This rot needs to go……

As we all know, corruption is the bane of any society or country and enough and more has been written about it. I am only adding a little more after reading the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer report, published by Transparency International.

As expected, worldwide and in India, the most corrupt in a country seems to be the political party, while it is a relief to know that the least is the media followed by the judiciary (in India Judiciary is the least corrupt).

The 2009 Global Corruption Barometer asked more than 73,000 individuals around the world the extent to which they perceive six key sectors and institutions to be corrupt. Political parties were perceived to be corrupt by 68 per cent of respondents, followed closely by the civil service (public officials/ civil servants) and parliament: 63 and 60 per cent respectively.

When asked which of the six sectors/institutions they considered to be the single most corrupt, the general public most frequently identified political parties and the civil service, with 29 and 26 per cent respectively. At the lower end were the media and the judiciary with 6 and 9 per cent of respondents respectively seeing them as the single most corrupt institution.

The following are the figures for India.


Now if we thought that the educated are less corrupt then the following poll at Transparency International – India indicates the opposite.

Are literate person more dishonest than illiterate ones?


I guess as one gains knowledge/education, one also learns how to lead a corrupt life! It also means that as educated citizens of a country, we continue to aid corruption.

Transparency International India has managed to seal Integrity Pacts with a few organization starting from year 2006, although more needs to follow. 39 PSU’s in India has so far signed the pact. The list can be viewed here.

The Global Corruption Barometer report also points out the following:

Finally, reporting on bribery takes place at worryingly low levels – with only about a quarter of citizens taking any action against corruption.

And in India, we have painfully noted that reporting can be fatal and the latest being Social activist Satish Shetty from Pune, while earlier the country lost Satyendra Dubey and Shanmugam Manjumnath for the very same reasons.

Satyendra Kumar Dubey (1973 - 27 November 2003) was a project director at the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He was murdered in Gaya, Bihar after fighting corruption in the Golden Quadrilateral highway construction project.

The following was written by Dubey..

"A dream project of unparalleled importance to the Nation but in reality a great loot of public money because of very poor implementation at every state." wrote Dubey.

Finally, he ends: "I have written all these in my individual capacity. However, I will keep on addressing these issues in my official capacity in the limited domain within the powers delegated to me," the letter said.. and sadly he was silenced before he could continue.

Shanmugam Manjunath ( Kannada: ಷಣ್ಮುಗಂ ಮಂಜುನಾಥ) (1978 Kolar-2005) was a marketing manager for the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) who was murdered for sealing a corrupt petrol station in UP.

Source : wikipedia

Though a few have been arrested for the murder of Satish, the real hands behind these murders run scot free due to the very same reason for which they died. Due to immense pressure, Manjunath’s murderers were brought to justice more quickly than that of Dubey and Indian Oil Corporation paid Rs. 26 lakhs compensation to the family. The matter of adulteration in diesel was taken up by the Energy Coordination Committee chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

And now laws are being formed to protect whistleblowers.

Senior advocate D Madon, appointed as amicus curie to assist the court, said that countries such as Mexico and Columbia have special systems for providing protection to activists, and authorities are studying them.

But then it is sad to note that, Satish did report to the police that there was threat to his life but no protection was provided.

We also saw the Zero Rupee Note by the 5th Pillar Organization used against corruption. This is gaining ground and I hope these and more initiatives will fight this disease.



The following is one outcome of the Zero Rupee Note:

Benefited out of the Old age Pension Scheme

Kathavarayan, a 72 year old person residing in Then Alambakkam village in Villupuram District, had applied for Indhira Gandhi Old Age Pension that is granted for poor people below poverty line. Mr. Kathavarayan waited for many months after applying for this pension to the Dindivanam Tahsildar office, and when he was replied by a clerk at the Tahsildar office that the scheme is closed, he sent a pleading letter to the Chief Minister's office on 25th June 2008, begging for special consideration and grant him the pension as he has no means to survive. He sent another letter to the CM's office on 9th March 2009 as he did not yet receive the pension. Mr.Kathavarayan, received one of our Zero Rupee Note during our campaign in Villupuram and so he contacted our office and we filed an RTI petition on his behalf, attaching all his previous communications to the CM's office and his application. We did not receive a reply for the RTI petition, but the old man received his pension.

Corruption: "dishonest exploitation of power for personal gain"

and it is true.... when we exploit power for personal gain, the disease called corruption spreads and the whole system rots.

A reminder to oneself....

The following must have been an email forward sent to me by a well wisher a few years back... I am not sure why I saved it... but the words continue to inspire me..

The good you find in others is in you too.

The faults you find in others are your faults as well.

After all, to recognize something you must know it.

The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well.

The beauty you see around you, is your beauty.

The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.

To change your world, you must change yourself.

To blame and complain will only make matters worse.

Whatever you care about, is your responsibility.

What you see in others, shows you yourself.

See the best in others, and you will be your best.

Give to others, and you give to yourself.

Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful.

Admire creativity, and you will be creative.

Love, and you will be loved.

Seek to understand, and you will be understood.

Listen, and your voice will be heard.

Show your best face to the mirror, and you'll be happy with the face looking back at you.

For the carrot...

Thus blogs the great enlightener of the masses..

Sometime in the past year, secret talks between India and Pakistan over Kashmir--which made great progress in 2008 before Pakistan's strongman, Pervez Musharraf, was ousted--were restarted, say U.S. and Indian sources. If successful, the negotiations would represent a huge breakthrough for the subcontinent.

Wow!

Nd why in the world should India be obsessed with Pakistan?

Oh yes… they have an answer to that too.. The much coveted seat in the great UN besides the great US.

And hence, US is dangling this carrot and sweet talking to India so as to end its stand with Pakistan since the great citizens in the US thinks and is made to think that all the problems in Pakistan ( Afganisthan , Bin Laden, Islamic terrorism) is only because of Kashmir (India). Literally speaking, every Pakistani wakes up in the morning and was waking up since Pakistan’s independence and thinks and was thinking only about Kashmir and the myriad ways to save the multitude of suffering souls in Kashmir. And now it seems US is also thinking along these lines!

And it is only we stupid Indians who is yet to realize this great truth… but let us not be discouraged since our government has realized it too..

Did anyone say that Bombay.. sorry Mumbai was attacked?

Are the tables turning?

This is an old map showing the state of Sanctions a decade ago.



And some of these countries still face sanctions mostly imposed by US and UN.

But now China is threatening to impose sanctions on US companies if they go ahead with their arms sales in Taiwan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ma Zhaoxu, on Tuesday repeated Beijing's threat to impose sanctions against U.S. companies which sell arms to Taiwan.

"The concerned U.S. companies have ignored China's opposition and insisted on selling weapons to Taiwan. China will impose corresponding sanctions on companies that sell weapons to Taiwan," Ma said told a news conference.

They have also asked Obama not to meet Dalai Lama.

"If the U.S. leader chooses this time to meet the Dalai Lama, that would damage trust and cooperation between our two countries, and how would that help the United States surmount the current economic crisis?" said Zhu.

Isnt there something for India to learn from this?

While India cries and rants that Pakistan is being over equipped and over indulged with monetary handouts that continue to strengthen the militants, did we ever think the way China is thinking? (Not that I am fan of the Chinese Government)

Instead our government gives Padma Bhushan to frauds just because someone claimed that he helped to bring about the nuclear deal. Oh yes, the same deal that will strengthen a whole lot of business houses in India as well as US.

When there is money flowing in and out for a few, our foreign policies and our national awards (not all since I am sure some of them deserve these awards) will also be in tune... those in power will continue to scratch the back of those who are sustaining them. But I am yet again vexed to know that it was our honest PM who selected this person for the award. Has honesty decided to change its meaning in our dictionaries?

Source:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35191073/ns/world_news-asiapacific/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/02/AR2007090201436.html
http://www.seattlepi.com/iraq/art/sanctionmap.gif
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jan/26/sant-chatwal-grateful-to-india-for-padma-honour.htm

Still clueless..

Senior police officials, requesting anonymity, opined that bullet-proof jacket is the first line of evidence which should have been taken into the custody by the investigators. However, Mumbai police found this blooper only after slain IPS officer's wife, Kavita Karkare, filed an RTI plea in which the police admitted that the jacket was not traceable.

Are our police clueless or made to be clueless?

Are the Mumbai police so naïve?

And have any of them been taken to task?

Not likely, since as usual they have selected the right candidate to pave the escape route.

“On the night of November 27, after Karkare's body was brought to JJ hospital for autopsy, I had mistakenly put the jacket along with bio-medical and non-medical waste in polythene bags which was sent to the Deonar dump grounds for disposal”, the sweeper had said in the statement on December 22, 2008.

Please step down….

Prof. Sukhadeo Thorat, please step down from your post and let us hear you....

• Padamshree award from the Government of India in 2008.
• Vidyalankara (Lifetime Achievement Award) by Purbanchal Academy of Oriental Studies in association with Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India in 2008
• P.K. Patil Purushottam Award in 2007.
• Awarded Bharat Shiromani Award 2006 by Shiromani Institute.
• Ambedkar Chetna Award in 2001.

Else let us assume that the above medals are also fake just like the list of fake Universities proudly posted on the website of UGC of which you hold the post of Chairman.

Below is the “Mandate” as given in the University Grants Commission website…

Mandate
________________________________________
The UGC has the unique distinction of being the only grant-giving agency in the country which has been vested with two responsibilities: that of providing funds and that of coordination, determination and maintenance of standards in institutions of higher education.

...and our ministers are as usual very vocal and full of enthusiasm..

The PMK founder-leader S Ramadoss on Tuesday has demanded a comprehensive probe to ascertain how educational institutions — that have stripped off their deemed university status — got it, despite failing to meet the stipulated minimum standards.

He also said that the State should initiate legal proceedings to stop exploitation of students by such institutions. In a statement here, Ramadoss welcomed the Centre’s decision to crack the whip on educational institutions that are being run as “family fiefdoms.”

And all are up in arms against the Universities… yes they should be taken into task although the students who are studying there or who studied there are never going to be compensated. Their certificates will no longer be valid and many of them may lose precious time.

But along with the Universities and their declared owners it is the authorities who let them secure this recognition who should also be taken into task.

A deemed university gets its recognition under University Grants Commission (UGC) Act of 1956 but the guidelines for becoming one remain vague.

And why have they remained vague?

Is it no wonder then that our children are forced to go outside the country to secure an education by spending much money and even enduring the wrath of the host country.