Combating Corruption in a Democracy

May 2001

T.S.Khanna on

Combating Corruption in India- A Model Approach For Democratic Governments

Corruption goes with power. “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely”, is still as true today as it was the day Lord Acton said. In a dictatorial government, power is concentrated in the hands of a few people who tend to be highly corrupt. In a democratic government, power is distributed in the hands of many who tend to be corrupt to the level that people would tolerate.

During the last century, many countries gained independence from foreign rule and adopted democratic form of government. At the time of gaining independence, those countries equated foreign rule with corruption. They believed that their patriotic spirit that brought them independence would also act as a safety valve against corruption in their respective governments. Now they are learning that corruption is not a foreign phenomenon but a home grown spread that knows no limits, if unchecked. At the same time, it seems that they do not have the know-how to control or eliminate the home grown corruption.

As I see it, India is no exception. Ever since its independence, corruption at all levels of government has been increasing. Unchecked, corruption has been self-propelling. Each level of corruption anesthetized the public into accepting it as it moved on to the next level. The corrupt culture of governmental operations now tends to create a conceptual ambiguity of integrity. Now, public officials seem to regard integrity as an obstruction or a pitfall to their career. Even the honest feel obliged to follow the line. They have become fuzzy on the old rule of thumb; the public officials must act to satisfy the spirit of the law or the policy in the interest of public at large and not in their self interest, group interest, or for any favor. People in India are feeling helpless in accepting corrupt culture of governmental operations. It is against their will. They do not fight back either due to the lack of education about their rights or due to the lack of sufficient resources.

Frequently, public debate is focused on the unwarranted actions of some individuals without any attention to developing a system to monitor the governmental operations and warn the defaulting individuals. As a result, the type of degeneration that has taken place in governmental operations clearly indicates that the top level of government is not familiar with the state-of-the-art techniques for combating corruption.

Whenever public officials violate public trust, much more is at stake than breaking the law; such violations strike at very heart of government. Public trust is the foundation of legitimacy for a democratic government. Transgressions of the standards of integrity in governmental operations cause injury to public trust, eventually erode public trust, weaken the very government that gives public officials power for public purpose, and poison the public morality. On the other hand, sound integrity in government raises the standard of public morality and the quality of life for the general public.

High level public officials are generally charged with power, responsibility, expediency, and pressure for quick action. In a rush of public affairs they may have erred, inadvertently, in the past, in ignoring to adopt the state-of-the-art anti-corruption techniques. Such an error can become a major mistake if the responsible people do not take the necessary action to correct it. Unless pre-empted now, this mistake could cost India beyond measure.

Indian culture is relatively docile with a lot of tolerance. People have a lot of stamina for struggle to improve their lot. Public officials must help the people into a better society through the process of evolution. They must not let the people drift toward revolution. History shows that revolutions can overthrow the governments but are not able to achieve much good for the people. Now, public officials must do some introspection, set examples of integrity, and take a collective action on a war footing to control corruption.

Primarily, corruption removal is function of a, increased public awareness of the citizens rights, b, decreased public tolerance of wrong doing by public officials, and, c, adoption and enforcement of the needed laws, rules and regulations to combat corruption.

In this context, I would urge the free press of India to educate the citizens of their rights of public services and strengthen investigative journalism.

Further, I would recommend that The President of India appoint three permanent, non-partisan commissions to promote and maintain integrity in public affairs. The recommended commissions are

1. Commission On Political Affairs,

2. Commission On Military Affairs,

3. Commission On Public Services (Government Bureaucracy).

Each Commission may have eleven members, knowledgeable and experienced in their respective fields of government operations. Retired persons of high integrity would probably make good candidates for appointment for a predetermined term.

Each Commission may act under the auspices of the Supreme Court of India, with full investigative and subpoena powers but without prosecution responsibilities, and may report to the President of India at least once a year. The Commissions, in their respective jurisdictions, may investigate and review the present practices of corruption, may have powers to strategize and have executed sting operations to delve into government impropriety, review the adequacy of present laws, rules, regulation, and procedure, review and identify the inadequacies of the existing monitoring systems to enforce the laws in place, and make recommendations to eliminate the weaknesses in combating the corruption.

The Commissions may have sweeping and broad nationwide mandate to facilitate their operations. In view of such mandate, nothing may be more important to the Commissions than meeting the highest standards of fairness and thoroughness in accomplishing their mandate. Confidentiality of the Commissions’ operations may be protected so that the reputation of innocent public officials who may fall under investigation is not smeared.

The staff services and office facilities may be provided by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, Indraprastha, New Delhi.

Most democratic countries have similar problems in corruption. The preceding proposal may serve as a model approach to combating corruption.