Who would you nominate on the panel for Lokpal Bill?

The wish to have an anti-corruption ombudsman is not new. Lokpal Bill was first introduced way back in 1968! And subsequently in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and 2008, but unfortunately they were never passed. All these years, politicians have been successfully able to avoid it for reasons well known to them. Were they sincere to their office and the oath they took while assuming their offices!

The root of corruption that took birth with emergence of a new political class – post independence, has by now developed a well established system that has pervaded and got well entrenched into our civil administration, judiciary, government offices, business houses and into every facet of life that affects the life of a common man. I feel that almost 100% of our grown up population must have had first-hand experience of corruption – in one form or the other.

After all these years, a momentum has been created against corruption. Anna Hazare has been able to create a lot of awareness among the masses on the Lokpal Bill and provide the much needed thrust to pressurize the political class to re-draft the Lokpal Bill and pass it in the coming monsoon session. However, all this effort may go down the drain and 2011 too would appear in the above referred list of years when a failed attempt was made to get the Lokpal Bill passed. Hence, it is very important to keep up the momentum.

The most worrying factor today is non-availability of enough persons from civil society with un-doubtable integrity and enough intelligence who can be on the panel for finalisation of the Lokpal Bill. The CDs involving Bhushans with some shady deals are said to be available! Kejriwal and Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde are the members who can be depended upon. Who else?

Since the proposed Lokpal Bill is primarily to rein in corruption, only personalities with impeccable track record should be nominated on the panel- whether from political field or from civil society. Given the powers to nominate, I would have nominated these two members for sure- Mr. Abdul Kalaam and Ms. Kiran Bedi – for their integrity, for their passion towards their profession, for their commitment and for the values they have stood for.

Who would you nominate on the panel for Lokpal Bill?

madhukarmohan@gmail.com

Good bye plastic bags – villagers show the way!

It is a fact that each of us know what is right and what is wrong- on almost every matter that concern us. Still, many times we follow the wrong way – if it suits our interest. And though the wrong action of ours may not necessarily be a heinous crime, but since it falls in the wrong category – it does leave some unpleasant foot marks. Our wrong deeds may result in affecting our personal life, our social environment or the ecosystem at large- depending on for what type of wrong action we were responsible for!

Among the wrongs that almost all of us commit is – use of plastic bags - irrespective of our education, belief, or any other factor that distinguishes us from each other. And this, despite the well known fact that plastic bags are not biodegradable and it is the main culprit behind choking of storm-water drainage lines. Choked drains have been causing inundation of many city areas during monsoon, creating havoc. Some state governments have taken some initiative by banning plastic bags of less than 20 micron thickness and spent some resources in educating people about avoiding use of plastic bags. However, the attempts have been half-hearted – both on the part of the government as well as us- the general public. We are not letting the plastics go from our daily life.

About four months back, people of Mankua village (in Rajkot, Gujarat) resolved to shun away the plastic bags – which were choking their cows to death. An organization by the name – Vishwa Mangal Gau Raksha Samiti took birth – to save the cows. The Samiti collected Rs. 5000/- from the villagers and used it in making cloth bags with message printed on it, requesting villagers to avoid plastic bags. Bags were distributed to every household. Village with population of about 17,500 has since then not bought any plastic bag! Nearby villages too have started creating awareness among the folks and some villages have already adopted the concept of cloth bags. The cloth bags that used to cost Rs. 10/- a bag is now being offered at Rs. 4/- a bag by the dealer and some sponsors have also come forward to provide the handbags free of cost! What better deal than this?

It is learnt that the women from the Mankuva village are following the no-plastic resolution religiously and this has helped in making it a great success. May more and more villages adopt the cloth bags and may it spread across the length and breadth of the country.  

Our urban areas are already suffering because of choked drains, used loose poly bags – flying here, there and everywhere. I only hope that this revolution catches the urban population too! And life without plastic bags is possible, it has been now very well demonstrated by the 17,500 strong enlightened villagers of Mankuva.

madhukarmohan@gmail.com

The Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare and significance of the Big Win!

The last two weekends brought smiles on every ordinary Indians face and people celebrated it with crackers and gulaal. While MSD and his team brought back the much awaited ICC World Cup 2011 on 2^nd April 2011 by beating the foreign opponents, Anna Hazare won a significant battle for the Lokpal Bill against the government on 9^th April 2011 which will go a long way in deciding the future course of the nation towards a corruption free system!

Before dwelling further upon the significance of Lokpal Bill, it is important to understand what actually it is.

The basic idea of the Lokpal is borrowed from the office of the ombudsman in other countries. It provides for filing complaints of corruption against the Prime Minister , other ministers and members of parliament with the ombudsman. The Lokpal is proposed to be a three-member body with a chairperson who is or was a chief justice or Supreme Court judge, and two members who are or have been high courts judges or chief justices. Implementation of the Lokpal bill will hopefully reduce corruption in India.

We are running late, but at least we have started running! ‘Ombudsman’ is a Swedish word that means ‘an officer appointed by the legislature to handle complaints against administrative and judicial action’. The office was created in Sweden long back in 1809 and was subsequently adopted by other Scandinavian countries that saw it as ‘a bulwark of democratic government against the tyranny of officialdom’. Many countries, including UK has this office. Hongkong has registered spectacular results in the fight against corruption. When corruption in its police force peaked in 1970s, the government set up an Independent Commission Against Corruption and gave it full powers to investigate and punish the guilty. It sacked 119 of the 180 police officers in one go, sending a strong message to the rest of the force and other government functionaries. Hence, if Lokpal Bill is drafted and implemented earnestly, it has the potential of changing the face of our country.

Significance of the Fast-Unto-Death by Anna Hazare can be gauged from above example and it was rightly taken to enforce participation of civil society in drafting the Lokpal Bill. And the full support that this revolution got from the ordinary people from all walks of life - who converged at Jantar Mantar, made the indifferent government to sit up and accede to the demand. The four day revolution that galvanized the entire country, culminated with government acceding to 50:50 joint committee comprising government and civil society. It is a big victory for the ordinary people, a non-violent war led by an ex-army man against the kaale angrez and their corrupt ways!

This episode should also work as an early warning to the entire system that thrives on corruption. It has to stop, and sooner the better. Else, the day is not far when public outcry against corruption may take the shape and proportion of revolts as has been seen in Egypt and the chain reaction that followed elsewhere.

Madhukar Mohan

2nd April 2011- When Lighter overpowered the Darker

In the polls - in my post on World Cup 2011 captioned ‘Who Will Win’ - 87% of the readers who voted –favoured India lifting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 and the majority won! I congratulate everyone for the big win and remember - faith can do wonders.

MSD and his team ultimately fulfilled the long cherished dream of Indians. The cricketers sobbing and their eyes overflowing with happy tears from the uncontrolled emotions was a sight worth waiting for 28 long years! Entire nation kept awake till late night on 2^nd April 2011– celebrating the well deserved win. While my kids were excited with every boundary Gambhir and Dhoni hit, my father aged 80 years kept calling me from my home-town in Patna to know my opinion-what will happen! And mind it we are not at all a cricketing family. I am sure, same must have happened at your place too.

The final match very well demonstrated the cool leadership of MSD and determination of his team-mates. Else, with the dynamite Sehwag gone on the very 2^nd ball and maestro Sachin dismissed for a measly 18 runs – laying hand over this cup wouldn’t have been possible, even in dreams. But, it was a team gelled together by a desire to win- which made it happen.

And today there is some more good news from the world of sport- the old pairing of Paes-Bhupathi have regained their Numero-Uno position in World Doubles ranking after their win at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami! Is it not - icing on the cake?

Winning World Cup 2011 and regaining No. 1 spot by Paes-Bhupathi pair also validates the age old adage- Unity is strength! Let’s be together!

And at last, you must be wondering – why the caption ‘On 2^nd April 2011- Light overpowered the Dark’ for this article? Simple. Men in blue (the Indians) wore a lighter shade of blue, while the Lankans wore a darker shade in blue!

Keep winning!

Madhukar Mohan