Scam fever

As 2010 flew by, we were left reflecting on what has been a year of scams . From the 2G to the CWG, we've been overwhelmed with reports of public money being looted for very private purposes by individuals in power. Here are some inferences that I made from all that I saw, unfolding in front of us.

1. The unveiling of the Radia tapes have shown the power that corporate giants possess in shaping political policy in our country. From influencing gas prices to fixing journalists' salaries, corporates seem to have their hand in every pie.

2. The tapes that contain conversations with eminent journalists are something of a revelation.We can go on endlessly about whether Barkha Dutt and Vir Sanghvi(two very talented journos) crossed an ethical line during their chats with Nira Radia. But the more important debate I feel is the one where we discuss where the line should be drawn. The media, which portrays itself to be the watchdog of the public, has some serious introspection to do.

3. If the Kashmir situation was not bad enough, the army has further tainted it's image after several of the top brass(along with prominent politicians from Maharashtra) were found out siphoning houses in the Adarsh society, a building meant for the widows of the Kargil war. The ease at which all the people who could have exposed the scam were bought off is a view into the mindset of all government officials in our country and how easily they were made to bend over.

4. Though the congress is under fire for running a corrupt government and letting happen so many scams during its reign, I don't think corruption is so much a congress issue or a BJP issue as it is an Indian issue. From the time this nation was formed, people who have been in power and have had the opportunity to loot the taxpayers have almost always done so. Corruption is more a societal problem than a political one. We, as Indians need a serious mentality makeover.

5. Anyone who is ever accused of wrongdoing in our country, simply does not own up to what he did. There is no question of coming clean and admitting "Ok I screwed up and I'm sorry!". The knee-jerk reaction of anyone caught in the act is to damage the credibility of whoever is accusing him. You can steal crores and crores of money and make it look like the guy who found you out is and incredulous and untrustworthy scoundrel.

6. Corruption, unfortunately does not end with just money going into the wrong hands. The major implications of being a corrupt state are a serious drop in national security(case in point: Substandard bullet proof vests worn by Mr.Karkare and his team), a loss in reputation that will take decades to earn back and a drop in foreign investments, something which a large section of our middle class depends on. We are exposing ourselves greatly to our enemies and they will not hesitate to strike us down when they sense that we are weak.