Culture of Corruption: A Brief Analysis and a Remedy

Culture of Corruption: Honest and Reasonable Indians unanimously agree that India’s greatest challenge is how to get rid of its culture of corruption fostered by the nefarious nexus of politicians and bureaucrats.

India’s problems: Just about every problem in India today –poverty, starvation of children, indentured labor, farmers’ suicides, unemployment, lawlessness, police brutality, poor medical treatment, etc. could be traced to the culture of corruption prevalent in India. Corruption permeates every single aspect of life in India. Today parasitic Indian politicians and bureaucrats have a stranglehold of Indian society. In the eye of the Constitution of India, most politicians and bureaucrats of India are criminals.  The problem is that these criminals are incorrigible.  

Narendra Modi: India’s new Prime Minister Mr. Modi is doing his best to get rid of this culture. He started his term by telling bureaucrats to show up to work on time and clean their offices. He made fun of them in public that when they showed up at work on time, it made news in India! The truth is that he cannot solve this problem all by himself. Rascals of first order surround him. That is why he is going directly to people. He is like a lion surrounded by hungry hyenas.

Deep roots in India’s feudal past: The truth is that the culture of corruption is rooted deep in Indian society’s feudal past, and Modi alone cannot change it during his lifetime. Someone has to hold a cane over the heads of these incorrigible people all the time. The problem is once Modi leaves the political stage, the culture of corruption will raise its ugly head again.

What, then, is the solution? Well, people will have to wake up, give up their fear of authorities and passivity rooted in India’s feudal past, organize, and constantly hold the cane over their heads. Only when people change, could the culture of corruption be eliminated. 

1. System and Culture: Every System –family, business, government office, university, politics, religion, community, society, and nation- has a distinct Culture.

For example, in a Feudal System the Culture of kings was to confiscate property, amass power and wealth, reward supporters and punish opponents. The Culture of bureaucrats was to intimidate people, collect taxes and tributes, punish rebellion and dispense arbitrary justice. When a bureaucrat does one a favor, he extracts a tribute. In this culture, the king and his administrators are Masters and the subjects are Servants. Here both the System and its Culture are in perfect harmony.

In a Democratic System the Culture of elected representatives is to listen to their constituents, pass laws to meet their needs and protect their interests. The Culture of its administrators is to serve people faithfully and protect their rights and privileges without delay. In this culture, people are Masters and politicians and bureaucrats are Servants in their employ. Here also, both the System and its Culture are consonant with each other.

3. Change of System: If a Feudal System changes into a Democratic System, the Culture of Administration should also change from Feudal to Democratic Culture. This did not happen when India became a Democracy in 1947.   

4. Feudal mindset: When in 1947, the Democratic System replaced the Feudal System, elected politicians replaced kings, and bureaucrats (Babus) replaced kings’ officials, but their mindset remained Feudal. Thus the Feudal System changed but the Feudal Culture remained.  

5. People behave according to their culture: Because of their feudal mindset, today politicians behave exactly like the feudal overlords of the past. They abuse their powers to acquire land and wealth; groom their children to succeed them; demand bribes for services, steal money from the government, and indulge in other anachronistic feudal type of behaviors. They loot the country without any compunction. That is why there are dozens of scandals –Coal-Gate, 2G Gate, Fodder Gate…  all of which are clearly criminal according to Democratic System. Current and past Chief Ministers of many states are classic examples of people with feudal mindset. They manage to control common people by offering cheap food, medicines, favors, and other facilities like kings did in olden days. Lallu Prasad Yadav of Bihar and Jayalalita Jayaraman of Tamil Nadu, are perfect examples of a feudal overlord straight from India’s past.

6. Bureaucrats became bottom feeders: Likewise, bureaucrats of Indian government continue the practice of “king’s official extorting a tribute from a subject in return for granting a favor.” Now citizens have to pay them hefty bribes to get even small services in government offices. These incorrigibly corrupt bureaucrats are blessed and protected by politicians at the highest level. The money they collect from hapless people goes all the way to the top exactly like it did in olden times. In other words, there is a nefarious nexus of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats sucking the lifeblood of common people. They have made Indian Democratic System a farce.

7. Democratic force is needed: That is why, when democratic forces, such as Supreme Court and Lokayukta, flex their muscles, politicians such as Jayalalita and corrupt bureaucrats such as Sudhir Kumar Jain, Managing Director of Syndicate Bank, go to prison. If Modi is serious about eradicating the culture of corruption, he should go after both big and small parasitic criminals through due legal process.     

8. People’s mindset has not changed either: The feudal mindset of olden days –fear of authority and passivity- could be seen in vast majority of modern day citizens of India, regardless how educated and enlightened they are. Fear and passivity manifest themselves in one’s attitude, “I am fearful of doing anything; I want someone else to do things for me.” Sycophancy is the supreme manifestation of this mindset.

These behaviors of common people, based on Feudal System, are also dissonant with the reality of the fact that today India is a Democratic System -government of the people, by the people and for the people. The majority is unable to think that in this System, politicians and bureaucrats are their Servants, not Masters. They continue to appease them with bribes and tributes.

The despicable nexus of politicians and bureaucrats knows this anachronistic feudal mindset of people, and they exploit it to the fullest extent. Until now, these parasites had the backing and patronage at the highest level of the government.

9. Modi is trying to change the Culture of Corruption: Now bureaucrats are scared because they no longer have the patronage at the highest level. Nothing motivates Indian bureaucrats to behave well more than when someone holds a cane over their heads. The cane should come down hard on those who commit crime against India.

10. Time to change our mindset: This is the time for people to change their mindset from “fear of authority and passivity” to the mindset of “bold action to get rid of the culture of corruption.” Only then will politicians and bureaucrats get the message that they are servants of people and not their masters.

Obviously in the present state of lawlessness in India, actions by individuals are bound to result in bodily injury or death, more likely than not by the police themselves. The solution for this is to organize a principled movement the main goal of which is to change people’s mindset to “bold action.” Everything else falls in place once that goal is achieved. Let Modi do his job as the prime minister, and let us do our duty as citizens of a Democratic System.