India and Pakistan Heavily Burdened by Corruption

by M.M. Ali

More than 1.3 billion people live in the Asian subcontinent, of whom more than half live in abject poverty with no visible prospects of escaping their precarious condition in the foreseeable future.

The Times of India reported on Dec. 8 that the Indian Planning Commission has ascertained that of India’s 930 million inhabitants, 40 percent—some 370 million—live below the poverty line. Poverty in India is defined as a monthly income of Rupees 264 ($7.40) or less per city dweller, and Rs. 228 ($6.40) per month for rural areas. Nor is the economic picture very different in Pakistan. Moreover, both countries have earned the dubious distinction of being among the top 10 most corrupt nations in the world, according to Transparency International, a Berlin-based research organization.

Prosperity Amidst Poverty in India

While millions live without one square meal per day and sleep on the sidewalks in India, there also are obscene displays of mostly ill-gotten wealth. Recent investigations have unearthed a world of corruption existing beneath the veneer of democracy, free elections and religiosity in India. Sparked by the Havala (literal translation: hand over) case, where businessmen were charged with bribing government officials and elected leaders, police findings in 1996 brought down the revered Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and the mighty Jayalalita, former chief minister of Tamilnadu, and jailed the saintly Chandraswami, who allegedly accumulated a huge fortune not just from prescribing his mantras, but also through influence peddling. On top of all this, when the residence of former cabinet minister Sukh Ram was raided by the Central Intelligence Bureau (CBI) in New Delhi, the raiders found millions of U.S. dollars and British pounds stashed in trash cans, suitcases and closets.

Former Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao’s son-in-law is accused of misappropriating millions that he received to import urea for the fertilizer industry. To date, according to the Indian press, not a single bag of fertilizer has arrived.

One of the reasons that so many scandals have filled the pages of the Indian media goes back to some unusual activities of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). That right-wing opposition party was in office for two weeks after an election victory, but it was forced to relinquish power when it failed to gain a majority in the Parliament. However, members of the BJP government reportedly used their brief time in power to photocopy classified reports on the misdeeds of their political rivals. The BJP then provided information to the CBI, raids and indictments followed, and courts have taken up some of the cases.

Courts are likely to remain busy for months, if not years

L.K. Advani also is charged with taking large bribes. Jayalalita, a movie star before she became the chief minister of Tamilnadu, is in jail because, although she took only a token salary of just Rs. 1 per month between 1990-1995, CBI has found dozens of real estate properties in her name in three different states and has confiscated “30 kilograms of gold, 400 gold bangles, 500 kilograms of silver, over 100 wristwatches, more than 150 curios and precious stones, a wardrobe of 10,000 saris and 250 pairs of imported footwear in her house,” according to published reports.

India Today carried her picture on its Dec. 31 title page with the caption: “Booty Queen.” Each week new names are being added to the list of Indian businessmen and politicians arrested on charges of graft and outright theft. Courts are likely to remain busy for months, if not years, while the United Front coalition government of Prime Minister Dev Gowda hangs in the balance.

Repeat Performance in Pakistan

Under the guise of piety and humility, corruption remained concealed for over 40 years in Gandhian India. In Pakistan, however, it has been blatant. Not once but twice Benazir Bhutto has been sacked by Pakistani presidents from the prime ministership on charges of corruption. (Her principal political rival, Nawaz Sharif, so far has been removed from office only once on similar charges.)

Pakistani President Farooq Ahmed Leghari, once a Bhutto political protegé, now has charged that the deposed Bhutto’s husband, Asif Zardari, used the official residence of the prime minister for breeding and training polo horses. Benazir Bhutto counter-charged that Leghari had converted part of the president’s residential grounds into a shikar (hunting) practice range.

These, however, were minor charges compared to the horror stories accusing government officials, including ministers, of obtaining wealth through most foul means. Zardari was given the popular nickname of “Mr. 10 Percent” for allegedly taking fees and commissions from government transactions inside and outside the country.

The State Bank of Pakistan published lists of persons who in recent years had borrowed millions of rupees from different commercial banks, and never returned a penny. A delinquent account list is estimated to have reached 40,000 cases. Reportedly no more than 12 percent of the population pays taxes. When Bhutto was forced out of office on Oct. 5, the interim government promised ehtesab (accountability). But constitutionally the interim government cannot remain in power for more than 90 days, when new elections have to be held. It is not clear how the many cases filed, and the even greater number of cases that have not yet been filed, will be dealt with after the Feb. 3 election date.

India’s Political Doldrums

Indian Prime Minister Dev Gowda was able to form his 13-party coalition government at the center of the Indian political spectrum with the help of Congress Party support in the Lokh Sabha, the lower house of the Indian parliament. Under charges of corruption, Congress Party lost the elections. Narasimha Rao had to step down as prime minister and abdicate as president of the Congress Party, but he continued as party leader in the parliament. However, the new Congress president, Sitaram Kesri, also forced Rao to vacate his parliamentary leadership post. Kesri has made it clear that his “ambition is to see Congress assume power.”

Even if Gowda’s government should fall, however, Congress will not automatically succeed in forming a government because it still is far from enjoying a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Kesri, now 77, was a compromise candidate when he became the Congress president last year. Now he must stave off serious long-term challenges to his own leadership before he can start dealing across political lines. With dozens of cases of Congress Party politicians of all descriptions before the courts, Kesri can ill afford to use the other option of asking for fresh elections. Political pundits in New Delhi opine that Kesri may wait for another four to six months before he makes such a move. This will leave Dev Gowda no option other than to reach out to the other large party in the Sabha—the BJP—for support. BJP will have to choose between joining a coalition or gambling on a new election. These uncertainties may keep Gowda’s government in power for some time longer.

Pakistan in Another Bind

The interim government that was formed after the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto on Oct. 5, 1996, has not been able to attain the prestige that was enjoyed by a previous interim regime headed by Moeen Qureshi in 1993. The cabinet that the present interim prime minister, Mairaj Khalid, has assembled consists of some known but questionable faces, and some unknown quantities. The foremost task is to put Pakistan’s financial house in order. It is believed that the country’s foreign reserves had diminished from $2.5 billion to less than $600 million in the 6 months before Bhutto was replaced.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank cannot be expected to subsidize graft and maladministration. Further loans may bring the country out of the hole temporarily, but the increased burden of debt without adequate corrective steps will only mire Pakistan more deeply in debt. The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule on Benazir Bhutto’s petition challenging her dismissal. If the court rules in Bhutto’s favor, the confusion will be further compounded.

Pakistan has been like a haunted house for the last eight years. The occupants of the democratic chambers, political rivals Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, were very much aware of the apparition of the army, that could suddenly materialize and cut short their terms in office. While the elected leaders operated up front, it was the military that called the shots behind the scenes, particularly at critical junctures.

The current stalemate and growing degree of uncertainty has brought the army role as final arbiter into the open. A Council for Defense and National Security has been formed with the president, the prime minister, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the army, navy and air force chiefs all represented.

Although the official role of the Council is merely to advise the government, the Council provides an open role for the military in a civil administration. The timing in creating the Council was interesting. Political analysts say it was to remove doubts about whether elections would be held, as scheduled, on Feb. 3. Nevertheless, a popular weekly column in Dawn, the English-language daily of Karachi, was titled in Urdu: “Ehtesab or Intekhab” (accountability or elections). The message of writer Ardeshir Cowasjee was that premature elections would only bring back the same old corrupt faces and the cycle of national looting would continue. He may be right.