Bangalore in a State of Ferment

By Javid Hassan

Bangalore is in a state of ferment. With the New Year’s revelry behind it, what is agitating the people’s mind is the culture of corruption that has seeped into the society to the extent that it is being accepted as a fact of life. Besides highlighting serious shortcomings in the political system, it holds some valuable lessons for the parties campaigning for a separate Telangana state.

The latest demonstration of this sad turn of events is the string of successes scored by the ruling BJP whose candidates, that were either independents or one-time defectors from other parties, won the elections in eight Assembly constituencies. While the BJP leadership is hailing its electoral success as a triumph of its policies and programmes, the media attributes it to money power, blatant misuse of government machinery, and vote rigging or buying by the candidates.

For the voters in those eight constituencies, the political track record of the candidates did not matter so long as they were appeased in various forms. Even during the state elections held in May last year, their level of support was directly proportional to the amount that the various candidates had spent on the electorate. It was for this reason that some highly qualified NRIs from the US who had filed their nomination papers for elections for the first time ever did not make it.

The reason was that unlike their rivals who had given Rs. 500 or more to each of the voters for shopping in supermarkets, NRIs offered them nothing except the promise to bring change in their lives through education and economic development. They forgot that in India the route to political success lies through the candidate’s wallet and not his educational background, however brilliant it might be.

It is the culture of corruption that launched Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize award-winning novel, “The White Tiger”, with its accent on the rotten political system in the country. Its protagonist in the novel, Balram Halwai, becomes a criminal entrepreneur, because he finds that there is no other alternative for the common man who wants to earn an honest living.

The narrative builds up the climax leading to a situation when the common man at last asserts himself and wants his voice to be heard. His voice finds its echo in the Great Socialist, the party that champions the cause of the poor and the downtrodden. “The election shows that the poor will not be ignored,” says Balram. “The Darkness will not be silent. There is no water in our taps, and what do you people in Delhi give us? You give us mobile phones. Can a man drink a phone when he is thirsty? Women walk for miles every morning to find a bucket of clean—’

It looks as though Adiga’s prophecy is coming true with the launch of the “Change India” movement in Bangalore last month. A citizens’ movement that was spearheaded by the leading lights of the city on December 26, one month after the Mumbai terrorist attack, it seeks to bring about fundamental changes in the society to get rid of corrupt elements by calling for political reforms. It also wants the government to order an inquiry into the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and make public its findings.

According to R.K.Mishra, the leader of the movement, the current social and political turmoil in the country is the result of corrupt and unscrupulous elements who call the shots, shoving educated and qualified people into the background. Money power now speaks through the ballot, while the bullet ensures that skeletons do not tumble out of the cupboard to taint their career.

No wonder, Karnataka’s Lok Ayukta Justice Santosh Hegde has unearthed a massive mining scandal during the tenure of former Karnataka Chief Minister Dharam Singh who connived with the then Directors of Mines, Basappa Reddy and Gangaram Baderiya, in granting illegal licences to miners that caused the state exchequer a loss of Rs. 712 crores between January 2000 and July 22, 2006.

The fact that this scam was not discovered during the former Congress Chief Minister’s six-year tenure and has surfaced only now during the BJP rule could be construed as an act of political vendetta. It also turns the spotlight on the politics of convenience and witch-hunting followed by each successive administration.

According to Rajeev Chandrashekhar, convener of ABIDE (Agenda for Bangalore Infrastructure Development), a government-appointed body to improve the state’s infrastructure, the thrust of the reforms they are going o push would be to inject greater transparency and accountability in governmental functioning. The first step in this direction was to implement the Right to Information (RTI) Act that entitles citizens to access information on any state government’s transaction in public interest.

The series of disclosures and scandals, both political and economic, thanks to RTI have raised a public outcry against all political parties. Their shady dealings and virtual control of a highly professional security apparatus like the National Security Group (NSG) became the subject of a national debate in which people from all walks of life put politicians on the mat for amassing multi-crore fortunes at the tax-payer’s expense, while leaving him defenceless against terrorists. The “Change India” movement is committed to streamlining governmental functioning to make it accountable for all its deeds and misdeeds. Whether it will pan out well or turn out to be a damp squib remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the snowballing citizens’ movement should put Telangana’s politicians on notice that even a worm can turn and that the common man will not take it lying anymore if the region’s resources are squandered to satisfy the whims and fancies of politicians. The raison d’ etre of the Telangana movement is to end the era of its economic exploitation and harness these natural resources for the benefit of the common man.

It will be a great tragedy if the nascent state, expected to be launched this year, turns out to be old wine in new bottle. The people have pinned high hopes in the movement. Any public sentiments of being short-changed or let down by the politicians could similarly ignite the people’s wrath and bring the government to its heels.