Corruption, surruption.Let us change the subject. I am quite taken aback by continuous talk of greased palms in South Asia, and here is Transparency International once again taking South Asia to task. India and Pakistan have been ranked as among the most corrupt countries of the world the second time in a row.
Then there is the Bribe Taker Index, where too we did not show up too well. Question: Can TI take us into the more productive discussions on the sociology of corruption and bribe-taking? When will TI headquarters in Berlin and its national chapters lead us into clearheaded debates on the whys of corruption? Why is petty corruption to be condoned (as Chhetria Patrakar believes) until such time that governments cannot find a way to pay their bureaucrats decent wages, and why is TI not willing to name names when it comes to the rich and corrupt in business, bureaucracy and politics? Specifically, what is TI's take on the Bofors imbroglio; who makes hay when the Sri Lankan army goes in for attack helicopters; who are the main commission agents who muddy the national waters in Nepal, etc, etc? And what is more heinous, to give bribes or to take 'em? TI should stop pussy-footing around and be more real and less fashionable. Fake activism is for the corrupt.
Mark tully to help save steam engine," and am I glad. If there is something of the cumulative South Asian past that needs to be kept burning, it is the furnace inside the steam engines. Just as I feel for the younger generations who have not had tea in mitti-ka-cups (and fling them down on the adjacent tracks as the train speeds on), so do I feel their loss for never having smelt the burning coal during their journeys. Railgadis are supposed to go chuk chuk chuk, except that they (powered by electricity or diesel) no longer do. One suggestion for Tully-Saheb —rather than try to save some relics in the odd Railway Museum or through the munificence of tourism (such as in the Delhi-Jaipur run), should we not try to concentrate on keeping one legitimate line (preferably choti line) running entirely on steam. There are still such lines available running parallel to the Indo-Nepal border, for one. I think the lines should be subsidised so that the public agrees to the idea.