked countries in The Corruption Perception Index prepared by Transparency International. Corruption is a complex phenomenon, highly endemic in India because of a combination of Social, Economic, Legal, Administrative, Political factors. Former chief vigilance commission of India, Mr. N Vithal, opined that corruption in India is a cumulative outcome of the activities of NETA(The politician), BABU(The bureaucrat), DADA(The criminal), LALA(The businessman) and JHOLA(NGO). It has become a normal thing, a part of our