Dealing with the 'officially' corrupt

By Sameer Bhasin. Dated: 7/4/2015 3:37:26 PM

Showing door to 70 officers including civil servants and top ranked engineers in Jammu and Kashmir by terminating their services or retiring them prematurely could be seen as a drive by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed led government in the state to cleanse the administration of the corrupt and deadwoods.
Corruption in J&K is not limited to government or administration alone. It is equally rampant in social and political life as well. Bribes are paid here to buy loyalties. It appears to have been enjoying the status of political concession that people and politicians enjoy with complete approval of the system they live in.
One of the opinions prevalent around corruption in J&K, as uploaded on web by Indiaopines(dot)com, which has quotes from Jagmohan's 'My Frozen Turbulences in Kashmir' is thus: "Corruption in Kashmir was formally institutionalized in Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad's regime, who took over the reins of government after Sheikh Abdullah was toppled and jailed on August 9, 1953. Bakshi ruled the state for 11 years (1953-64). New Delhi threw open the doors of its treasury and sent in bags full of money to bribe people and politicians in order to stem resentment and anger in the wake of Abdullah's arrest. A culture of subsidy (on food and ration) was introduced to woo common people. It made corruption a rightful thing with people and politicians at all levels competing with one another in accumulating wealth. Union government, by and large, turned blind eye to the existence of corruption in Kashmir"
The website further posts that: "Treasure troves were also left open for close aides of Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah as well. Many of them deserted Abdullah in late 60s and early 70s to join the mainstream politics and government. Senior Plebiscite Front leaders-Ali Mohammad Nayak, Mubarak Shah, Ghulam Qadir Mir along with many other middle-rung leaders-participated in elections against Abdullah's call for boycott. Common perception, though not supported by any substantial evidence, is that some members of Abdullah family were also wooed that paved way for 1975 Indira-Abdullah Accord under which Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah returned to Indian political mainstream to become the chief minister of the state."
"How money power was used to topple Farooq Abdullah's government and install his brother-in-law Ghulam Mohammad Shah as chief minister in 1984 is common knowledge in Kashmir. Corruption assumed the status of culture, more particularly at administrative level, after Farooq Abdullah returned to power following an agreement with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986.
The rise of militancy in 1989 gave a new flip to the distribution of government 'charities' in Kashmir. It opened for all and sundry. Buying loyalties took the centre-stage of institutional functioning. Militants, their over-ground helpers, Imams of mosques, religious leaders, political activists, journalists, sports persons, social and human rights activists and village heads got the attention of state institutions. Many a militants and political activists operated under direct sponsorship of the state agencies. Ikhwan and Muslim Mujahideen were two dreaded militant groups operating in tandem with security forces to combat militants. Awami League was state-sponsored political outfit. Hundreds of people among common masses got engaged as 'informers' by police and security and intelligence agencies."
The web post by Indiaopines(dot)com further mentions, "A former officer in Social Welfare Department said that hundreds of NGOs under different names and categories came into existence and were registered with different government departments. All these NGOs got generous funding from the government with no or little accountability. The newspaper publications witnessed a mushroom growth. From half a dozen in 1990, the number of daily and weekly newspapers shot up in hundreds. Where from funds flows for them is an enigma. In 2011, it was revealed that 362 Madrasas (religious schools) across Jammu and Kashmir also got government funding. Kashmir witnessed a surge in sports activities as well. General V K Singh has emphatically said that organizing sports activities was one of the main functions of army's Goodwill project."
"Common impression in the valley is that government worked on many separatist leaders as well. Many of them are seen as beneficiaries of, both, Indian and Pakistani largesse. Despite their claims of separation from Indian mainstream, they enjoy every facility-passports, visas, foreign trips and security-from the government.
"I don't see any section of Kashmiri society corruption-free", says advocate A U Mir adding "government is encouraging corruption in Kashmir with a design". "People are paid or punished for their political beliefs", he elaborates according to the Indiaopines.
The PDP-BJP government in partnership seems to express seriousness in dealing with the menace called corruption. But, how serious is it in bringing in the corrupt-free regime or if the new dispensation is attempting only to cleanse the administration of the loyalists of the previous regime to replace them with a new lot of 'the loyalists' who show allegiance with either the PDP or the BJP. This is yet to be seen.

 

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