Implosion (42 page)

The novel graphically illustrates how India is wasting its demographic dividend with about half of its population below the age of 25. Instead of equipping the youth for jobs that would contribute both to their future and India’s development, an inadequate education system is turning out many potential failures who find it easier, as Gopal does, to fall in with the corruption they see around them.

Corruption is a deeper and more dangerous problem in India than it is in many other countries. It is not just a case of people in power taking bribes, or even creaming off government funds. The foundations of democracy and social stability are being eaten away, and the effectiveness of institutions, already weakened by jugaad, are further destroyed.

Notes

1.
   Bibek Debroy and Laveesh Bhandari,
Corruption in India – the DNA and the RNA
, p. 7, Konark Publishers, New Delhi, 2012,
http://www.konarkpublishers.com/books/851

2.
   Bibek Debroy and Laveesh Bhandari, ‘Corruption in India’,
World Financial Review
http://www.worldfinancialreview.com/?p=1575

3.
   Bibek Debroy in email conversation with JE

4.
   ‘Silence of the vultures’,
Sunday Guardian
, 18 May 2013
http://www.sunday-guardian.com/analysis/silence-of-the-vultures

5.
   In conversation with JE, December 2012

6.
   Pavan K. Varma in conversation with JE – and quoted from
Chanakya’s New Manifesto – To Resolve the Crisis within India
, pp, 126-7, Aleph Book Company, Delhi, 2013,
http://alephbookcompany.com/chanakyas-new-manifesto

7.
   Namita Gokhale in conversation with JE, March 2013; she has examined the understanding of Hindu mythology and religion in two of her books
In Search of Sita
and
The Book of Shiva
http://namitagokhale.com/books.html

8.
   JE article in December 1999 for a private circulation publication in the UK.

9.
   B.V. Kumar,
The Darker Side of Black Money
, Konark Publishers, Delhi, 2013
https://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/india-is-at-a-turning-point-that-might-go-wrong/

10.
‘Rajya Sabha seats available for Rs 100 crore: Congress MP’, Zee TV News, 29 July 2013,
http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/rajya-sabha-seats-available-for-rs-100-crore-congress-mp_865209.html

11.
Lecture at the British Council, Delhi, 16 March 2013, attended by JE – also reported at
http://www.firstpost.com/india/polls-biggest-source-of-corruption-former-cec-quraishi-794605.html

12.
Full Details of Pending Criminal Cases of MPs (Lok Sabha 2009 Election),
http://adrindia.org/research-and-reports/lok-sabha/2009/full-details-pending-criminal-cases-mps-lok-sabha-2009-election

13.
National Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Research,
http://adrindia.org

14.
Devesh Kapur and Milan Vaishnav, ‘Quid Pro Quo: Builders, Politicians, and Election Finance in India’, Working Paper 276, December 2011,
http://casi.sas.upenn.edu/system/files/Quid+Pro+Quo+-+DK.pdf
, Center for Global Development, 1800 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, DC 20036 www.cgdev.org

15.
Conversations with JE, non-attributable

16.
‘Mayawati obsessed with grooming, fashion: WikiLeaks’,
India Today
, 6 September 2011,
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mayawati-wikileaks-bsp/1/150243.html

17.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/these-elephants-are-not-for-riding/

18.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/india-shows-what-it-can-do-with-a-winning-formula

19.
‘Maya memorials: Lokayukta indicts 199 for graft’,
Indian Express
, 21 May 2013,
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/maya-memorials-lokayukta-indicts-199-for-graft/1118340/

20.
‘Mayawati memorials caused huge losses of royalty, says probe’,
The Times of India
, 22 May 2013,
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-22/lucknow/39445008_1_several-mining-leaseholders-memorials-large-scale-illegal-mining

21.
Told non-attributably to JE

22.
Amitabha Pande, ‘The power to say yes’,
Indian Express
, 2 November 2012,
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/the-power-to-say-yes;
former secretary to the government who handled army procurement in the 1990s and describes himself as ‘an iconoclastic former IAS officer who never fitted into the mould’, Pande runs his blog at
http://notesfromasubversivebureaucrat.blogspot.in/

23.
In conversation with JE; Surendra Rao, formerly a senior business executive, director general of NCAER, and first chairman of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission

24.
‘Fodder scam: Lalu preparing for worst as verdict looms?’,
Mail Today
, 9 May 2012,
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/fodder-scam-lalu-yadav-rabri-devi-bihar-rjd-leader/1/188050.html

25.
‘Blow for Lalu in fodder scam trial’,
Business Standard
, 14 August 2013,
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/fodder-scam-lalu-s-plea-rejected-sc-for-quick-end-to-trial-113081300997_1. html

26.
‘Sons Lite – Lalu Prasad has inducted his sons into the party,’
Business Standard
, 25 May 2013,
http://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/sons-lite-113052401029_1.html

27.
‘Lalu Yadav jailed for five years as India finally gets tough on graft’, Reuters, 3 October 2013,
http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/10/03/india-lalu-yadav-jailed-fodder-idINDEE99206O20131003

28.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2013/10/03/rahul-gandhi-stops-a-small-compromise-on-lalu-yadav-but-does-he-have-the-stamina-to-be-a-leader/

29.
‘Corruption – In India, Whistle-Blowers Pay with Their Lives’,
Bloomberg Business Week
, 20 October 2011,
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/in-india-whistleblowers-pay-with-their-lives-10202011.html

30.
‘The Mother Of All Sweetheart Deals’,
Outlook
blogs, 18 March 2011,
http://blogs.outlookindia.com/default.aspx?ddm=10&pid=2457&eid=31

31.
‘Haryana govt chargesheets Ashok Khemka for nixing Robert Vadra-DLF land deal’,
The Times of India
, 6 December 2013
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-12-06/india/44863011_1_robert-vadra-dlf-ashok-khemka-skylight-hospitality

32.
‘Bansal defends his decision to resign, says he has done nothing wrong’, CNN-IBN, 12 May 2013
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bansal-defends-his-decision-to-resign-says-he-has-done-nothing-wrong/391117-37-64.html

33.
‘Railway bribery: More transcripts point to Pawan Bansal’s role’, CNN-IBN, 9 August 2013,
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/railway-bribery-more-transcripts-point-to-pawan-bansals-role/413013-37-64.html

34.
Information given to JE, not attributable

35.
‘Indolence in India’s Judiciary’, Global Corruption Report 2007, Transparency International,
http://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/pub/global_corruption_report_2007_corruption_and_judicial_ systems

36.
Letter to the Prime Minister of India on 7 April 2005, reproduced in
South Asia Politics
, vol. 5, no. 1 (2006)

37.
Conversation with JE, not attributable

38.
‘A Brief History of Corruption in India’, an article by Dr William Gould, Senior Lecturer in Indian History, University of Leeds, on ‘The India Site’,
http://www.theindiasite.com/a-brief-history-of-corruption-in-india/
. His book is
Bureaucracy, Community and Influence: Society and the State in India, 1930-1960s,
Routledge, London, 2011

39.
S.S. Gill,
The Pathology of Corruption
, pp 50-61, 63-69, HarperCollins
Publishers
India, Delhi, 1998-99

40.
Ibid., p. 65

41.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/corruption-tamashas-and-gossip-flood-india-but-change-will-be-very-slow/

42.
‘Never attack family: Digvijaya Singh’s lesson on political ethics’, NDTV, 16 October 2012
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/never-attack-family-digvijaya-singh-s-lesson-on-political-ethics-to-arvind-kejriwal-280101

43.
‘The Son in Law also rises’, a gossip column account of Ranjan Bhattacharya’s life, Rediff.com, 25 July 1998,
http://www.rediff.com/news/1998/jul/25abv.htm

44.
This magazine article shows the wheeler-dealing in the early-1990s’ opening up of telecommunications: ‘The Great Telecom Scam – The record Rs 3.66 crore seizure at Sukh Ram’s residence raises questions about Narasimha Rao’s credibility and his reforms regime’, 4 September 1996,
http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?202038

45.
Sukh Ram was bailed in January 2012. This report traces the course of the cases: ‘1996 Telecom scam: HC orders ex-minister Sukhram to serve sentence’, 21 December 2011,
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/1996-telecom-scam-hc-orders-exminister-sukhram-to-serve-sentence/890402/0

46.
‘Chautala, son held guilty in teachers job scam’,
The Hindu
, 16 January 2013,
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/chautala-son-held-guilty-in-teachers-job-scam/article4312083.ece

47.
https://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2009/05/22/regional-party-ambitions-cloud-india%E2%80%99s-new-cabinet/
and
https://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2009/05/28/india%E2%80%99s-cabinet-problems-show-it-needs-a-house-of-lords-for-ruffled-egos/

48.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2008/11/23/%E2%80%9Cbed-and-bhai%E2%80%9D-rules-india%E2%80%99s-aviation/

49.
Jitender Bhargava,
The Descent of Air India
, pp. 115, 157, Bloomsbury Publishing India, 2013,
http://www.amazon.in/The-Descent-India-Jitender-Bhargava/dp/938295113X

50.
Ibid pp. 120, 151

51.
‘Suresh Prabhu and Simple Simon’, Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar’s ‘Swaminomics’ column includes a useful summary of the power sector’s losses and problems at the time, 25 August 2002,
http://swaminomics.org/suresh-prabhu-and-simple-simon/

52.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/india%E2%80%99s-telecom-minister-%E2%80%9Cshould-be-?red%E2%80%9D-for-allowing-a-company-700-profit
/

53.
‘Raja should be fired’,
Mint
, 11 November 2008,
http://www.livemint.com/2008/11/10212808/Raja-should-be-fired.html?atype=tp

54.
Arun Shourie talking to JE, September 2013, said he met Manmohan Singh in October 2009 in the gallery of the Rajya Sabha. He also explained the events in August 2013 in a television interview – video here:
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/narendra-modi-has-the-best-poll-agent-in-manmohan-singh-arun-shourie/417441-37-64.html

55.
‘Here’s how CAG report on 2G scam blasts Raja’, Rediff.com, 16 November 2010,
http://www.rediff.com/business/slide-show/slide-show-1-tech-what-the-cag-report-on-2g-scam-says/20101116.htm

56.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2010/11/15/another-corrupt-indian-politician-sacked-but-can-anything-ever-change/

57.
‘Underbelly of the Great Indian Telecom Revolution’,
Economic and Political Weekly
, December 2010,
http://www.epw.in/insight/underbelly-great-indian-telecom-revolution.html

58.
‘Lawmaker Kanimozhi Arrested in Telecom Case’,
Wall St Journal
on line, 20 May 2011,
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274 8704904604576334762982058284.html

59.
http://ridingtheelephant.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/radia-tapes-highlight-media-flaws-that-fit-with-modern-india/
and
http://riding theelephant.wordpress.com/2011/01/04/jairam-ramesh-wins-in-2010-for-tackling-india%E2%80%99s-corrupted-environment/

60.
http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/archive/01181/Coal_Block_ Questio_1181374a.pdf

61.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Coal-scam-Firms-in-Chhattisgarh-and-Jharkhand-benefited-most/Article1-917932.aspx

62.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/coal-scam-bjp-demands-pm-resignation/1/213587.html

63.
CBI ‘made to’ share Coalgate report with government
,
Times of India
, 27 April, 2013
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-27/india/38861258_1_status-report-coal-scam-probe-coal-ministry