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08/07/2008: "Indians' worst fear: the honest politician"

Even worse than the fake honest politician, is the genuinely honest one. In India, corruption is a form of patronage; a politician or bureaucrat who takes the bribe then has to let it cascade among a series of lesser bureaucrats and elected officials, who will make sure that the pet projects are completed. An honest politician has no goodies to toss around. This limits his effectiveness profoundly, because political power in India is dispersed throughout a multi-tiered federal structure; a local official who has not been paid off can sometimes stop a billion-dollar project. This is why many Indians have a sneaking suspicion - and there is anecdotal evidence to back this up - that only corrupt politicians are effective ones. Would you really want an honest man representing you in parliament? The neighbouring constituency may get that new cricket stadium you were supposed to.

Honesty is more than just a matter of ineffectiveness; it seems, in the Indian context, like a negative attitude to existence. There is no public project in India, however big or small, whether in construction, healthcare, or education, that would stand up to a rigorous audit; some numbers will never add up, because someone has pilfered money somewhere.

[ With some eugenic breeding the Indians could become more Aryan in character. The least corrupt nations are found in northern Europe - where it is nevertheless spreading like wildfire. ]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/30/india.scamsandfraud