Author: Bulbul Roy Mishra
Publication: Organiser
Date: August 6, 2006
URL: http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=142&page=15
It is well known that Indian civilization
survived ravages of foreign aggressions and occupations from ancient time
till recent past owing to its extraordinary resilience. And this, according
to eminent historians like Sir Arnold Toynbee, originated from its rich tradition
of acceptance and innate superiority. But it will surely amount to distortion
of history if the above analogy of Indian resilience is drawn to justify inaction
or passivity in response to recurrent terrorist attacks bolstered by all-pervasive
corruption. While terrorism sponsored by alien neighbours is ordinarily not
expected to make any serious dent on the psyche of the nation, it is corruption
that enhances its efficacy many times, apart from its own destructive potential
to spread like cancer.
The nexus between terrorism and corruption
is by now internationally recognised. On December 9, 2005, being the third
anniversary of the International Day against Corruption, Mr Antonio Maria
Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes
(UNODC), made the following observations: "Corruption facilitates terrorism
and organised crime could not exist without corruption. Corruption devoured
around 30 per cent of the GDP of some countries. The world must tackle corruption
head-on." Soon after the terrorist strikes on September 11, 2001, Ronald
K. Noble, the Interpol chief, warned the world that "the most sophisticated
security systems, the best structures or trained and dedicated security personnel
are useless, if they are undermined from the inside by a simple act of corruption"
(vide Interpol press release of October 8, 2001). US Attorney General John
Ashcroft's description of corrupt regimes as "sanctuaries to the forces
of terror" aptly summed up the findings of the US anti-terror investigations.
How corrupt is India in the eyes of the world?
Transparency International puts India at the 88th place out of 159 countries
in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 2005, with a score of 2.9 on a
scale of 10, exactly 10 places below Sri Lanka and 83 places below Singapore.
The countries scoring less than 3 in CPI are perceived to have critical problems
with corruption and consequently with terrorism.
On a micro-analysis, the root of corruption
lies in our expensive electoral system itself, where each serious candidate
needs to spend several crores of rupees, mostly unaccounted, and far in excess
of his or her legitimate sources of income. It is no secret that bulk of this
money is sourced to black marketeers, racketeers and even drug-mafia on the
conditionality of protection and patronage. Once the candidates win, they
have to naturally protect and patronize their financiers. It will amount to
a sweeping generalisation. However, it is not correct to say that all politicians,
leaders and bureaucrats are corrupt. It is for right-thinking leaders to explore
the quickest remedy instead of procrastinating with proverbial Hamletian dilemma.
The State-funding of electoral campaigns could be one such option that merits
serious consideration.
It is by now established, but for the complicity
of a few senior customs and police officers, the 1993 serial blasts would
not have occurred. Similarly, if some drug enforcement officers were not on
the pay-role of the mafia, addiction and related crimes would not have spread
like they have. The record seizure of 200 kg of pure cocaine valued at Rs.
500 crore in international market (Rs. 90 crore in India), on June 5, this
year, at JNPT as against the cumulative seizures of cocaine since independence
not exceeding 20 kg, is a pointer to the quantum jump in cocaine consumption
in India as also the local nexus, without which such a huge quantity of import
was unthinkable.
The question is how those corrupt officials,
since exposed, reached the top position despite their dubious reputation?
Who were accountable for their elevation? Was it merely a system failure or
an indication of a deep-rooted nexus among the corrupt at all levels?
It is time that we as the nation and the government
led by a premier of unquestionable integrity muster the courage to, in the
immortal words of Swami Vivekananda, "face the brute", and fight
to our last breath, if need be, to exterminate the living threats of corruption
and terrorism.
