”
I have always believed that once you accept political corruption as a universal phenomenon, you are finished. Be it Pakistan, the USA or India. I was quite disturbed to read that the US administration has allowed billions of dollars of unaccounted aid to flow into Pakistan. Now we have the World Bank chief pulling up India for the misuse of loans meant for the health projects for the poorest of the poor. What a shame!!!
Lesley Wroughton of the Reuters writes: “The World Bank said on Friday it had uncovered ‘serious incidents’ of fraud and corruption in a review of five health projects in India and Bank President Robert Zoellick pledged he and the government would get to the bottom of it.
“Evidence of problems was found in a just-released Detailed Implementation Review launched by the World Bank in 2006, with the support of the Indian government. It looked at the five World Bank-supported projects, some dating back to 1997, for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
“The review’s findings are likely to further highlight concerns about corruption in World Bank-financed development projects and increase pressure on Zoellick to tackle shortcomings in the bank’s oversight of projects.
” ‘The probe has revealed unacceptable indicators of fraud and corruption,’ Zoellick said in a statement. ‘The government of India and the World Bank are committed to getting to the bottom of how these problems occurred,’ he added.”
Since 1995, Transparency International has published an annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ordering the countries of the world according to ‘the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians’. The organization defines corruption as ‘the abuse of entrusted power for private gain’. More here…
I have been writing on and off about the tentacles of corruption. Nearly six years ago I wrote an article in The Tribune, a 125-year-old newspaper where I worked for 14 years as a senior editor until 1993, titled “Taste of Official ‘Honey’.” Please click here to read the full article… (at that time I used to spell my name as Swaraj and not Swaraaj as I do now)
Is it true that moral decline and political corruption pose a greater threat to world peace and prosperity rather than terrorism?
I quote from wikipedia: “Corruption poses a serious development challenge. In the political realm, it undermines democracy and good governance by flouting or even subverting formal processes. Corruption in elections and in legislative bodies reduces accountability and distorts representation in policymaking; corruption in the judiciary compromises the rule of law; and corruption in public administration results in the unfair provision of services.
“More generally, corruption erodes the institutional capacity of government as procedures are disregarded, resources are siphoned off, and public offices are bought and sold. At the same time, corruption undermines the legitimacy of government and such democratic values as trust and tolerance.”
(Cartoon courtesy www.cartoonstock.com)
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.