The Vivekean Times

India was in deep financial crisis and facing a shameful default in the early 1990s when the ex-RBI governor, Dr Manmohan Singh became the Finance Minister of the newly elected Government. He brought in a wave of sweeping reforms that saved the face and economy of the nation. It was due to his astute policies that privatisation, liberalisation,deregulation and tax reforms took place. The economy was saved and India grew to become one of the strongest economies in the world by 2007 with Dr. Manmohan at the helm as the Prime Minister of a Congress-led UPA coalition. Despite surviving the financial crisis of 2008, India has found itself in a soup with spiraling inflation (as faced by almost every other country on this planet) and large-scale corruption at every level of government and society. The 2G Telecom scandal and the Commonwealth scams have rocked the UPA government hard and it had almost sunk when Anna Hazare started his anti-corruption drive insisting on a Lok Pal bill draf...

Almost every Indian citizen (who can afford it) gives donations to schools and colleges for their childrens' admissions. Many buy tickets in black (at unreasonable rates) to watch movies. Many citizens bribe RTOs for fake driving licenses; while others give bribes to traffic cops and railways TCs when caught on the wrong foot. Shop owners pay haftas to cops and gangsters. Actors work in films financed by underworld gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim. These are everyday phenenomena in our motherland yet people who pay these bribes do not launch an agitation against the schools, gangsters and policemen. In the light of this blatant and rampant corruption, and our role in it, isn't it so hypocritical that civil society is launching an all out attack on the government and judiciary when we ourselves act s irresponsibly. Let us deny our children the school we prefer, let us sacrifice the privileges and comforts we desire before putting the entire blame on the government. And let me ass...