Sunday, December 20, 2009

Privilege of the Wealthiest

The old saying "Survival of the Fittest" has gone through an evolutionary process in the post Adam Smith era, and it can now be called "Privilege of the Wealthiest". Looking across the entire country, the wealthiest and politically powerful seem to make no mistakes, er..they are never noticed, or if they are, just condoned. India has seen hundreds of scams, running into billions of dollars! The recent scam of a state level politician Madhu Koda is said to be worth 2 billion rupees. Then we have the breed of Jayalalitha, Laloo Prasad Yadav, Mayawati... and there are too many of them. And what is the amount of black money deposited in Swiss banks by our Indians: 1500 billion dollars! Oooh! That is more than 13 times the Indian foreign debt, and if brought back, can wipe out India's hunger. But no one will do it. Because it is the money of the law makers, law keepers and that of the wealthier class who can always beat around the law.

We also have another kind: children (mainly sons) of political powers and businessmen who run into crimes--hit and run cases, murders, rapes... just to name a few, and yet go scot free, almost. The law seem to look the other way round as the law-keepers and law-makers are in concurrence with one another. I do not think this is what free economies do to their economically vibrant citizens.

Look at the law-keepers. The national example is the stretched hands of policemen taking money from truck drivers, across the country, just shamelessly. As you come to the north and eastern parts of India, you see it a lot frequently. Look at the shape of the police: Bulging in their tummies, fat and over-weight, giving an impression of slackness, inaction and apathy.

In the final analysis two things seem to work better. a) There is always a huge gap between knowledge and understanding of the law, and keeping it. b) Power, economic or political, can buy the law. The only silver line that stands out amidst these dark clouds is: a pro-active judiciary...which unfortunately seem to have its own woes these days.

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