Raghuram Rajan has always made the right choice

Ever wonder why Raghuram Rajan's exit had created such a bad optics for the Modi Government. Why suddenly a mostly back office Sarkari post had created such so many ripples in the media.

At the first glance, Rajan looks like the perfect success story for us. He is a Middle Class aspirations personified. An IIT+MIT+ he was gracious enough NOT to join a private company but worked for academia. Thereafter, he was a patriot enough to come back to serve India at a low salary. He had a choice in life to choose between wealth and goodwill, and he chose the later. He had preferred   Saraswati over  Laxmi unlike the greedy businessmen and corporates in our country.‎ In an era of free markets, Rajan seemed like a fresh air of the socialist value system.

This was the primary reason why a normal Indian was so positively influenced by him. We love self-made men who make sacrifices. So when Rajan's stint was not extended, there was indeed a sense of loss. How can one self made man, Narendra Modi do this to Rajan!!

We had also seen a lot of outrage  by the so called Liberal and Secular intellectuals on Rajan's exit. But alas! the intellectuals' outrage was similarly innocent and honest as of a normal middle class Indian. They knew very well that Indian Central bank is not as influential as in the US, China or Japan. India is still a basic economy and Inflation is still a function of basic variables of demand and supply, rather a very complex structural calculus. Our intellectual class was aware ‎that Rajan couldn't  achieve much on Banking clean up under the UPA regime because of obvious reasons. And he could deliver under NDA primarily because of political support and willingness. Rajan under UPA and NDA were two non-congruent chapters. Also, it is strange that the ‎well-read class had very conveniently forgotten that NDA had deputed ex CAG Vinod Rai in RBI solely to lead an initiative to clean up Banks!

There have been many eminent RBI Governors including Dr Manmohan Singh (strangely he was also denied an extension) but we seldom remember them. We can't name more than a few without seeking help from Google. So was Raghuram Rajan so special that this outrage from Liberals was spontaneous. Or was he being celebrated because he was filling in the space of intellectual opposition to the Modi regime that an array of political leaders and social intellectuals were not able to do. People like Rahul Gandhi, Nitish Kumar, Kejriwal, Aamir Khan or perennial critics like Rajdeep Sardesai et al were not able to dent Modi's image even after a high decibel Intolerance and Award Wapsi campaign.

 

Rajan's exit was making anti-Modi group unnerved. They had hoped that Rajan would continue in the RBI and would keep providing intellectual opposition from within. This outsourced model of political opposition has always been a  strategy of the ideologically bankrupt Congress party.

The Save Rajan campaign was a very dangerous one. To explain it further, let us change the context and suppose that the secular bloc wins in 2019. They will certainly make Rahul Gandhi our PM. That will be hailed as a democratic mandate. And rightly so. The media will call the Gandhi scion, the most eligible bachelor of our country, we will have primetime shows on his cute smile and divine innocence . This will be fair because it's democracy and anyone who wins people's mandate has the right to rule and relish the limelight. 

This is the catch. We are okay if a party thrusts upon a novice dynast as our PM because that party has won the mandate. But a party that has got full majority after many decades must not decide on a RBI Governor of its choice.

 

Rajan was a great RBI chief and he must remain decorated. He had completed his term and  we have bid him a gracious goodbye. He was saved from being diluted as a political ping pong ball.  A lot  changed because Rajan made another choice. He chose grace over grouse like once he had chosen Saraswati over Lakshmi; keeping his super sense of making choices.

 

There was another JNUSU president from Bihar, Chandrasekhar Prasad or chandru

The “Liberal” class is ecstatic on the heroics of Kanhaiyya Kumar. Fascinated by his Elvis Presley moves while sloganeering for Adaadi. His unusually innocent face at the age of 28 and full of rustic Bihari charm.

But how many of them remember another Bihari JNUSU president Chandrasekhar Prasad (or Chandru). Born in Siwan, in a poor family from a backward caste. Following his initial education in Siwan, he studied at the Sainik School in Tilaiya, he joined the Indian National Defence Academy, but soon left it because he wanted to be a political activist. He joined the Patna University before joining JNU. He was elected to the JNU students union election three times in a row, first as Vice- President, then as President for two successive terms.

He moved back to his hometown and had started a campaign against corrupt and criminal leaders of the region, a stronghold of RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin. One day while campaigning, Chandru was brutally killed by the sharpshooters allegedly in the employ of Shahabuddin. The case was handed over to the CBI and the killers were nabbed. One of the accused, Dhruv Jaiswal, was nabbed from the RJD MP's home. Finally in 2012, the CBI court sentenced three persons to life imprisonment. The RJD MP could not be found linked to the killing.

Today Shabuddin is in Jail for other crimes but still is the supreme commander of RJD in and around Siwan. His wife Heena Shahab was the RJD candidate in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Congress is in alliance with the RJD and are in power in Bihar. Left parties are looking more than keen to get Lalu and Congress as their allies.

We have heard the Kanhaiyya speech. There he passionately says that only 31% people had voted for the fascist Modi and the rest didn’t. So, he has counted the votes that Heena Shahab got in Siwan and RJD got in general as the so called secular and liberal votes. This is his real Satyamev Jayate. Killers of his former comrade are his present day allies.

We may also recall that as soon as the news of Chandru’s murder reached Delhi, JNU students had laid seize to the Bihar Niwas in Delhi where RJD chief Lalu was staying. The students were lathicharged and a few shots were also fired by the BMP deployed there. Nobody refers to those atrocities as black spot on the history of Indian democracy.

Nobody remembers a student leader Chandru, who was a good student first and a leader next. JNU used to attract a much better pool of talent during his time than the pile of garbage it does now. Chandru learned how to fight the evils of politics in JNU and was killed while experimenting with his learnings. He was never a loudmouth dying to hog into media limelight. He lies forgotten today because it is inconvenient for the Left Liberals to remember him. It will break the political alliance against Modi. It will create an unnecessary situation where Left will be asked why it never persisted on a fair and complete trial of one its “Comrades” during the UPA regime. This is the Satyameva Jayate of the Leftist ideology.

In the midst of this madness, Chandru’s mother leads a lonely and secluded life in Siwan. Her disappointment with the left was covered by Tehelka; you may read it before the current brigade of freedom fighters for expression get it erased.

http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main30.asp?filename=Ne020607Betrayed_by.asp

You may hate Modi and want him to lose. But for the sake of it you have created a Shah Bano moment. Advani had leveraged Shah Bano and had steered the first big growth for the BJP. Only time will tell how much Modi has learnt from his onetime Guru.

UPA is a disorganized cluster of Political Dynasties

UPA's campaign for 2014 is on pro-poor and "left to the center" theme. However, a quick scan of the profiles of various ministries clearly reveal that UPA is nothing but a feudal cluster of political dynasties.

The following table shows the list of UPA ministers who have family members in active politics. Please note that we cant name the Gandhi family here as they don't hold any "formal" role in the government.

Some of them have resigned or are in the process of doing so (mostly Andhra members), however we may still consider them as part of the UPA.

Cabinet Ministers
1	Minister of Agriculture	Sharad Pawar	His nephew and daughter are in politics and are part of the NCP. Younger brother, Pratap runs the influential Marathi daily, Sakal. Sharad Pawar has been in and out of Congress since long. Had left congress in 1978 and became a CM in alliance with Janata Party, joined congress back in 1987, to leave it again in 1999 citing Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin. Has been linked to Sahid Balwa, Telgi, Dawood, Lavasa and many other controversies by the media.
	Minister of Food Processing Industries
2	Minister of Finance	P. Chidambaram	His son Karti (an AICC member and vice-president of All India Tennis Association (AITA) ) is slowly gaining prominence in the TN congress.   http://www.karti.in/index.aspx His maternal grandfather was Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar, a wealthy merchant and banker from Chettinad. His grand uncles and grand father were the Co-founders of Indian Overseas Bank, Indian Bank, United India Insurance and Annamalai University Chidambram had broken away from congress to join Tamil Manila Congress. Chidambram has been linked to controversies like 2G scam, accused of benefiting Sterlite group, Aircel-Maxis deal etc. His wife was alleged to have links with the Chit fund scam in Kolkata.
3	Minister of External Affairs	Salman Khurshid	He is the son of Khurshed Alam Khan, the former Union Minister of External affairs, Government of India, and maternal grandson of Dr. Zakir Hussain, the third President of India. Educated at St. Stephen's College, Delhi and St Edmund Hall, Oxford University, Oxford, U.K. His wife Louis is also in Politics.
4	Minister of Home Affairs	Sushilkumar Shinde	His daughter Praniti Shinde is MLA in Maharashtra. Is known more of his goof ups even while reading written statements. Has been a lose canon even on important issues related to terrorism and women rights.
5	Minister of Human Resource Development	Pallam Raju	His father (Shri M.S. Sanjeevi Rao) was a Union Minister (1982–1984). Raju is an MBA from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
6	Minister of Law and Justice	Ashwani Kumar	He is the son of Prabodh Chandra -- a former speaker of Punjab Assembly. He had to resign for "informally" influencing the CBI probe in Coalgate.
7	Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers	M. K. Alagiri	Represented DMK. He is the second son of the head of DMK, Karunanidhi. Has been accused of murder, however acquitted by the courts. Recently, his son was absconding from Police for a long time.
8	Minister of Civil Aviation	Ajit Singh	He is the son of former prime minister of India and Jat leader Choudhary Charan Singh. His son Jayant Chaudhary is also a Lok Sabha member.
9	Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation	Ajay Maken	His uncle, Lalit Maken was a member of parliament from South Delhi. Lalit Maken himself was the son-in-law of late President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma.
10	Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas	Veerappa Moily	His son Harsha Moily has not joined politics yet (although was rumoured to join before Karnataka elections). He currently runs a family controlled trust, which was under a controversy for getting funds from a leading corporate house. http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-03-19/news/37844109_1_mya-harsha-corporate-affairs-minister
11	Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises	Praful Patel	His father, Manoharbhai Patel was a congress politician and a successful businessman. Apart from his political activities, Praful Patel runs the $5 billion CeeJay Group, the largest beedi (or bidi) maker in India’s western Maharashtra state. Allegation of bribery in an investigation in Canada.
12	Minister of Water Resources	Harish Rawat	His son Anand Rawat is in active Politics (Is President of the Uttrakhand Youth Congress). Harish rawat was ignored in the Uttrakhand politics, however had been compensated with a cabinet berth. There is a Pending case against Harish rawat, albeit charges are not very serious.
13	Minister of Urban Development	Kamal Nath	His wife Alka Nath has also been introduced into Politics. Has close ties with the Nehru–Gandhi family, was a friend and schoolmate of Sanjay Gandhi at the Doon School. Was accused of Anti-Sikh riots,  fined for flouting norms in his Hotel Business, one of the richest ministers
	Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
14	Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs	Vayalar Ravi	He is a grass root leader. However, his son Ravi Krishna has a company, Ziqitza with P Chidambram's son Karthi. They have been accused of corruption in execution of NHRM projects in Rajasthan called as "Ambulance Scam" by some sections of the media. http://tehelka.com/the-new-ambulance-chasers/
15	Minister of Labour and Employment	Mallikarjun Kharge	His son Priyank Kharge is an active leader of the Congress Party. He had fought election after Mallikarjun Kharge had vacated his seat for Lok Sabha. Though he had lost the by election then, he is now an MLA from Chitapur in Karnataka.
16	Minister of New and Renewable Energy	Farooq Abdullah	Son of Sheikh Abdullah and father of Omar Abdullah, both chief ministers of J&K. His daughter is married to Sachin Pilot. Has been subjected to hot/cold relationship with the Congress. Was ousted by Congress through dismissal by the governor in 1984. Then won the election of 1987 in alliance with Congress (an established trigger for upsurge of terrorism in the valley). Known for being mute on Kashmiri pandits.
17	Minister of Railways	Pawan Kumar Bansal	His lawyer son Manish Bansal is in active politics, manages his father's constituency and is an important leader of the Congress Party.  Pawan Bansal had to resign for being accused in Railway Bribery Scam. His other relatives are also influential in politics including his nephew involved in the Railways bribery scam.
18	Minister of Labour and Employment	Sis Ram Ola	His son Bijendar Ola is an MLA and a minister in Rajasthan,
19	Minister of Shipping	G. K. Vasan	He is the son of a G. K. Moopanar, who was a senior congress member from Tamil Nadu. Was part of Tamil Manila Congress. Also, it was rumoured that he would break away from Congress on Sri Lanka issue.
20	Social Justice and Empowerment	Selja Kumari	She is the daughter of Chaudhary Dalbir Singh, a congress leader from Haryana.
21	Minister of Steel	Beni Prasad Verma	An import from Samajwadi Party. His son Rakesh verma has fought an election on Congress ticket from Dariyabad seat in UP.
Min of State Independent Charge
22	Ministry of Information and Broadcasting	Manish Tewari	His grandfather, Sardar Tirath Singh , was a minister in the congress government in Punjab. His father Vishwanath Tewary was a Rajya Sabha member.   Manish Tewari is known to make aggressive comments. His "head to toe" remark against Anna Hazare had raised a huge controversy.
23	Ministry of Power	Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia	Son of Madhavrao Scindia, belongs to the royal family of Gwalior. Is being projected as the CM candidate by Congress in the upcoming MP elections.
24	Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation	Bharatsinh Madhavsinh Solanki	Son of Madhavsinh Solanki, a Congress leader from Gujrat. His maternal grandfather Ishwarsinh Chavda was four time MP from the same constituency which he represents now.
25	Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports	Jitendra Singh	Belongs to the royal family, is the grandson of Maharaja of Alwar. His mother Mahendra Kumari was also an MP from Alwar. Jitendra Singh is seemingly part of the core team of Rahul Gandhi.
26	Ministry of Corporate Affairs	Sachin Pilot	Son of the congress leader Rajesh Pilot. His mother was also an MP. He is also the son in law of Farooq Abdullah, an union minister and ex-CM of J&K(leading political dynasty in Kashmir). Interesting to note that his father Rajesh Pilot had fought for congress presidency against Sonia Gandhi.
27	Ministry of Ministry of Women and Child Development	Krishna Tirath	Her daughter Yashvi has found a place in the list of member delegates of delhi Congress, a stepping stone to larger role within Congress. Tirath has also been accused of promoting her daughter for an anchor's job in Doordarshan.
28	Ministry of Environment and Forests	Jayanthi Natarajan	Her grandfather was M. Bakthavatsalam, a prominent Congress politician and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu between 1963 and 1967. She had left congress to join Tamil manila Congress during late 90s.
29	Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, Parliamentary Affairs	Paban Singh Ghatowar	His wife Jibontara Ghotwar is also an MLA from Moran (Dibrugarh) in Assam.
Ministers of State
30	Ministry of Agriculture	Tariq Anwar	Anwar's father Shah Mustaq Ahmed was elected to state assembly from Sikandra (Lakhisarai) in Bihar. His grandfather was President of Bihar-Orissa Pradesh Congress Committee. Tariq Anwar had to leave Congress after Sitaram kesari was pushed out. Once a dynamic youth leader from Bihar Congress, is currently a RS member from Maharashtra. Had left congress against Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin issue.
31	Ministry of Commerce and Industry	Daggubati Purandeswari	She is the daughter of Andhra Pradesh's former chief minister N. T. Rama Rao and wife of Venkateswara Rao, an ex-Minister of Andhra Pradesh
32	Ministry of Textiles	Lakshmi Panabaka	Panabaka Krishnaiah, husband of Lakshmi Panabaka is also active in politics. However, had lost the assembly elections in 2009.
33	Ministry of Human Resource Development, Defence	Jitin Prasada	son of Jeten Prasada, congress leader from UP. Interesting to note that Jeetan Prasada fought for congress presidency against Sonia Gandhi and thereafter was shunted within the party. Jitin Prasada is an active member of Rahul Gandhi's team.
34	Ministry of External Affairs	Preneet Kaur	She is wife of Amarinder Singh, ex- CM of Punjab and belongs to the royal family of Patiala.
35	Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment	D. Napoleon	A DMK member, an actor by profession. His uncle KN Nehru,  is a senior DMK leader and a minister in tamil Nadu. Has founded Jeevan Technologies, an IT company.
36	Ministry of Road Transport and Highways	Tushar Amarsinh Chaudhary	He is son of former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Amarsinh Chaudhary.
37	Ministry of Coal	Pratik Patil	Son of former Loksabha member Prakashbapu Patil. He is the grandson of former chief minister of Maharashtra Padmabhushan Vasantraodada Patil
38	Ministry of Home Affairs	Ratanjit Pratap Narain Singh	A royalty from east India (the prince of Padrauna state in Kushinagar). His father, CPN Singh was a Congress leader and was also a central minister. RPN Singh's wife is NDTV anchor,Sonia Singh.
39	Ministry of Agriculture and Food Processing Industry	Charan Das Mahant	An MP from Korba, Chattisgarh. His father Dr. Bisahu Das Mahant was also a Congress MLA  from Champa and was also a state minister.
40	Ministry of Communications and Information Technology	Milind Murli Deora	Son of Murali Deora, an ex-minister and MP from Mumbai.  It is open secret that Murali deora and Dhirubhai Ambani were close friends.
41	Ministry of Railways	K.J. Surya Prakash Reddy	Son of the former chief minister K Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy.
42	Ministry of Tribal Affairs	Ranee Narah	Wife of Assam Congress politician Bharat Narah. She is active in politics since 1996 through Youth Congress.
43	Ministry of Communications and Information Technology	Killi Kruparani	Is related to a senior congress leader, Botsa Satyanarayana. Authored a book "Hundred Year Saga of Nehru’s Family". Her sons have been charged in cases like Ragging and eve teasing.
44	Ministry of Health and Family Welfare	A.H. Khan Choudhury	Brother of Gani Khan Choudhury. His niece Mausem Noor is also a member of parliament. Brother Abu Naser Khan is also an influential local Congress leader.
45	Ministry of Minority Affairs	Ninong Ering	His father Daying Ering was a Union Minister in the Jawaharlal Nehru’s Cabinet. Had referred to Baba Ramdev as a "bloody Indian dog".
46	Ministry of Urban Development	Deepa Dasmunsi	Wife of Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi. A theatre personality, was not allowed entry in the ministry till Mamta was strong within UPA.
47	Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment	Porika Balram Naik	His son Porika Sai Shankar is also in Politics. Has been part of the youth congress.
48	Ministry of Rural Development	Lalchand Kataria	Kataria is the son of former MLA from Amber on the outskirts of Jaipur, Ram Pratap Kataria. He has also been charged for shielding the accused in a murder case .

Please feel free to point out any mistakes, it will be corrected at the earliest. The intention is merely to make a point and not to tarnish anybody.

Let us make democracy really inclusive by removing barriers for the common man to join politics.

Why Muslims can vote for Modi in 2014 Lok sabha elections

There seems to be a widespread consensus that Muslims can never vote for Modi. This is based on the historical electoral behaviour of the Muslim community. It is believed that Muslims have seldom shown any innovation in their voting pattern and are very predictable in their choice.

However, as a contrarian I feel that 2014 elections will be different. Muslims will certainly discover some novelty. I am providing a few reasons why they can and many will vote for Modi in 2014.

It is better to be a dynamic voting group rather than a stale "taken for granted" vote bank. I am providing a few compelling pointers for the Muslims to take note of.

1. We learn to move on for our own sake

You should not hate a politician or a political party forever. We need to move on in the journey of Indian democracy. Let us discuss the cases of Sikhs in Punjab, Brahmins of UP and Bhumihars of Bihar. I have taken thse cases because these communities have continued to grow politically and socially even when the entire political landscape was against them.

 

It is a common knowledge that the Sikhs have mostly been at the receiving end of the Congress politics culminating with the brutal killing of Sikhs across the country  in 1984. However, Punjab still has voted for many Congress governments after 1984. Even Shiela Dikhshit hopes to win key Delhi constituencies with Sikh support.

Brahmins in UP faced a pathetic political situation under the BSP's Dalit politics. Everyone remembers the Tilak Tarazu slogan. They were not only at the butt of BSP's extremist agenda, but also denied a political space by the party any level. Still Brahmins heavily contributed in Mayawati's last win.

Bhumihars were the worst affected caste groups under Lalu's regime. We may recall the "Bhurabaal Saaf Kero" slogan, spearheaded against the community. Rabri Devi (as the CM of Bihar) had even reportedly declined to visit a village after 50 Bhumihars were massacred in caste violence, citing that they never voted for her party. However, Lalu's recent resurgence from Maharajganj Lok sabha election came from their support.

There are many similar examples e.g. Tamil Nadu Brahmins voting for the party founded by Periyar, UP migrants voting for Shiv Sena/BJP in Mumbai et al.

 

To be fair to these communities, it must have been a very difficult decision to vote for their tormentors. However, their ability to show flexibility and innovate their voting pattern has kept these communities active in the power equation. We had a lot of Brahmin ministers under Mayawati and not to miss, ultimately a Sikh PM from the Congress staple.

Therefore, if Muslims vote for Modi, even without assuming him to be innocent in 2002, they will ultimately be doing something in their own interest. 

2. Politicians deserve another chance, more so if they carry a promise

Every leader, from Nehru to Sanjay Gandhi, has a rough patch in dealing with the situations related to communities and their aspirations. let us take the most pious of all, Nehru. Hordes of Muslims left the secular Nehru before independence, in favour of the Muslim League . He was the PM when thousands of Muslims were killed in Hyderabad. Even his Pandit community holds a grudge for he betrayed them by agreeing for a plebicite in Kashmir. There are similar examples for Patel, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Morajee Desai (recall his anti-Maharashtra stand) and many other great leaders.

 

We may just imagine the consequences if these leaders would have to bear the burnt of the aggrieved sections forever. Therefore, dragging Modi down for 2002 is not normal.  

3. A community may learn to own up

Old saying, we can't clap with a single hand. Every community has to own up a few things. Most Sikhs regret terrorism, most upper caste groups agree and feel a sense of remorse for the discrimination of Dalits. Therefore Muslims may also share some blame for 2002 as it all started after 58 Hindus were burnt alive by the raging mobs in Godhra.

 

Therefore, accusing only Modi for the 2002 carnage is also not entirely correct. Such introspection helps a community to empathize the otehr side.

4. Political flexibility is not promiscuity

Politics has an evolution cycle, even for the identity based politics. Till the time we remain identity focused and are keen to utilize democracy to assert our identities, we will vote in herds. However, nothing stops us from reforming it a bit and making it more outcome oriented. Modi promises an outcome oriented plan for the muslim community and it is prudent to lap it up.

 

Politics is like a river, has many courses during its life. If we don't accept a normal change, the river will not survive.

 

Therefore, trying Modi for five years from 2014 might not be a bad idea.

 

 

UPA celebrates its anniversary leaving the Indian Society in Doldrums

Pawan Bansal, Ashwani Kumar, IPL, Srinivasan… There is a subtle message in the trail . Indian society has lost its ethical framework and value system has degraded to an abyss.
 

It is merely the legal framework which exists and guides our society today. This is an extremely dangerous situation. Any legal system, however strong, is open to manipulation. Legal manipulations are not necessarily achieved through corrupt practices but also through a web of bureaucratic procedures. Moreover, the legal framework of a country works to ensure application of law. It is not expected to control the unethical misconduct of its citizens.

 

The congress government has worked with two simple dictums; you are innocent and are qualified to lead a normal political career till you are convicted by a court. Till the time either Law enforcement agencies or the judiciary don’t intervene, you may go unabated.

 

PM says he didn’t know about 2G and neither was he having sordid details on coal allocation. Other senior minister P Chidambaram has similar opinion on his responsibility. Sonia Gandhi is not aware of Robert Vadra’s business acumen. All of them have been proven correct by the courts. However, many important questions remain unanswered.

Has the Country’s current leadership not killed the ethical framework of our society by setting examples? Have they not created a culture where “only legal scrutiny” matters and moral fabric made meaningless? Have they not dealt a body blow to our civilization and its future by shunning their ownership?

 Let us take the case of IPL. It is a classic case study for unethical business practices. IPL was started as a reaction to ICL (ZEE group), so on a stolen idea.  I am providing a few key observations below:

• BCCI had banned all the players associated with ICL and didn’t allow ICL to use any of its stadiums across the country, a brazen case of killing competition using its clout and creating a monopoly. ZEE went to the courts, but lost. However, ethical issues remain unanswered.
• BCCI president, Mr. Srinivasan was allowed to own CSK, which was a clear case of “conflict of interest”.  He gave senior level employment to MS Dhoni in his company, India cements. Thus Dhoni was paid through the back door. This simply flouted the norm of a fixed “player kitty” for all the teams. This is again not illegal and therefore it was considered okay.
• IPL post match parties have been talk of the town, even in tier two towns like Jaipur and Hyderabad. Page 3 are splashed with pictures and stories, which may best be politely described as sleazy. However, converting a sporting event into a sleazy affair is hardly illegal and therefore continued unabated.

We were silently watching this sordid saga till the betting racket was busted. BCCI president’s son-in-law and the Team Chennai’s principal has come under the betting cloud. It is a matter of time when Mr. Srinivasan will resign albeit claiming innocence. He may be proved so in the courts of law because the courts are guardians of law and not the ethical framework of a society.

Coming back to the political class, Pawan Bansal may claim innocence by acting ignorant about the acts of his nephew. Mr. Bansal has not done anything “legally” wrong by allowing his nephew to operate from the office and official bungalow. This is so very common in the Indian middle class where relatives flock around a successful person.

Ashwani Kumar had "merely" invited the law officials, CBI, PMO and coal ministry officials in his office. Supreme Court has not convicted the ex-minister yet albeit the SC may have shared its observations. Therefore, the congress party and the minister still maintain that they have not done anything “legally” wrong. Also, professional  conduct related to conflict of interest, flouting of norms, breach of professional independence etc. are seldom indicted by the courts.

 

Any society builds its own checks and controls to regulate the conduct its citizens. Laws are augmented with a comprehensive social value system to build a prosperous civilization. However, we seem to be fast losing our value system. UPA is celebrating its anniversary whereas the Indian society is transcending into doldrums.