On the first day of 2009 what haunts me most is the corrupt atmosphere in which we live in. I read about the murder of a government servant in Uttar Pradesh whose only fault was his failure to contribute to the Chief Minister's Birthday fund. The suspected killer was none other than a lagislature of the ruling party headed by Mayawati, the lady who symbolizes the rise of the oppressed class in India.
What we miss in newspapers is the way government officers and political leaders help each other in raising funds for puposes not related with administration. And when the relations between them go wrong crime stories make headlines. What has gone wrong in the half a century long democratic journey of the Indian society?
More than a decade ago, another icon of the Indian lower class, Laloo Prasad Jadav, now a senior minister in the central government, was charged with financial wrong doings. The courts never found enough evidence to convict him. Prakash Jha, a filmmaker-cum-social activist-cum-industrialist of Bihar, would credit Jadav for uplifting the morale and self-esteem of the oppressed class in Bihar. However, I feel that the prospect of social change in the traditionally backward region of India didn't really proceed in the right direction. Somewhere down the line, the process of change was hijacked by forces of vested-interest and greed of the leaders.
It is for social scientists to analyse and tell us if the democracy in India failed to strengthen the democratic institutions that were prohibited by the electoral system to perform its duty in order to carry forward the desired objectives of the Indian constitution?
We must look at the nature of judicial forces at work in America that boasts of a fully developed system to curb incidents of corruption, ethical and moral wrongdoings by public personalities. The Governor of Illinois, Blagojevich is under investigation by FBI for allegedly trying to auction the Senate seat vacated by the resignation of President-elect Barack Obama. Blagojevich is now an untouchable in the Democratic party, even if he has moved forward to appoint Roland Burris to the Senate seat. I think United States has a system in place where investigative agencies enjoy a free hand when it comes to probe public figures.
It is important to note the case of sexual harassment filed by a former secretary working in the New York city government against the Department for the aging Commissioner, who recently resigned. It reflects that justice is not easy to achieve. The former secretary, Auritela Santos, according to a news report published in the New York Times, who worked for the commissioner Mendez-Santiago, said in her lawsuit that he harassed her with sexual remarks and that he had sex with subordinates in his office while she was sitting at her desk nearby.
This story had gone unnoticed except that the lawsuit has been settled by NY City for a sum of $2,50,000 but the wrongdoings were denied by the officer. The news report itself was tucked in the inside pages of the paper.
It is fair to say that in spite of the powerful enforcing agencies and options available to victims of abuse or discrimination, not all such instances see the daylight in America. It is fair to say that most cases of daily discrimination in the Indian society fail to attract public attention or grab headlines in the vibrant news media of India.
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