The corrupt rule the roost

"Strong watchdog institutions in a weak democracy make for a tall order."

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : The corrupt rule the roost
by  Arun Kumar, a Professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, School of Social Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. E-mail: arunkumar1000@hotmail.com

"Democracy has become formalistic. Legislatures should check corruption but it would not be so if the elected are beholden to the corrupt or are themselves corrupt. The problem is political; it cannot be resolved through technical fixes or by having more laws — these are anyway being circumvented. A weak democracy presents a no-win situation: if a democracy is weak, the corrupt get elected and misuse their autonomy; if the legislators' autonomy is curbed, democracy weakens. Only a conscious public, not rules and laws, can deliver autonomous and incorruptible legislators."

The saga of the Lokpal Bill

The Hindu : Opinion / Lead : The saga of the Lokpal Bill
by Prashant Bhushan, a Senior Advocate, is a member of Team Anna.

"The drama in the Rajya Sabha showed that the UPA government was not willing to go even by the will of Parliament. This gives rise to fundamental questions about the functioning of Indian democracy."

Right Cause, Wrong Time

Why Anna Hazare failed to draw crowds with his fast in Mumbai


Article - Right Cause, Wrong Time

-The Times of India, December 31, 2011

Playing With Fire

Why the Lokpal could be a remedy worse than the malady

Article - Playing With Fire

-The Times of India, December 23, 2011

Personal Review: The article is wonderfully sensitive and exhibits a profound sense of the current predicament enveloped by the Lokpal bill. I give it 5 stars on its views.