Rising
Kashmir: Srinagar: Sunday, 22 March 2015.
Unveiling the
daunting cases of political bribery is always dangerous. But one should not
fear to write about truth. Truth may attract the wrath of those who indulge in
forgery and fraud but those who are against it may stand as recourse.
While
teaching synonyms, I would use Conflict-Corruption-Kashmir as an epitome. The
state has earned the title ‘one of the most corrupt states of India’ and the
untiring continual struggle of politicians in earning my state this title
should never be underestimated. The campaign to make the Valley, the so called
“Reshi waer”, touch the new heights in the field of political corruption is
believed to have been egged way back in 70s when Sheikh Abdullah reassumed the
power.
“Lal Kitab”
(Red Book), a booklet published during 1980s, highlighted some of the severe
acts of corruption committed by the Sheikh dynasty. It was alleged that he
allotted the highly priced government land illegally to his family and
relatives at Gupkar after returning to power in 1975. The former governor of
the state Jagmohan went on to say that political corruption acquired new fangs
and depths in Kashmir after 1977.
Well, if this
is the story, why do we commoners blame the current stalwarts of corruption in
the state? The common saying, “Sins aren’t inherited” will not be applicable to
the legalised corruption as it is not a virtual sin. And if any Tom, Harry and
Dick like the former army General of the country raise allegations and disclose
the stunning facets of political corruption operating within the state, why
should the state administration take the action? To them, he is a child who can
scream foul anytime. Or else, he dislikes the Kashmiri politicians personally
or tries to get a political mileage in the state politics. All of us are mature
enough to filter the truth out of these two assumptions; we can’t squeeze water
to get cheese. They couldn’t take the action as it would’ve stained the
character of their own ministers. This is petty politics at its worst.
One finds
nothing to wonder when he observes the graph of criminalisation and corruption
in politics never descending. This is attributed to the state’s inability to
take action against the tainted. Now, if a minister is caught into a
controversy and found guilty of paying bribe to facilitate the success of his
son who didn’t sit in the examination isn’t sacked, how can you expect the
ever-ascending graph of political corruption to descend? And if he isn’t
deprived of the power, what else will follow? The corrupt politicians become
more committed to spread this malignancy to more parts, more fields, with more
strength and for more time. In order to distract the public and to show them
they are against corruption, they suggest the guilty to resign. A few days
after the resignation, finding the public unmindful, they recall the tainted
minister and give him the new portfolio. Thereafter, the acts of corruption are
done in a more cautious way with meagre chances of getting exposed and this is
the stage where this royal sin stagnates.
There are too
many examples from all political parties. The leaders are leading from the
front. The need of the hour is to quash the corrupt power for ever. We have at
our disposal the Right to Information (RTI), but the problem is that it can
only expose. The action was supposed to be taken by the government, but that’s
comprised of the politicians. We could change this worst case scenario by the
franchise but the problem is that of the alternative.
All said we
can’t generalize. There are of course certain politicians who are real social
servants and who dream of a corruption-free Kashmir. But at the same time, we
can’t exclude the possibilities of a man contracting flu while living in the
company of infected; the saying, ‘One dirty fish spoils the whole pond’. The
need of an hour is that the government makes stringent laws against political
corruption. The heads of political parties be selective while choosing and
providing mandate to the candidates. We will be rich only when our leaders are
rich at heart.
.JPG)
.JPG)
