It is well known that Indian civilization survived ravages of foreign aggressions and occupations from ancient time till recent past owing to its extraordinary resilience. And this, according to eminent historians like Sir Arnold Toynbee, originated from its rich tradition of acceptance and innate superiority. But it will surely amount to distortion of history if the above analogy of Indian resilience is drawn to justify inaction or passivity in response to recurrent terrorist attacks bolstered by all-pervasive corruption. While terrorism sponsored by alien neighbours is ordinarily not expected to make any serious dent on the psyche of the nation, it is corruption that enhances its efficacy many times, apart from its own destructive potential to spread like cancer.
The nexus between terrorism and corruption is by now internationally recognised. On December 9, 2005, being the third anniversary of the International Day against Corruption, Mr Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), made the following observations: ?Corruption facilitates terrorism and organised crime could not exist without corruption. Corruption devoured around 30 per cent of the GDP of some countries. The world must tackle corruption head-on.? Soon after the terrorist strikes on September 11, 2001, Ronald K. Noble, the Interpol chief, warned the world that ?the most sophisticated security systems, the best structures or trained and dedicated security personnel are useless, if they are undermined from the inside by a simple act of corruption? (vide Interpol press release of October 8, 2001). US Attorney General John Ashcroft'sdescription of corrupt regimes as ?sanctuaries to the forces of terror? aptly summed up the findings of the US anti-terror investigations.
How corrupt is India in the eyes of the world? Transparency International puts India at the 88th place out of 159 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 2005, with a score of 2.9 on a scale of 10, exactly 10 places below Sri Lanka and 83 places below Singapore. The countries scoring less than 3 in CPI are perceived to have critical problems with corruption and consequently with terrorism.
On a micro-analysis, the root of corruption lies in our expensive electoral system itself, where each serious candidate needs to spend several crores of rupees, mostly unaccounted, and far in excess of his or her legitimate sources of income. It is no secret that bulk of this money is sourced to black marketeers, racketeers and even drug-mafia on the conditionality of protection and patronage. Once the candidates win, they have to naturally protect and patronize their financiers. It will amount to a sweeping generalisation. However, it is not correct to say that all politicians, leaders and bureaucrats are corrupt. It is for right-thinking leaders to explore the quickest remedy instead of procrastinating with proverbial Hamletian dilemma. The State-funding of electoral campaigns could be one such option that merits serious consideration.
It is by now established, but for the complicity of a few senior customs and police officers, the 1993 serial blasts would not have occurred. Similarly, if some drug enforcement officers were not on the pay-role of the mafia, addiction and related crimes would not have spread like they have. The record seizure of 200 kg of pure cocaine valued at Rs. 500 crore in international market (Rs. 90 crore in India), on June 5, this year, at JNPT as against the cumulative seizures of cocaine since independence not exceeding 20 kg, is a pointer to the quantum jump in cocaine consumption in India as also the local nexus, without which such a huge quantity of import was unthinkable.
The question is how those corrupt officials, since exposed, reached the top position despite their dubious reputation? Who were accountable for their elevation? Was it merely a system failure or an indication of a deep-rooted nexus among the corrupt at all levels?
It is time that we as the nation and the government led by a premier of unquestionable integrity muster the courage to, in the immortal words of Swami Vivekananda, ?face the brute?, and fight to our last breath, if need be, to exterminate the living threats of corruption and terrorism.
