MONEY POWER IN INDIAN POLITICS AND THE WIKILEAKS EXPOSE

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Indian Dynastic Democracy is criminal, corrupt and runs on the fuel of ill gotten wealth. The likes of Laloo and Mulayam, the Yadava duo have ensured that crime and political power walk hand in hand, step by step. The recent revelations by Julian Assange in his US diplomatic cables expose is only symptomatic of a political system is which the most cynical manipulation of the electorate by the distribution of cash has been instutionalised.
I have often written that the main cause for political corruption in India is the dynastic fascism that seems to be inherent in the very psyche of the people. I remember that when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister the famous scandal called the Nagarwala Affair took place on the eve of the 1971 election. That scandal involved only 60 lakhs, but what is really sinister aboput the whole affair was the fact that all those connceted with the scandal including the Judge and Migistrate who tried the case in court died in rather mysterious circumstances. I have written elsewhere that Ramachandra Guha in his India Since Gandhi ignored the scandal and I expected him as an honest historian to draw attention to the event that marks the first signs of the corruption and crime in the Indian political life.
In South India under the great Dravidian dispensation bribing the electorate has become a part and parcel of the electoral process. Jayalalitha may scream against Karunanidhi, but the fact remains that her party too indulges in this shameless practice of bribing the electorate with nose rings, mixies, saris and cash. Wikileaks has exposed the fact that in Tirumangalam election M K Alagiri ensured victory by bribing the electorate. T R Baalu who won from Sriperumbadur in the last elections is said to have distributed Rs 5000 for each vote. Where does all this money come from? The Indian electorate by participating in this charade called Indian Democracy is an accomplice in its own victimisation. The electorate will rail against corruption but is an active accomplice in the creeping criminalisation of Indian political life. Afterall Laaloo Prasad Yadava, D P Yadava, Mulayam Singh Yadava, and sundry other criminal-politicians have all been elected to the Lok Sabha. In Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry liquor, money and sarees are distributed by party workers on the eve of the elections. In fact political parties are finding inventive ways of subverting democracy in India.
The other revelation that made headlines is the fact that MPs were bribed on the eve of the trust vote during UPA I a trust vote that was held after the so-called Left withdrew support after the Indo-US nuclear deal. Steven White, a US Embassy official recorded seeing chests opf money in the house of a Gandhi family courtier called Satish Sharma. A sum of 50 to 60 crores is estimated and Ajit Singh's party the RLD may have received bribes. What is surprising is that none of the mainstream media brought out the fact that Narashima Rao's government survived its full term in office due to the bribes paid out to the JMM and Shibu Soren was even procecuted for the crime of taking bribes and then arranging the murder of Jha, his private secretary who was a witness to the whole affair. Crime and Corruption go hand in hand.
The dynastic fascist party the Congress and its criminal acolytes who call themselves the "secular parties" are primarily responsible for the corruption and criminalisation of Indian political life. I wish Baba Ram Dev all success in his noble venture.
Predictably all political parties involved in the corruption are crying foul. However the diplomatic cables were not meant to be made public and hence the Embassy staffers had no motive for making up allegations. As far as Tamil nadu is concerned I know from personal experience how corrupt the place is. Even Vice Chancellorships of Tamil Nadu universities go for a price of 5 to 10 crores.