It has become fashionable in some puppy (politically upwardly mobile) circles in India to idolise East Asian models of authoritarian capitalism and yearn for discipline and order. But, surely, democracy has to be alive and kicking in a country where its institutions throw the top political elite behind bars and force others to resign in a scandal that is gigantic even by Indian standards?
It is not as if the Indian people thought their leaders were squeaky clean, benevolent visionaries. They have no illusions, and a politician is regarded as a crook until proved innocent. A poll this month by an Indian newsweekly found that 45 percent of its readers believed "all" politicians are crooks. Another 51 percent thought "a significant number" cannot be trusted.
The fact that political heavyweights from across the political spectrum stand accused in what has come to be known as "HawalaGate" has led to speculation that all will somehow wriggle out of the law's grasp. But India's functioning anarchy has ensured that the judicial machinery—however rusty and slow—is creaking into action and justice is on its way to the once mighty of the land.
This too-hot-to-handle scandal would in most likelihood have been brushed under the charpoy like previous scams had it not been for a couple of crusading journalists who filed a public interest litigation in the Supreme Court, which in turn decided to breathe down the neck of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).