Corruption and Indian Politics PDF

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Corruption and Indian Politics – The way

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Corruption in politics
Nowadays corruption is very common in politics. And Corruption is not new to India. There
are lots of scams since independence that have shamed India at the international level.
Political corruption is the use of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain.
An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly
related to their official duties, is done under color of law or involves influence. Forms of
corruption vary, but include bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and
embezzlement. Corruption may facilitate criminal enterprise such as drug trafficking, money
laundering, and human trafficking, though is not restricted to these activities.
Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and
general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by
private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government. The activities that
constitute illegal corruption differ depending on the country or jurisdiction. For instance,
some political funding practices that are legal in one place may be illegal in another. In some
cases, government officials have broad or ill-defined powers, which make it difficult to
distinguish between legal and illegal actions. Worldwide, bribery alone is estimated to involve
over 1 trillion US dollars annually. A state of unrestrained political corruption is known as a
Kleptocracy, literally meaning "rule by thieves‖. Some forms of corruption are distinguished
from bribery and other kinds of obvious personal gain. Campaign contributions are the prime
example. Even when they are legal, and do not constitute a quid pro quo, they have a
tendency to bias the process in favor of special interests and undermine public confidence in
the political institution. They corrupt the institution without individual members corrupted
themselves. A similar problem of corruption arises in any institution that depends on financial
support from people who have interests that may conflict with the primary purpose of the
institution. (Wikipedia, Political corruption)
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A political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in
which politicians are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices. A
political scandal can involve the breaking of the nation's laws or moral codes. (Wikipedia,
Political scandal)
Figure 1- corruption in Indian institutes
Corporate funding and buying of influence
Opportunities for purchasing influence in government are not confined to the electoral
process. Lobbyists who stand between the public and private sectors are in an ideal position to
broker corrupt transactions. It is perfectly legitimate for companies to expect access to
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politicians - as it is for NGOs or any other interest group. Where corruption comes into play is
when an interest group or corporation gains privileged access or undue influence of policy
makers, for example through offers of money or gifts. While federal agencies regulate
lobbying in many countries, regulations remain weak - even in Canada, where the recently
reformed lobbying law is often cited as model legislation. Lobbyists have to register if they
are paid specifically for the purpose of lobbying. In practice, paid corporate employees may
gather the information needed to lobby without acting as lobbyists, whilst corporate directors
and retired executives.
Until recently, the process was fairly straightforward; it was not only legal for companies
paying bribes to foreign public officials in order to secure contracts, but they received tax
breaks from their home governments for doing so. Since the entry into force of the OECD
anti-bribery convention, the situation has changed on paper at least. It is now illegal for
OECD-based companies to bribe foreign public officials (though, crucially, the prohibition
has not been extended to party officials). The process involved in securing a prosecution is so
cumbersome and costly, however, that few companies have been accused under the
Convention, and companies continue to pay bribes to foreign politicians and governments in
pursuit of deals, often covering them up by a smokescreen of intermediaries or layers of secret
bank accounts in tax havens. Corruption cuts across industries, but characteristics particular to
certain sectors may render them more vulnerable to the temptations of corruption. Sanctioned
secrecy and the lack of price transparency help perpetuate corruption in the arms trade. The
result is that corruption in the sector exists on a scale entirely disproportionate to its share of
world trade. The energy sector is another breeding ground of political corruption. Time and
again the pattern emerges of poor countries that discover immense oil or gas reserves and see
the resulting proceeds seep into the pockets of government officials and deal-brokers rather
than fund improved living standards for the majority. (TransparancyInternational, Corporate
funding and buying of influence)
In India also most of the political parties are controlled by corporations such as reliance and
other groups and the policies, both domestic and foreign, of the political parties are influenced
by this corporate. The pump money for election campaigns and all and help the parties to gain
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power and the taking advantage of them. Most of the corruption scandals that happened in
India can be cited as the example of political parties – corporate relationship.
Corruption scandals that shamed India
1948 jeep scandal: It was the first major corruption case in independent India. VK Krishna
Menon, the then Indian high commissioner to Britain, ignored protocols, and signed a Rs 80
lakh contract for the purchase of army jeeps with a foreign firm. While most of the money
was paid up front, just 155 jeeps landed, the then Prime Minister Nehru forced the
government to accept them. Govind Ballabh Pant the then Home Minister and the then
Government of Indian National Congress announced on September 30, 1955 that the Jeep
scandal case was closed for judicial inquiry ignoring suggestion by the Inquiry Committee led
by Ananthsayanam Ayyangar.
1981 Antulay Trust: AR Antulay, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, allegedly garnered
Rs 30 crore from businesses dependent on State resources.
1987 HDW commissions: The German submarine maker was blacklisted after allegations that
commissions worth Rs 420 crore had been paid in the 1987 deal in India.
1989 St. Kitts forgery: Documents were forged to allege that former Prime Minister VP Singh
was a beneficiary of his son Ajeya Singh's account in the First Trust Corp at St Kitts, with a
deposit of $21 million.
1980-90s Bofors scandal: It was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s and 1990s,
initiated by Congress politicians and implicating the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi and several
others who were accused of receiving kickbacks from Bofors AB for winning a bid to supply
India's 155 mm field howitzer. The scale of the corruption was far worse than any that India
had seen before and directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Indian National Congress
party in the November 1989 general elections. The Swedish company paid INR640 million
(US$12 million) in kickbacks to top Indian politicians and key defense officials. The case
came into light during Vishwanath Pratap Singh's tenure as defense minister.
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1990 Airbus scandal: Indian Airline's signing of the Rs.2, 000-crore deal with Airbus instead
of Boeing caused a furore following the crash of an A-320 airliner.
What is politics?
Politics is an essential human activity – essential in building societies and communities based
on rules, laws and a balance of conflicting interests. Politics is complex and difficult. It
requires a high level of responsibility and commitment from citizens, political parties,
parliamentarians, government executives, the judiciary, the media, business, nongovernmental
organizations, and religious and educational institutions. Politics is the practice and theory of
influencing other people on a civic or individual level. More narrowly, it refers to achieving
and exercising positions of governance — organized control over a human community,
particularly a state. (Girardin, 2012)
Politics is the practice and theory of influencing other people on a civic or individual level.
More narrowly, it refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance — organized
control over a human community, particularly a state. A variety of methods are employed in
politics, which include promoting one's own political views among people, negotiation with
other political subjects, making laws, and exercising force, including warfare against
adversaries. Politics are exercised on a wide range of social levels, from clans and tribes of
traditional societies, through modern local governments, companies and institutions up to
sovereign states, to the international level. A political system is a framework which defines
acceptable political methods within a given society. Modern political discourse focuses on
democracy and the relationship between people and politics. It is thought of as the way we
choose government officials and make decisions about public policy. (Jenks, 1900)
Politics, in its broadest sense, is the activity through which people make, preserve and amend
the general rules under which they live. Although politics is also an academic subject it is then
clearly the study of this activity. Politics are thus inextricably linked to the phenomena of
conflict and cooperation. On the one hand, the existence of rival opinions, different wants,
competing needs and opposing interests guarantees disagreement about the rules under which
people live. On the other hand, people recognize that, in order to influence these rules or
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ensure that they are upheld, they must work with others – hence Hannah Arendt‘s definition
of political power as ‗acting in concert‘. This is why the heart of politics is often portrayed as
a process of conflict resolution, in which rival views or competing interests are reconciled
with one another. However, politics in this broad sense are better thought of as a search for
conflict resolution than as its achievement, as not all conflicts are, or can be, resolved.
Nevertheless, the inescapable presence of diversity and ensures that politics is an inevitable
feature of the human condition. (Heywood, 2006)
Politics is how people make, preserve and amend the general rules under which they live. It is
social; it is about working with others. This may involve diversity and conflict, but also a
willingness to co-operate and act collectively. Politics can be seen as a search for conflict
resolution and not simply its achievement, as not all conflicts are, or can be, resolved. The
people we elect make decisions that affect almost every aspect of our daily lives. (Politics in
daily life)
These include decisions about what happens in our schools and workplaces and what
recreational facilities we have, to national issues, like health and education, and global issues
like defense and the environment. It matters to each and every one of us who represents us at
local, national and international level; they reflect our values and principles. Political literacy
is all about understanding how politics shape our everyday lives. It is also about having the
motivation, skills and knowledge to be effectively involved in the decision-making process.
(Theories of politics.)
Politics in India
Politics in India take place within the framework of a constitution. India is a federal
parliamentary democratic republic in which the President of India is the head of state and the
Prime Minister of India is the head of government. India follows the dual polity that is a
double government consists of the union at the Centre and the states at the periphery. The
constitution defines the organization, powers and limitations of both central and state
governments, it is written, rigid and supreme that is the laws of the nation must conform to it.
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There is provision for a bicameral legislature consisting of an Upper House, i.e. Rajya Sabha,
which represent the states of the Indian federation and a lower house, i.e. Lok Sabha that
represents the people of India as a whole. Indian constitution provides for an independent
Judiciary headed by the Supreme Court to adhere and protect the constitution and to settle
disputes between the Centre and the states, or between the states, it can also nullify any
central or state laws if they are against the constitution. The governments, union or state, are
formed through elections held every five years by having the majority of members in their
respective lower houses (Lok Sabha in the center and Vidhan Sabha in the states).
(M.Laxmikanth, 2011)
Political Parties in India
The Indian political parties are categorized into two main types National level parties and
state level parties. The national parties are political parties which, participate in different
elections all over India. For example, Indian National Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party,
Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India
(Marxist) and some other parties. State parties or regional parties are political parties which,
participate in different elections, but only within one state. For example Shiv Sena participates
only in Maharashtra, the Telegu Desam in Andra Pradesh, Akali Dal in Punjab, and Dravida
Munnetra Kazagham in Tamil Nadu and there are other such state parties. Some states have
more than one state party. For example, in Tamil Nadu, another important state party is All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham. Because of these long party names many party
names are abbreviated to their initials. Some the political parties have their origin from before
India's independence, for example, Indian National Congress, Akali Dal, National Conference
and some other parties. Some of these parties were either social or political organization
before India's independence and they became political parties after India's independence. But
many of the present parties were established after India's independence. Members, who split
from larger parties, established some of these parties. For example, in the 1960s, Lok Dal was
established by people who split from the Indian National Congress. Communist Party of India
(Marxist) was established after the split in the Communist Party of India and there are other
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such examples. As compared to other democratic countries, India has a large number of
political parties, it has been estimated that over 200 parties were formed after India became
independent in 1947. (Daniel, 2004)
Dominance of leaders in political parties in India
One feature of the political parties in India is that the parties are generally woven around their
leaders. The leaders actively playing a dominant role, the role of leadership can be transferred
and tends to take dynastic route. Such parties include both national and regional parties,
parties such as Indian National Congress has been led by Nehru-Gandhi dynasty since
independence, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru who dominated the Indian National Congress
and led it to victory in three consecutive elections. Then after a brief period his daughter
Indira Gandhi became prime minister. After the split in Indian National Congress in 1969 she
formed her own party Indian National Congress and remained the leader of the party until her
death in 1984. Then her son Rajiv Gandhi took the reins and after his death, his widow Sonia
Gandhi, the current leader of Indian National Congress took command. As a result of such
dominance, the leaders of political parties of the country tend to take an autocratic tone.
(CNN-IBN, 2014)
Ideology of political parties in India
One other major feature of the political parties is that, except the communist parties, most of
the political parties of India lack an ideological basis. Instead, political parties in India are
formed on the basis of race, religion, language, caste etc. thus the high number of political
parties. And therefore the real issues and problems of the people are often neglected. We find
that relation of any party with any other is not fixed on ideological position. Parties are always
ready to make compromises due to electoral compulsions and political requirements. The
coalitional arrangements change as per the requirements of the situation. (CNN-IBN, 2014)
The loss of values of ideology could be due to changing perceptions of the people, leaders and
the followers at the ground level. Ordinary people hardly bother about ideological quarrels.
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For both, people and followers, pragmatic politics have become the norm. Parties are
increasingly looked upon as a means to serve personal interests. Now we see fewer and fewer
leaders having fixed loyalties. Some political leaders change parties as per their convenience.
The parties to now follow an ―open door policy‖ in accepting leaders from other parties.
(Singh, 2012)
Corruption in India
Corruption in India is a major issue that adversely affects its economy. A study conducted by
Transparency International in the year 2005 found that more than 62% of Indians had
firsthand experience of paying bribes or influence peddling to get jobs done in public offices
successfully. In its study conducted in the year 2008, Transparency International reports about
40% of Indians had firsthand experience of paying bribes or using a contact to get a job done
in public office. In 2012 India has ranked 94th out of 176 countries in Transparency
International's Corruption Perceptions Index, tied with Benin, Colombia, Djibouti, Greece,
Moldova, Mongolia, and Senegal.
Most of the largest sources of corruption in India are entitlement programs and social
spending schemes enacted by the Indian government. Examples include Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and National Rural Health Mission. Other daily
sources of corruption include India's trucking industry, which is forced to pay billions in
bribes annually to numerous regulations and police stops on its interstate highways. Indian
media have widely published allegations of corrupt Indian citizens stashing trillions of dollars
in Swiss banks. Swiss authorities, however, deny these allegations. The causes of corruption
in India include excessive regulations, complicated taxes and licensing systems, numerous
government departments, each with opaque bureaucracy and discretionary powers, monopoly
by government controlled institutions on certain goods and services delivery, and the lack of
transparent laws and processes. There are significant variations in the level of corruption as
well as in state government efforts to reduce corruption across India. (Transparency
International, 2008)
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Figure 2- Corruption index of different countries in the world
1992 Securities scam: Harshad Mehta manipulated banks and the stock market, pushing
shares like ACC from Rs.500 to Rs 10,000. The stacked-up claims of the brokers were a
staggering Rs 10,000 crore.
1996 Urea scam: The scam came into light after a shortage of fertilizer in 1996 was reported,
a clutch of businessmen in connivance with top officials of the National Fertilizer Limited,
fleeced the Government of Rs.133 crore for the import of urea, which was never delivered.
1996 Telecom fraud: Former Minister of State for Communication Sukh Ram was accused of
causing a loss of Rs.1.6 crore by favoring a Hyderabad-based firm in the purchase of telecom
equipment.
1996 Fodder scam: This scam broke out in 1996 in the town of Chaibasa, Bihar when the
animal husbandry department embezzled funds of around Rs 950 crore meant to purchase
cattle fodder, medicines and animal husbandry equipment in Bihar. Chief Minister Lalu
Prasad Yadav was forced to resign along with former Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra.
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2002-2003 Taj Heritage Corridor case: It is an alleged scam wherein 2002-2003, the then
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mayawati and a Minister in her Government, Nasimuddin
Siddiqui, were charged with corruption. The Taj Corridor project was intended to upgrade
tourist facilities near the Taj Mahal and was to be implemented during her tenure as Chief
Minister.
2009 Satyam Computer Services scandal: It was a corporate scandal that occurred in 2009
where Chairman Ramalinga Raju confessed that the company's accounts had been falsified.
The Global corporate community was shocked and scandalized when the Chairman of
Satyam, Raju resigned on January 7, 2009 and confessed that he had manipulated the
accounts by $1.47 Billion.
2002-2010 UP Food grain scam: Uttar Pradesh food grain scam also dubbed as the Mother of
all scams took place between the years 2002 and 2010. The grain worth Rs 35000 crore,
meant to be distributed via PDS to the poor under several schemes like Antyodaya Anna
Yojana, Jawahar Rozgar Yojana and Mid Day Meal Scheme for Below Poverty Line card
holders, was diverted to the open market. Some of it was traced to the Nepal and Bangladesh
borders, as in 2010 security forces seized Rs 1.17 crore worth of food grains like paddy and
pulses being smuggled to Nepal, another Rs 60.62 lakh worth of grains was confiscated on the
Indo-Bangladesh border. The scam first was exposed in 2003, in Gonda district during the
distribution of foodgrain meant for the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana. After initially
ordering an inquiry into the scam Mulayam Singh withdrew it. The Special Investigation
Team) set up by the Mulayam Singh Government in 2006, lodged over 5,000 FIRs. The latest
of the scam series in India, initially referred as the 'UP rice scam' could be the biggest of them
all, even outdistancing the 2G Spectrum scam. The scam involves goofing up of rice worth Rs
20, 0000 crore. It was a scam that stretched to almost 7 years and 300 FIRs.
2001 Stock market scam: Stock market king, Ketan Parekh used UTI, Calcutta Stock
Exchange and his own index K-10 to swindle investors. When the scam was unearthed, it was
reported that he had wiped off over Rs.1 lakh crore of investor's market capital.
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2008 cash-for-votes scandal: It is a scandal, in which the UPA, the majority-holding

Parliamentary-party alliance led by Sonia Gandhi, allegedly bribed MPs in order to survive a
confidence vote on July 22, 2008. The vote in the Lok Sabha arose after the Communist Party
of India (Marxist) -led Left Front withdrew support from the Government, who wanted to
pursue an Indo-US nuclear deal.
2010 CWG scam: The Commonwealth Games is perhaps one of India's most well known
scam. Suresh Kalmadi who was the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the
Commonwealth Games was the main accused. It consisted of a number of corrupt deals
involving overstated contracts. Kalmadi also handed out a Rs 141 crore contract to Swiss
Timing for its timing equipment; the deal was inflated by Rs 95 crores. Less than 10 days
before the games, athletes were told to move into apartments that were shabby and
dilapidated. Kalmadi is currently out on bail.
2010 2G spectrum scam: The illegal undercharging by Government officials to various

telecom companies during the allocation of 2G licenses for cell phone subscriptions gave rise
to the 2G spectrum scam. According to the CAG, the scam amounts to about Rs 176,000
crore, whereas the CBI estimates it at Rs 30,984 crore. Politicians named as accused in the
chargesheet filed by the CBI include A Raja and MK Kanimozhi. The trial is being conducted
in Special CBI Court. It also involves Nira Radia, a political lobbyist.
2011 Antrix Devas deal: In 2011, G Madhavan Nair former ISRO chairman and three other
scientists were involved in a controversial deal between the Indian Space Research
Organization‘s commercial arm Antrix Corporation and Devas Multimedia. The deal involved
ISRO is leasing the S-band transponders on two satellites to Devas for broadcasting purposes.
A CAG report found that the department of space hid facts from the Cabinet.
2012 Uttar Pradesh NRHM scam: Under Mayawati's regime, this scam caused a loss of Rs
10,000 crore to the State. Politicians and senior bureaucrats are alleged to have siphoned off a
massive booty from the National Rural Health Mission, a Central Government program meant
to improve health care services in rural areas. At least five people have been murdered in an
attempt to cover up large-scale irregularities. Several former ministers of belonging to
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Bahujan Samaj Party are being investigated by the CBI. The NRHM scam came into the light
after two Chief Medical Officers were murdered in a broad daylight in Lucknow. Dr Vinod
Arya was killed in Oct 2010 and another CMO, Dr BP Singh was killed in April 2011. They
both were shot dead by motorcycle-riding killers, using the same weapon. Deputy-CMO YS
Sachan, who is thought to have had a role in the murders, was arrested, but died mysteriously
in jail. Subsequently, three other functionaries who were under investigation have also been
murdered or died under suspicious circumstances. In Feb 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh himself accused the Mayawati Government of misusing NRHM funds.
2012 Tatra scam: Bharat Earth Movers Ltd in collaboration with Tatra Vectra Motors had
produced over 7000 trucks to the Army. When General VK Singh took over as the Army
Chief, he refused to authorize the purchase of trucks after he was offered a bribe. The scam
was estimated at Rs 750 crore.
2012 Coal mining controversy: Also called Coalgate is one of the well known scams, the
scam where the UPA Government reported a loss of Rs 185,591 crore. The CAG has accused
the Centre of giving undue benefits to companies by distributing 155 coal acres in an arbitrary
manner instead of auctioning to the highest bidder during 2004-2009.
2013 Railway promotion scam: Infamously known as Railgate, it involves former Railway
Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and his nephew, Vijay Singla for allegedly accepting a bribe of
Rs 90 lakh from a Railway Board member. The central investigative agency, CBI on June 4,
questioned the former Railway Minister over his involvement. Kumar, however, has denied
his involvement saying Singla acted on his own.
2013 Saradha Group chit fund scam: Earthed recently, the Saradha Group chit fund scam
caused a loss of Rs 20,000 crore to the exchequer. The scam has also led to many suicides
across the State.
2013 Vodafone tax scandal: The scandal involves Rs 11, 000 crore tax dispute. The dispute
also names Union Minister Kapil Sibal because of the Law Ministry's U-turn to agree to
conciliation in Vodafone tax case.
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2013 Agusta Westland chopper deal scam: This is one of the most recent of the cases in India,
which has shamed the country. The deal amounts to Rs 74.5 crore. According to various
reports, the investigation into the Italian firm Finmeccanica, which started more than a year
ago, is one of a series of corruption scandals in defense deal-making in India. (NITI, 2013)
India’s Black Money Problem
While corruption scandals have made the headlines in India recently, the underlying issues
have been deeply entrenched in the bureaucratic and political system for decades. Politicians
and bureaucrats in India certainly have amassed a great deal of private wealth, much of which
is black — deposited, untaxed, in overseas accounts. This results in a significant loss of
revenue for India, with some estimates reporting about $419 billion in taxable income and
profits being laundered out of the country over the past decade. This loss of revenue stems
largely from a treaty India has with Mauritius. ―Indians can deposit funds in Mauritius bank
accounts tax free, allowing politicians to ‗round trip‘ their money — it comes back in India as
the white money through fake projects or to fund their election campaigns,‖. As a result, this
tiny island has become India‘s largest financier, which Pratap believes should signal a major
red flag that corruption is taking place. In fact, last year, facing mounting international
pressure, the Indian government adopted a tax code that will close this loophole for untaxed
overseas deposits. While this reform is encouraging, the new tax code was supposed to be
implemented in 2013, but it has already been pushed back to 2014, which means India will
continue to lose sizable amounts of revenue for at least another year. (Hanna, Fighting
corruption in India, 2014)
Vote buying – How corruption affects election
One of the most blatant manifestations of political corruption is when politicians bribe voters
directly. The practice - proscribed by most national legislations - is fuelled by money that is
not properly accounted for at best, from criminal sources at worst. It is difficult to assess how
widespread the practice of vote buying is. The term encompasses many kinds of inducements,
such as the distribution of food, clothing or public services, in addition to direct monetary
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exchanges. Surveys give a first approximation of how frequently votes are ‗bought‘ in some
countries. Vote buying tends to be carried out where the parties are weak, with elections
centered on candidates rather than parties, and where the traditions of patronage are
engrained. A number of studies suggest that it is poor people who are most often targeted with
offers to buy their votes. This connection between the crimes of vote buying and of misuse of
public funds is an area ripe for study: the correlation between public expenditure patterns and
electoral cycles could yield interesting data. Some chapters have already begun to monitor
this practice. (TransparancyInternational, Vote buying )
Political parties as well as corporate are involved in this kind of scams and they use the
money that they made through this illegal activity for various other activities. Politicians and
their aides in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh admitted to violating election law to influence
voters in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls through payments in the form of cash, goods, or services,
according to a revealing cable sent to the State Department by Frederick J. Kaplan, Acting
Principal Officer of the U.S. Consulate-General in Chennai. In conversations with a visiting
consulate team, Karti Chidambaram of the Congress, M. Patturajan, confidant of Union
Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers M.K. Alagiri and former Mayor of Madurai, and
Member of Parliament Assaduddin Owaisi of the Majlis-e-Ittenhadul Muslimeen spoke
without inhibition about how they, their principals, or their parties made payments to voters
during the election campaign. In a cable sent on May 13, 2009 through Wiki Leaks, Mr.
Kaplan detailed the role and impact of money power in corrupting the electoral process,
drawing from information gathered from a variety of sources in the field: Bribes from
political parties to voters, in the form of cash, goods, or services, are a regular feature of
elections in South India. Poor voters expect bribes from political candidates, and candidates
find various ways to satisfy voter expectations. From paying to dig a community well to
slipping cash into an envelope delivered in the morning newspaper, politicians and their
operatives admitted to violating election rules to influence voters. The money to pay the
bribes comes from the proceeds of fund-raising, which often crosses into political corruption.
Although the precise impact of bribery on voter behavior is hard to measure, it no doubt
swings at least some elections, especially the close races. (Hiddleston, 2011)
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Political Ethics
Political is the practice of making moral judgments about political action, and the study of
that practice. As a field of study, it is divided into two branches, each with distinctive
problems and with different though overlapping literatures. One branch, the ethics of the
process, focuses on public officials and the methods they use. The other branch, the ethics of
policy (or ethics and public policy) concentrate on judgments about policies and laws. Both
draw on moral and political philosophy, democratic theory and political science. But political
ethics constitutes a free standing subject in its own right. Most writers on the subject do not
try to apply foundational moral theories, but rather work with mid-level concepts and
principles that more closely reflect the considerations that political agents could take into
account in making decisions and policies. (Thompson, 2013)
Political ethics is the practice of making moral judgments about political action and political
agents. It covers two areas. The first is the ethics of the process which deals with public
officials and the methods they use the second area, the ethics of policy concern judgments
about policies and the law
Niccolò Machiavelli is often considered the founding father of the first area of political ethics.
He believed that a political leader may be required to commit acts that would be wrong if
done by private. In contemporary democracies, this idea has been reformed as the problem of
dirty hands, described most influentially by Michael Walzer, who argues that the problem
creates a paradox: the politician must sometimes do ―wrong to do right ―The political uses
violence to prevent greater violence, but his act is still wrong even if justified. Walzer‘s view
has been criticized. Some critics object that either the politician is justified or not. If justified,
there is nothing wrong, though he may feel guilty. Others say that some of the acts of violence
that Walzer would allow are never justified, no matter what the ends. Dennis Thompson has
argued that in a democracy, citizens should hold the leader responsible, and therefore if the
act is justified their hands are dirty too. He also shows that in large political organizations it is
often not possible to tell who is actually responsible for the outcomes—a problem known as
the problem of many hands.
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Political ethics not only permits leaders to do things that would be wrong in private life, but
also requires them to meet higher standards than would be necessary in private life. They
may, for example, have less of a right of privacy than do ordinary citizens, and no right to use
their office for personal profit. The major issues here concern conflict of interest.
In the other area of political ethics, the key issues are not the conflict between means and ends
but the conflicts among the ends themselves. For example, in the question of global justice,
the conflict is between the claims of the nation state and citizens on one side and the claims of
all citizens of the world. Traditionally, priority has been given to the claims of nations, but in
recent year‘s thinkers known as cosmopolitans have pressed the claims of all citizens of the
world. (Beitz, 1999)
Political ethics deal not mainly with ideal justice, however, but with realizing moral values in
democratic societies where citizens disagree about what ideal justice is. In a pluralist society,
how, if at all, can governments justify a policy of progressive taxation, affirmative action, the
right to abortion, universal health care, and the like? Political ethics are also concerned with
moral problems raised by the need for political compromise, whistle blowing, civil
disobedience, and criminal punishment.
Some critics argue that ethics has no place in politics. If politicians are to be effective in the
real world, they cannot be bound by moral rules. They have to pursue the national interest.
However, Walzer points out that if the realists are asked to justify their claims, they will
almost always appeal to moral principles of their own. Another kind of criticism comes from
those who argue that we should not pay so much attention to politicians and policies, but
should instead look more closely at the larger structures of society where the most serious
ethical problems lie Advocates of political ethics respond that while structural injustice should
not be ignored, too much emphasis on structures neglects the human agents who are
responsible for changing them. (Girardin, 2012)
Ethics in politics and its extent
19
Ethics in politics matter more than ever. It does not strive for an ideal or perfect, but merely
optimal politics. Ethics adds a decisive value to politics by securing fair treatment of political
stake holders, stressing equity and fairness, reminding us that the limitation of power is
essential in politics, and adding a long-term perspective. By contrast, impunity, arbitrariness
and cruelty cannot count on wide support, either in individual societies or in the community
of nations. Key for politics is to limit power by constitutions, checks and balances, an
independent judiciary, devolution, delegation, political competition and mechanisms of
accountability. Left to itself, power tends to remove or reduce limitations. Not limiting power
paves the way to autocracy and dictatorship. The core ethical value in politics is justice,
interpreted as fairness and reciprocity. Six cardinal values articulate justice on six key axes:
equity, freedom and responsibility, security and peace, unity along with diversity, solidarity
without dependence, sustainability.
A sound politics finds some optimal level of achievement on each axis, reaching a healthy
balance rather than an average of minimal and maximal. Overall consistency is part of sound
ethics in politics, resulting in more stable and less erratic politics. Ethical assessment of
politics may be summarized in the following question: To what extent are laws and rules,
political institutions and decisions contributing to and producing more justice, deeper fairness,
more sustainability, greater responsibility. Ethics in politics is measured by consequences and
not primarily declared intentions. Ethics in politics reminds us that policies, political
programs and actions to meet the challenges faced by societies, humanity and the Earth
cannot be limited to technocratic approaches. Know-how is indeed necessary, but not
sufficient. Goals and long-term objectives are assessed against values. The interests of the
Earth and of future generations are taken as requirements.
Ethics is at the heart of a constructive tension between values and interests, keeping interests
as well as values on the agenda rather than preferring one against the other or making them
mutually exclusive. The way conflicts are settled and compromises shaped is strengthened by
referring to the six cardinal values, assessing in particular how each is taken into
consideration and realized. Lasting and sustainable agreements are based on shared values
combined with common interests. The interdependence of today‘s and tomorrow‘s world calls
20
for shared values beyond parochial or short-term interests. Convergence rather than strict
alignment between principles, laws, systems, institutions and decisions is the goal. In a
fluctuating and mostly unpredictable environment, ethics in politics cannot confine itself to
implementing principles. Overall consistency and broad convergence is what matters, rather
than a mechanical cascading. Ethics in politics considers economics and in particular
economic limitations and resources as essential reference points for any political priority
claiming to be realistic. It seeks also to highlight sound choices related to economic policy
and establish true costs. It is not enough to copy and paste ethics from the personal to the
political domain or to confine ethics in politics to the honest intentions of rulers.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions; like anyone else, rulers may do dreadful
things with a good heart and a clear conscience .Ethics in politics takes advantage of the
individual commitments of rulers, judges, civil servants and citizens. It takes into account
pressure from associations and stresses stakeholder responsibility and commitment. Groups
lobby to build a wide platform that may subsequently enjoy social acceptance. Shared
platforms of values among stakeholders are critical, even if the government sets the
framework, guides the negotiations, and acts as leader, taking advantage of good practices
pioneered by associations. Human rights are built on a solid ethical foundation and translate
values into limits not to be exceeded and opposable rights. Ethics in politics is more than
human rights. It is about negotiable policies, programs, and agency. It refers to future
consequences and overall sustainability.
Ethics in politics is about process and agency as well as vision and political or programmatic
objectives. Trust and confidence are built incrementally through processes that are respectful
of stakeholders and open to dissenters and assessed jointly. Systems and processes are
expected to match values. Consistency minimizes political risks. Democracy is better able
than other systems to take into account the ethical requirement of politics. A functioning
democracy is accountable and cannot but listens to citizen expectations. Ethics in politics
requires regular evaluation of consequences, learning from experience how ethics works out
in practice and taking corrective or adaptive measures. Staying alert and constantly asking
questions is a political advantage. (Girardin, 2012)
21
Balancing Politics and Ethics
These successes at the state level are encouraging signs that real change in India is happening
thanks to the determination of various government officials who are serious about combating
corruption. ―The system in India is good if you have the right person at the helm. We don‘t
need new institutions, and we have fantastic human resources, but often, politicians ensure
their financial backers are given high government positions, rather than well-trained
bureaucrats.‖ Consequently, in order for the entire nation to experience progress as a whole,
strong leadership is needed at the national level, which Alphons believes is currently lacking.
He describes the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, as an ―honest man,‖ but lacking
―the strength to tackle corruption head on.‖ In 2007, major licenses for airwaves on the
mobile spectrum were unfairly allocated to thirteen companies with close ties to government
officials. The Prime Minister wrote a letter to the telecoms minister, Andimuthu Raja,
informing him that this process of allocation was not transparent and needed to be changed,
but Raja disregarded the warning, and Prime Minister Singh took no further action. Alphons
explained that the Prime Minister‘s excuse for furthering pursuing Raja is that ―he is
dependent on the support of ten or twelve parties — the Congress party doesn‘t have a
majority,‖ and Prime Minister Singh did not want to risk alienating members of the coalition.
(Hanna, Fighting corruption in India, 2014)
States Combating Corruption
Without enough revenue, the national government has been unable to adequately fund many
of its welfare programs; however, several states have managed to fight corruption and execute
innovative programs that have improved people‘s standard of living. K.J. Alphons, now a
Bhartiya Janata Party Member of Parliament, spent twenty-seven years in the Indian
Administrative Service doing just that. As a district collector for Kottayam, a district in the
state of Kerala, Mr. Alphons began a literacy program that was free from outside monetary
funding and, thus, corruption. He said, ―Without any government funding, my administration
rallied 14,000 unpaid volunteers to teach people to read.‖ By June 1989, Kottayam was
declared the first city in India with a 100 percent literacy rate, and the methodology used
22
became the model for the national literacy program, founded soon after. He went on to apply
a similar methodology to immunize every child in his district, and in 1990, Kottayam ranked
higher on quality of health indices than the U.S.
Other politicians have also led successful campaigns to bolster people‘s standard of living and
reduce corruption. In the state of Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a member of the Janata
Dal party, has significantly reigned in a once rampant crime rate by increasing the size of the
police force and fast tracking the successful prosecution of over 79,000 criminals since he
took office in 2005.
Chhattisgarh, another state in India, has also seen standards of living increased by eliminating
corruption. Formerly possessing the most corrupt grain distribution system in the country, in
2003, the state introduced a program that sends a picture of a grain truck the moment it leaves
the distribution center via cell phones to every person in the village, along with a message
stating exactly how long it will take the truck to arrive. This technology has been so effective
at reducing corruption that the World Bank recently declared Chhattisgarh‘s distribution
system to be one of the best in the world. (Hanna, Fighting Corruption in India, 2013)
Moving Beyond Scandal
States across India have proved that they can reduce and even eliminate corruption, that they
can implement programs that produce tangible benefits and services for people, and that
politicians and bureaucrats can work transparently to improve economic standards. Alphons,
Kumar, and others have shown that strong, honest leadership is crucial to fighting corruption
and improving the lives of their constituents, and this needs to be translated to the national
level. Despite the current government‘s less than zealous attacks on corruption, there are signs
at the national level that it will not be tolerated. On February 2, 2012, the Supreme Court
cancelled all of the licenses that were unfairly allocated in the Telecom scandal. With a strong
legal system, prosecuting those who do not want to do business fairly is possible. Reforming
the tax code is another step in the right direction, though it needs to be implemented quickly,
and changing the election laws so that the monetary barriers for candidacy are lower could
23
help citizens outside the ruling elite win more seats in Parliament and hopefully reduce
corruption. From Kerala to Bihar to Chattisgarh, as well as in other states, the people of India
have shown they will support leaders who fight corruption, so it is time for the national
government to stand against those who want to steal from the country and instead stand with
the people. (Hanna, Fighting Corruption in India, 2013)
Aam Aadmi Party - New hope?
Aam Aadmi Party is an Indian political party, formally launched on 26 November 2012. It
came into existence following differences between the activists Arvind Kejriwal and Anna
Hazare regarding whether or not to politicize the popular India Against Corruption movement
that had been demanding a Jan Lokpal Bill since 2011. Hazare preferred that the movement
should remain politically unaligned while Kejriwal felt the failure of the agitation route
necessitated a direct political involvement.
The AAP has led several protests since its formation. Among these was a campaign against an
alleged nexus between government and private corporations relating to price rises for
electricity and water in Delhi. Another saw the party demanding justice for victims of sexual
harassment and rape, including the introduction of a stronger anti-rape law. The party's first
electoral test was in the 2013 Delhi legislative assembly election, from which it emerged as
the second-largest party, winning 28 of the 70 seats. With no party obtaining an overall
majority, the AAP formed a minority government with conditional support from the Indian
National Congress.
The party's name reflects the phrase Aam Aadmi, or "common man", whose interests Kejriwal
proposed to represent. A party constitution was adopted on 24 November 2012, when a
National Council comprising 320 people and a National Executive of 23 were also formed.
Both the Council and the Executive were expected to have more members in due course, with
the intention being that all districts and all classes of people would have a voice. Various
committees were to be formed to draft proposals for adoption by the party in a process that
was expected to take several months. Although one aim was to limit nepotism, there were
24
complaints at this initial meeting that the selection of people invited to attend was itself an
example of such practices The party was formally launched in Delhi on 26 November[10] and
in March 2013 it was registered as a political party by the Election Commission of India.
The AAP says that the promise of equality and justice that forms a part of the constitution of
India and of its preamble has not been fulfilled and that the independence of India has
replaced enslavement to an oppressive foreign power with that to political elite. The party
claims that the common people of India remain unheard and unseen except when it suits the
politicians. It wants to reverse the way that the accountability of government operates and has
taken an interpretation of the Gandhian concept of swaraj as a tenet. It believes that through
swaraj the government will be directly accountable to the people instead of higher officials.
The swaraj model lays stress on self governance, community building and decentralization.
Kejriwal has said that the AAP refuses to be guided by ideologies and that they are entering
politics to change the system: "We are aam aadmis‖. If we find our solution in the left we are
happy to borrow it from there. If we find our solution in the right, we are happy to borrow it
from there."
Though AAP has not identified itself with any specific ideology, some thinkers have seen
similarities in ideology of AAP. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary
Prakash Karat has articulated in his party organ People‘s Democracy that the virtues that
claimed by AAP of clean image, incorruptibility, denial of perks and privileges of power, and
funding based on people‘s contributions and its agenda of social justice, democratization and
decentralization of power has long been the Communist program. However, he has also
observed that communist party`s stand on communalism and attack on the communal
Hindutva agenda were absent in AAP. (Wikipedia, Aam Aadmi Party)
25
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1

Corruption and Indian Politics – The way

Figure 1- corruption in Indian institutes

Corporate funding and buying of influence

Corruption scandals that shamed India

Political Parties in India

Dominance of leaders in political parties in India

Ideology of political parties in India

Figure 2- Corruption index of different countries in the world

2008 cash-for-votes scandal: It is a scandal, in which the UPA, the majority-holding

2010 2G spectrum scam: The illegal undercharging by Government officials to various

India’s Black Money Problem

Vote buying – How corruption affects election

Ethics in politics and its extent

Balancing Politics and Ethics

States Combating Corruption

Moving Beyond Scandal

Aam Aadmi Party - New hope?

Heywood, A. (2006). Politics - 3rd edition. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd.

Political parties of India. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://adaniel.tripod.com/parties.htm

Politics in daily life. (n.d.). Retrieved from Political Literacy - educationscotland.gov.uk:

Theories of politics. (n.d.). Retrieved from what is politics ?:

TransparancyInternational. (n.d.). Vote buying . Retrieved from Global Priorities:

Transparency International. (2008). India Corruption Study-2008. NewDelhi: June .

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Corruption in India. Retrieved from Wikipedia:

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Political corruption. Retrieved from Wikipedia:

Wikipedia. (n.d.). Political scandal. Retrieved from Wikipedia.

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