Change is now inevitable in India. In the face of stiff public resistance and Anna’s fast, a unanimous resolution of both houses of Indian parliament was passed that expressed solidarity with Hazare’s three core demands regarding the proposed Lokpal. Hazare had demanded a citizens’ charter, bringing of the lower bureaucracy under Lokpal through an appropriate mechanism and setting up Lokayktas in the Indian states. While ending his fast, the 74-year-old Anna said that the fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill was far from over and that he has only “deferred” his agitation temporarily. Laying down his future plan of action, Anna said his next target was electoral reform – right to recall elected representatives and the right to reject electoral candidates.
This was called “people’s victory.” And indeed it was for hundreds of thousands of Indians, especially from the middle class and lower-middle class, who flocked to Ramlila in support of Anna. Many fasted along with him. Team Anna members like Prashant Bhushan, the Supreme Court lawyer, and Kiran Bedi, the retired IPS officer, kept the momentum alive while Bollywood actor Aamir Khan extended support to Anna calling his protest “a last resort” rather than a pressure tactic.
The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen´s ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the next one year. Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (activist), the draft Bill envisages a system where a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth confiscated. It also seeks power to the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.
Corruption, just as in India, is rooted in Nepali psyche and affects all citizens alike. Which of our institutions are free from malpractice? None may be. Unfortunately, however, besides criticizing the political elite, we as people of Nepal have done very little to fight corruption.
The resolution adopted by the Indian parliament is morally binding and the three demands have been sent to the standing committee on law and justice. The committee is set to hold discussions on the Lokpal issue and examine nine separate drafts of the bill. The Bill will be put for parliament discussion by the winter session of the Indian parliament. The National Democratic Alliance leaders have already said that such a Lokpal is needed to fight corruption and it will be brought about without compromising with the ideals of parliamentary democracy.
When will corruption in Nepal explode? Do we now need another Anna at home to tell us enough is enough? Corruption, just as in India, is rooted in Nepali psyche and affects all citizens alike. Which of our institutions are free from malpractice? None may be. Unfortunately, however, besides criticizing the political elite, we as people of Nepal have done very little to fight corruption. The civil society movement in Nepal is almost defunct with veteran civil society leaders now lapsing into passivity. We urgently need a strong people’s voice – one which would not be sidelined by the parliament and the most powerful.
We already have the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), which is an apex constitutional body to curb corruption in the country. Interim constitution of Nepal 2007 has empowered CIAA to investigate and probe cases against persons holding any public office and their associates who are indulged in the abuse of authority by way of corruption or improper conduct. In fact, CIAA is the distinctive anti-corruption agency in South-Asia, which plays the role of an ombudsman, investigator and prosecutor as well. It aims to crack down the corruption issues at a national level with system-based approach.
It also focuses on detection and punishment of corrupt acts on the one hand and social, cultural and institutional reform on the other. This is as progressive as it can get for a country which is at transitional phase and which is writing a new constitution. CIAA must be strengthened and made free from political interference. In actuality, the Indian system can draw huge inspiration from functioning of the CIAA in Nepal.
We must also look at the impact of Anna’s movement around the world, which is immensely inspiring. Across China, where corruption is worse than in India, and notably from Shanghai and the booming South coast, Chinese people are fearlessly rooting for Indian anti-corruption protesters even when some government-run media highlighted the drawbacks of democracy. Last week alone a search for ‘India corruption’ on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, Sina Weibo, produced 21,304 tweets. A strong support also came from Indian diasporas in the UK that distributed Anna-style caps freely in the cities there while national dailies wrote excessively on the movement saying that Anna, although incomparable with Gandhi, has “found an issue” and is exerting a leverage which “on balance must be good for India.” Likewise, in the US, the Anna movement kept the state department most busy for 12 days although the issue was strictly domestic. In Pakistan too, the social activism in India send a strong message that the middle class can play a pivotal role in a revolution and that the same has not happened in Pakistan.
We know that there is urgency to cleanse the system. Hazare’s movement has nudged lawmakers and policy framers to be more proactive. The Lokpal Bill is one step in that direction. We must learn from Ramlila two things at the earliest – strengthen anti-graft bodies to detect malpractices, which will create greater public accountability and second to bring structural reforms as a preventive measure to reduce any scope for misuse of power at the first place.
The newly-elected Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai has spoken about transparency and accountability. For this, the PM has to look at who is benefitting most from corruption in Nepal – the political elite and the economically powerful in industry, trade and business. But surely this is a task which the government alone cannot achieve. This issue must be taken up at people’s level. The question is: Are we willing to stand up against corruption?
The writer is Republica’s New Delhi correspondent
akanshya@gmail.com
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