This has been a bad year for the Republic. The economy may have recovered with the revival of growth  our egos may have been boosted by the attentions of the great powers.   But for practically every institution of governance this has been an annus horribilis with scams and scandals that have shaken the faith of all thinking people.

The corruption that bedevils our politics and the bureaucracy is nothing new. But the 2G scandal marks a new high in the amounts at stake and the Commonwealth Games scams show the brazen willingness to make money even when the honour of the nation is at stake.  We also thought that the defence forces were more disciplined and honest.  But Sukhna and Adarash Society have shaken that belief.  It is as if all those with power are doing the precise opposite of the Chetwood credo inscribed in the Indian Military Academy: “The safety, honour and welfare of your country comes first, always and every time; The honour, welfare and comfort of the men you command come next; Your own ease comfort and safety come last, always and every time.”

As for the corporate sector, the Radia tapes and the subsequent spat between two business leaders who did command respect have shown that we were right to never have counted on their moral sense.  In fact the problem of corruption arises because the Indian corporate sector has not yet given up the licence raj mentality of seeking a competitive edge through regulatory leverage.

In some ways, except for the brazenness, what we saw was more or less a continuation of the past.  What shocked was not the malfeasance but the scale and the audacity.  The real challenge to our self esteem has been the assault on our confidence that an independent judiciary and a free press would impose some standard of accountability.  Along come the explosive charges leveled against the judiciary by the Bhushans, father and son.  As for the media, allegations about paid news and the Radia tapes show how easy it is to manipulate them. 

We have laws and institutions that are meant to enforce accountability - the Election Commission, the PAC, the CAG,  the CVC, the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate and of course the Law Courts.  Yet impunity is the norm and hardly anyone is punished.  There is no fear of exposure or imprisonment to constrain the many who can misuse their office. What is shocking is not the crime.  Corruption is known in many countries. What is truly wrong is the impunity which ensures that you can never put a bad man down in politics or administration.

Why have we reached this sorry state? The usual excuse for political corruption is the need for election funding and the “coalition dharma” that protects corrupt politicians whose support is needed by the ruling party.  This gets combined with a no-holds-barred political contestation that leads to the politicization of the investigatory and prosecution machinery. That is why just days before the Lok Sabha cut motion in 2010 the CBI withdraws the case against Mayawati who then supports the Government. 

The scope for political corruption lies in the role of Ministers at the Centre and the States in the exercise of the discretionary powers of the Government in the implementation of laws and the management of public property, particularly public lands. This is reinforced by the continuing rent seeking behaviour of the corporate sector as they try and secure a competitive edge by influencing policy, subverting the fair implementation of laws and conniving with politicians to grab public property on the cheap.

Can we do something to salvage our constitution or shall we sit by as we drift further into the morass of amoral governance? Here are a few suggestions.

The reform of electoral funding and public funding of election expenses is now essential. Without that nothing will change. A Committee of Elders must be set up to consider the various proposals that are ready and recommend a fair system.  Once the political class is freed from the compulsion of raising election and party funding through dubious means there is some possibility that our politics can be taken over by honest persons.

Reinforce this possibility by shifting all discretionary powers conferred by regulatory laws from ministers to independent authorities, like the EPA envisaged by Jairam Ramesh.  Bureaucratic corruption on an industrial scale survives because it piggy backs on political corruption.  Make bureaucrats and regulators independently responsible for implementing laws and this nexus will be broken and ministers answerable to the legislature will be able to enforce accountability and prosecute malfeasance.

A major source of corruption is the alienation of public lands at highly concessional rates for private purposes.  Transfer all public lands that can be used for development to a sovereign investment trust mandated to manage them in the public interest.  Prohibit all transfers of public lands at concessional rates.  The problem that this may pose for charitable activities should be covered by directly funding them rather than through the subterfuge of concessional land transfers.

The two key institutions for bureaucratic accountability, the CVC and the CBI, must be made independent on the lines recommended in several Supreme Court judgments.  Along with this there must be a transparent system of annual declaration of assets by anyone holding public office including ministers and members of the legislature and the judiciary. A Lokpal system and the option of independent prosecutors for major acts of malfeasance must be established to cover legislators, judges and bureaucrats.

A better enforcement of accountability on public officials is not enough.  The corporate sector and their lobbyists, the media and the public relations industry also need to get their act together with an enforceable code of conduct.

Is there any hope that some of this can be done in the present political climate? In the enveloping darkness there is one ray of hope.  We have a Prime Minister of unimpeachable integrity.  He now has to accept that his greatest challenge today is to restore the faith of the thinking classes in the major institutions of governance.  He will not get the support of the political class for this agenda of political reform.  But he can force it on them as, right now, they need him more than he needs them.