Has India Reached A Dead End?
Here is the headline from a newspaper, the sort of headline that has us wringing our hands in despair: THREATS TO JUDGES, GOVERNMENT LAWYERS SOARING! The report then says that threats to the nation’s judges and government lawyers have sharply increased prompting hundreds to get 24 hour protection from armed guards. Judges are now altering their routes to work, installing security systems at home, shielding their addresses and some even carry guns when they sit on the bench.
What would you say if you found such a breaking news item in NDTV ?
I sent this headline to fifty of my friends in India and the US and a few in the Middle East—all Indians mind you. Here are some responses I received:
– India has no hope.
– This is why India is and will remain a third world country.
– Let us stop dreaming of becoming a superpower.
– This cannot happen in the USA.
– It is such idiotic things that made me migrate to the US.
– I am glad I left India to live in a civilized country like the US.
And so on.
But wait a minute, I told them all.
I then sent another email to all these guys pointing out that this headline is related to the US and appeared in the May 25th, 2009, edition of The Washington Post.
I wish all my buddies had installed webcams and let me see their faces when they read my clarification email.
As I come to the end of my three year stay in the US and will be returning to India soon, I can say that the US is not as great as we might believe and India is not that bad as we may believe. The situation is more nuanced than one might realize. This is not to say that India is as good as the US. On the contrary, we have much to learn from the US and much that we need not learn from them.
There is a simple ‘trick’ we need to take note of and learn from the US. Some of the things about India that we fret about do not exist in the US simply because the US has legalized them. What we call influence peddling and money power in India, the kind of power broking that we say is ruining India, has been legalized in the US. It is called lobbying.
My NRI friends protest that lobbying is not the same as corruption since it is open to anyone. But then considering the kind of money that one needs to influence policy is humungous, only the very rich can afford to influence policy. Thus Microsoft spent $5 billion dollars to influence tax laws that benefitted the company $55 billion in tax savings over a 5 year period. Had an Indian company done anything remotely resembling this, a thousand Indians might have migrated to the US and sent me an email about the corrupt Indian system.
Now comes another example of how things that are considered objectionable in India are perfectly acceptable as legal or constitutional in the US. The US constitution allows the President to appoint to the Supreme Court, a judge who is ideologically aligned with the President. Obama like his predecessors, has done exactly that by appointing Ms Sotomayor as a judge. The right wing media is up in arms against this appointment for many reasons.
I recall the furore that shook India when Ms Indira Gandhi appointed to India’s Supreme Court, judges with a leftist ideology in tune with her leanings. She was castigated for ‘packing’ the court. In the US ‘packing’ is constitutional!
I understand that in the recent general elections, much money was spent by candidates that was illegal by Election Commission norms. Experts say that these norms are unrealistic and need serious updating in tune with current times. By not doing so, we are unnecessarily creating ‘corrupt practices.’ There ought to be a law against outdated laws!
A general observation: wherever there are serious demand/supply imbalances, there will be corrupt practices. If this imbalance is combined with poverty, widespread corruption is inevitable. There is nothing ‘Indian’ or ‘third world’ or ‘uncivilized’ about this. It is only human. Laws can only marginally mitigate this situation.
Don’t let Americans or NRI’s tell you otherwise.
The US too went through this phase for over a century after declaring its independence. These days there is not much scarcity in most goods and services of general interest. But there is another reason for corruption — greed. This persists everywhere, including in the USA. This also is part of human nature. America has abundant examples of greed-motivated frauds, corruption, murder and so on. This sometimes inspires even mortal fear among law enforcers. Don’t believe me? Ask American judges and prosecutors .
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Very well thought and rationalized article. I am worried about India being densely populated, there has to be environmental consciousness in masses through elementary means and media in order to avoid pressure by developed countries.
vell said.. however I am still worried about slow running “law-style”, and certain laws. But over all I am very happy by living in India than living in US.
What absolute irrational analysis…
Lobbying is as bad as alcohol, when you misuse it..no one promotes it but yes there are loopholes. does NOT mean lobbying is exactly corruption!
The president NOMINATES supreme court judges, he does NOT appoint them…the senate grills the judge intensively and votes on the appointment..there is a system around it…India has no system in which rules are followed through..
Your 3 year analysis can be summarized as a bashful, rashful comparison, you’ve quickly grasped the things you think are wrong but alas, it cannot be compared tit for tat.
i guess it’s practically the same as in Malaysia or any other contries. We see so called US president or politicians “lobbying” for support ($$$$). We in Malaysia called it money politics…so no i do not think this article or analysis is irrational.
Good article Ravi, guess the problem with many Indians is our low sense of esteem for our Motherland . At any and every opportuinty we try and run the country down this trait is seem more with loosers & patronisers a sort of sour grape mentality.
To instill a sense of pride in our young generation conscription should be made complusory.