India and Scams
People were very hopeful when India got its freedom from the British rule because they thought it was also the end of hunger, poverty and deprivation.
In order to get maximum votes politicians made false promises to the masses. They came to power but these promises were never fulfilled.
India had great potential for growth but politicians cared more for their own and as a result today Indian politicians are rich but Indian citizens are poor.
After Independence India received huge amounts of money by the different world bodies, for development of the country but the corrupt leaders, politicians used the money to fill their own homes and also used the divisive politics, religion and caste etc. so that public remains entangled in their own matters and not question the leaders.
From the per capita income view, India is one of the poorest countries of the world although it has large natural resources. After fifty six years of independence Indian villages still do not have proper drinking water facilities, roads, hospitals, schools etc. This all is due to corruption among politicians of our country.
Over the last ten years scandals have come to light with amazing rapidity. The first major scandal was the Securities Scandal which came to light in 1992, in which huge amounts of money was illegally removed from the financial institutes and banks and was invested in the share market. The estimate of embezzlement from the monetary system ranged from Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 9,000 crore. Out of this huge amount Rs. 4,000 crore has been recovered in the form of seized securities and property and the rest either lie frozen or are deposited abroad. Many people were arrested. The real culprits could not brought to the book and the case still drags slowly.
During 1994 when India was facing a shortage of sugar and decision to import sugar was made, there were many irregularities in it and the Sugar Scandal rocked the country. The country suffered directly and indirectly huge losses. It so happened that the reports of probable imports were leaked and when the decision to buy sugar was taken, the prices sky rocketed and those who had booked the consignment acting on that knowledge became millionaires overnight. In this too no arrest was made as there was no proof.
Then there were the scams like the Hawala Scam, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Scam, and the Housing Scam etc. The list is too long to read.
The latest scam to hit our country is the Telgi Scam which is related to the Revenue Stamps.
Earlier the exposure of Scandals used to leave people aghast but now they don’t shock people much as it seems to have become a part of national routine. The media plays a commendable role for it is due to their efforts that people come to know about these scams.
Scams are a treachery with the faith of people which they place in their leaders. It is also a blot on our democracy.
