Social Articles

[ Let us all pray for zero-corruption democratic society ]

Author: Dr. Jakir Hossain Laskar, PhD

In the restrained and regulated economic system, the scope of financial corruption and evil practice is much more because there stays the possibility of multiform opportunistic extortions in lieu of offering brides. But that pecuniary corruption will be ramified more and more keeping pace with the economic prosperity and uncontrolled liberalization of economy – our renowned economists could not contemplate this in the very inception. Personal responsibility is certainly foremost in relation with financial corruption; but at the same time institutionalized misconduct and dilatoriness should not be considered trifling by any means. Economic corruptions come to the limelight very soon, but institutionalized corruptions work like silent killers regarding which no hue and cry is cropped up. Since last several years across the country, the inclemency and spreading of economic corruption is on the rise. From the first quarter of this decade till date, one after another, big economic infamy like Commonwealth Games (2010) and 2G Spectrum Scam (2010) has been revealed and brought to light publicly.

If the fundamental causes are not changed and the intrinsic radical changes of governmental system are not done – nothing will be changed. Methinks, corruptions always come hand in hand with power. So, we need to strike into the core of the power to stave off corruption and malpractice. But, what a long, pain-staking and lurching affair to continue fracas by the civilians single-handedly against the institutionalized government – only the experienced, having suffered in the same way, does know that. Our great leader, the father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi had the peerless might and ability to deliberate and higgle. He untiringly every moment did chaffer with the then British Government, but whenever any political discourse has been come to naught – he forthwith started agitating nationwide against the government. One of the meanings of democracy is to take decision through discourse and dialogue, to make the government servants accustomed with transparency and duty-bound sense of responsibility taking part in various government projects. Surprisingly, till date, no government to this effect could be succeeded since independence. Even after 60 years of attainting national freedom, we see, our so-called parliamentary democracy as an institution is still infested with wood-mite or weevil of corruption – our countrymen has lost faith on almost every political party or leader. In the context of recent panic-stricken price-hike of essential commodities and others, irrespective of parties or opinions, people’s infidelity and no-confidence is gradually increasing in all walks of our socio-political life. Social encirclement, now-a-days, has become defiled and vitiated in all devouring corruption, wrong-doing and injustice – which is why, common people along with civil society are being resounded with discontent against the old trite political systems. In our national capital just a few decades ago at Boat Club, the then peasant leader, demagogue, Mahendra Singh Tikaet left the central government embarrassed and routed putting them out of countenance with his anti-incumbent movement having strong support by the assemblage of common people.

Some reputed international human rights and sociological organizations have calibrated various countries seriatim according to the degree of corruption and from almost all the scrutinized observations, speaking roughly, same type of results have been divulged. According to ‘World Democracy Audit’, a reliable organization of this genre, it was found that, in 2010, the position of India was 70-th in relation to corruption among the 185 countries of the world. Corruption and immorality is now a diurnal affair in the Indian social life; common people are to confront corruption at almost every step for survival. We’re now the victims of omnipresent negative socio-political jurisprudence for which we all are vexed, dejected and blinded with rage and indignation. In the governmental spheres, ministers and bureaucrats try their utmost to hush up diurnal corruptions; many of them indulge misappropriation and thus insinuatingly repudiate declining to accept the democratic demand of pellucid governance. Having seen all these, a surmise is being gradually deep-rooted that corruption here is natural, so acceptable – no change is possible of it. When the life of commoners have become about to die being extremely peeved because of unjust governance by the State at home and abroad, then only distrust and incredulity has haunted in the mind of that respective countrymen about the State-sponsored organizations. In India, long ago, institutionalized democratic values and ideologies have been putrescent and rotten – I’m saying this being stricken with great sorrow with crestfallen disappointment. Many political leaders, now a days, become victorious using black money and with the might of muscle-power along with misappropriating administrative power. Common people now have been watching everyday with the help of strong electronic and print media how Indian Parliament, run by the tax-payers’ money, has become the rehearsal room of obscene reviling and raillery for the fulfillment of narrow political vested interests! So, the sum and the substance, in every stratum in the field of politics, bureaucracy is being thrived rising in revolt in lieu of true democracy.

In our country there is an organization named “Ombudsman” (Lokpal) which was instituted as an appropriate action-taken body after investigating corruption, nepotism and malpractices perpetrated by the government dignitaries and government servants. This “Ombudsman” is a judicially dignified self-independent organization, whose sole purpose in a nutshell is to prevent administrative corruptions by the central ministers, bureaucrats, secretaries and other government dignitaries and is also to redress public complaints and imputations. In myriad countries of the world with different names this type of public administration system is in vogue – which was introduced first in Sweden. That nation a few weeks or months ago observed bi-centenary of “Ombudsman” whose job is to examine and report on complaints made by ordinary people about the government or public authorities. In 1809, “Ombudsman” post was instituted in the Swedish constitution to stop administrative misdeed, impropriety, misappropriation of power, etc. – whose prime purpose was to well-protect the interest of civilians and to resist public administrative corruptions. Following Sweden , one by one, many countries such as Finland, Britain, Denmark, Norway etc. framed the post of “Ombudsman”, Erstwhile Soviet Union and also it’s then friendly socialist states gave a start to the ‘office of the procurator’.

But, in our ill-fated country, neither the incumbent government nor the opposition wants that a strong dexterous “Lokpal Bill” be made! Because, here in all strata, most of the ministers and bureaucrats themselves are engrossed in the silt of corruption in lieu of protecting public interests. Today, here, we are observing the golden-jubilee celebration of ‘Lokpal’ debate – we could not enact the Bill (legal draft) even today since 1960 to terminate this bone of contention! National and provincial level political leaders of various descriptions in the one hand ostensibly start yelling into the open in favour of strong powerful ‘Lokpal Bill’ to hoodwink the civil society and to consolidate their vote-bank. They, on the other hand, try to pull the string from behind the curtain to save the corrupted colleague ministers and bureaucrats and their sheltered dishonest businessman. In gone-by years whenever the proposal to enact this “Bill” had been made in the upper and lower house of parliament – every time those who was in power (National Congress, BJP or any Third Front) had tried to shelve the “Bill” in various pretexts. Besides, several times the primary draft which the political party or front who was in central power prepared, that was against the conception of proposed influential mighty “Lokpal Bill” to blockade the governmental corruption and to protect the civil interest. If the Lokpal is empowered only as an advisory body for the recommendation to the befitting authorities, if the proposed “Bill” is not given the suo-moto power to investigate or to take action against anyone, or if it is not given the government-report-registry power and FIR-taking power – then why have the political leaders so much verbiage, why do they speak grandiloquently for that proposed ‘Lokpal’? Why are our national political leaders poking fun thus with the vast concourse of Indian people? For goodness’ sake, please, don’t play with the edge-tools again to the people of the nation! You do verbally say, my India is great! But, practically, you’re weltering the respect of the nation on the ground in the global altar! A rumour is afloat that common people today no more believe the so-called politicians. Then why will they believe that politicians will put forth their best efforts candidly being up and doing to eradicate the unscrupulous corruption and depravity? So, being compelled in a way, our civil society with a sort of pressure-politics with an eye to fulfill some social demands has come into view afresh in the contemporary Indian political scenario. From the previous experience, Indian civil society does know – “Zero-corruption” society is quite impossible in our country. According to me, that is also not desired, wished for any vibrant vivacious democracy. But, in the democratic space how the degree of corruption can be minimized with as much as we can, for that, incumbent government, big opposition parties and representatives of civil society have to make consensus and all-party- accepted unanimity working together with open hearts. Regarding this with an eye to institute a strong benevolent powerful “Lokpal Bill”, I’m ushering some proposals and recommendations for considering by all sides :-

1) “Lokpal” should have the authoritative domination for taking action and investigative title against anyone being actuated by itself – it shouldn’t be empowered only as an advisory guild for the recommendation to the proper authorities.

2) “Lokpal” has to be the power of giving punishment; also it needs to have J.L. and FIR-taking power.

3) Besides Supreme Court and High Courts, Prime Minister should also be brought under the “Lokpal” jurisdiction.

4) “Lokpal” will have its own judiciary and investigating teams – it will also have specific time-limit for investigation and legal procedure.

5) Besides ministers and bureaucrats of all levels, lower-grade government servants also should be brought under the “Lokpal” perimeter.

6) In the proposed ‘Lokpal’, political leaders or ruling party will have no predominance and suzerainty; rather members may be taken in it from outside the judiciary.

7) “Lokpal” will not need any kind of governmental permission for starting legal procedure against any type of corruption and evil practices.

8) The corruption-quelling brunch of the Central Vigilance Commission and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should be unified and amalgamated with the proposed “Lokpal”.

9) Earned assets through corruption and misappropriation of money will be confiscated and compensation will be given to those who have sustained the depreciatory loss.

10) Having kept the appropriate provision of handing over the power, no politician should be kept in the “Lokpal” selection panel.

11) Having finished the investigation within 6 months, the provision for giving punishment may be kept within one year and the accused post-holder should be expelled from the office forthwith.

12) The punishment of corruption at least should be 5-7 years; utmost it may be life-term imprisonment.

We, the great multitude of common Indian people, are standing amidst a whirlpool full of vicissitudes among state, country and social precepts. We use our democratic right through casting our precious votes in Assembly and General Elections. But, if the democratically elected government is not in the true sense led by the people, then in near future that democracy will gradually become inane and empty having no essential kernel – consequently, some particular political class think themselves valorous and all-powerful, and say shouting at the top of their voice : Only we are the representative of the people, we’re running the government for the good of the people and it is democracy – actually, which is nothing but the dissimulating beguilement of parliamentary democracy detrimental to the general interest of the people. The repressed menials even today didn’t get emancipation in this wretched country. So, the victimized common-folks being disappointed to the disguised democracy certainly can join in the trend of anti-government putsch and mass-movements where Anna Hazare with his like-minded henchmen can find the republican intonations of civilian power against oligarchy.

Besides lashing against the personal corruptions of government ministers and bureaucrats and flogging against institutionalized malpractices, we also have to organize revolutionary uprising through mass-movement against the all-pervading corruptions of non-governmental sectors. When you go to the college to get your son or daughter admitted, you’re to give illegal ‘donation’ at least a few lakh rupees. Those middle class across the nation who are rending the air and sky with the slogan of anti-corruption mass-movement, when they sell or purchase any ownership flat or house, they adopt various unfair means to evade property taxes. Bribery has come into vogue now-a-days to legalize unjust deeds! Greedy doctors do unnecessary surgery and adopt various bad practices by force or fraud, thereby ruin the helpless patients’ family utterly. Lawyers bend the truth, even judges also pronounce verdict being influenced by taking bribes or any other illegal gratifications. People watch movie managing tickets from the black marketers. People try to get acquitted greasing police’s palm. Can all these malpractices and corruptions be extirpated only by throwing a certain political party away from the power? How will these corruptions be eradicated if the economic model is not changed? In USA, of late I’ve heard of a rightest front in politics that has come into view in the national rostrum. Their main demand is : There is no need of having a government, government is the enemy of the people, governments only realize taxes and embezzle that public money. I think, this trend of politics is also dangerous. Corruption is very bad and certainly that is blameworthy and deserving to be censured, and also that needs to be redressed, – albeit undemocratic circumference, methinks, not a good sign. People can have the grudge and huff to the ministers, parliamentarians or higher post-holders of an elected government, but that doesn’t mean that the parliamentary democratic system has to be obliterated. I say through my political introspection that if the outcome of any successful revolutionary uprising, at length, does preach the application of constitution- contravening method – the result of that is also bound to be disastrous and far-reaching.

In the long run, my country will be corruption-free if only a powerful “Lokpal Bill” is passed. We have to come out from the ubiquitous crucially dangerous tight corner of education, culture and morality. And we have to organize turbulent democratic mass-agitation against the cultural degradation besides socio-political decadence. At present, we have been seeing a compromising trend between democratic thoughts and perceptions, and socio-religious superstitions. Our civil society has to sing the song of praise for uncompromising youthful humanism and humanistic values in the political movement run against this aforesaid trend. The mentality of greed which was born in the exploiting social system – with the help of whose rearing, today, the poison-tree of corruption has become the colossal plant. Methinks, we neglected the task of socio-cultural revolution in our long-continuing national freedom movement as we tried to establish sway only on the political activities. As a result, the created crux of that morality today is the prime impediment in front of our cultural revolutionary uprising. Now, having transgressed this obstacle to build a corruption-free nation, our civil society and our respected intelligentsia have to be resolute and girdled for practicing moral character and ethical ideologies. We must feel compunction before being involved in any form of corruption and misconduct. We must not do any immoral act; instead, all of us should try to acquire the moral backbone to protest against injustice and wrong-doing. May God ignite our sense of humanity!

Seismic Shift in Higher Education

[ Harmonic reconciliation is obligatory between education and culture ]

Author: Dr. Jakir Hossain Laskar, PhD

Some sections of highly seasoned intelligentsia, with their nose in the air along with the people in our country or society who are so-called well-educated and are interested in culture, literature and politics, consider that the true environ can be created only if we can harness the colleges and universities in the hedge-row of strict legal rules and regulations. Enacting the laws with apple-pie order, private tuition can be proclaimed as cognizable offence for the teachers and fulltime professors. In our country, lecturers and professors of colleges and universities absent themselves from duty two-three days in a week. To compel them for coming regularly, attendance enforcement mechanism can be framed. All new professor appointment can be done strictly according to the merit and that should also the done transparently.  Following the UGC guidelines and recommendations, student feedback system can be given a start to the educational institutions with the plinth of which promotion, increment and extension process of the appointed professors can be evaluated and calibrated. To make them work neutrally and impartially, Principles and Vice-Chancellors can be appointed only on the basis on merit and according to the certificate of competency. Security check can be installed in the campus to restrain the adventitious ingress for maintaining the proper environs in educational seraglio.

Curtailment of seats is never desirable in higher education, on the contrary, increasing the number of seats we have to contemplate about excellence and variegation. We have to realize the necessity of over-all attainment of knowledge in lieu of severed aslant one-sided imparting of knowledge. At the same time, we have to think of introducing the lofty advanced style and methods of higher education- for which, our central government can keep the retired researcher-professors engaged in various ways even after their retirement from service. In our country in the field of higher education much extension and universal concomitance have been made but to bring the equipoise standard besides pervasion, we have to appoint innumerable eligible teachers and professors and also preference has to be given in the field of infrastructural reforms and amendments. We are living in 21-st century but unfortunately our educational infrastructure and condition are of sixty-seventieth decade. I’m speaking from experience, somewhere there are no updated science laboratory, somewhere even there are no good library facility. Besides, in most of the colleges and universities of our country, there are no healthy environment of education, there are no scope of higher research facilities-politicization in the educational arena has wriggled the backbone of our nation.

All these can be corrected if we have noble intentions prompted by well-wishing. We have to strengthen our higher education council in the strict sense-we need to form the academic council only with the teachers and professors for taking core of education-related all activities where there will have only unanimously accepted highly-qualified dedicated professors from a political non-partisan background. Is poking the nose by the political top-brasses agreeable and justified in the management of higher education? If the spurious adulterant elements enter into the professor appointment-related committee, our entire education system in near future will fall prostrate. That is why, inveterate arrangement can be made enacting by stringent laws so that high-profile govt. dignitaries can never meddle in the activities of education council. Even after having done so much making up leeway we have to give importance on harmonic reconciliation between education and culture, otherwise, inquisitiveness for and light of knowledge will not be transfused in all walks of our social life. If the prying into the culture, the customs and beliefs, art, way of life, value-based education and social milieu is not done to our utmost effort and to the best of our abilities – then in the days ahead how will the cultural standard of our students be more elevated and glorious? In actuality, our national movement assumed the incomplete partial figure on the eve of independence, as, then, our so-called national leaders couldn’t incorporate the urgent programme of great Cultural Revolution with the British anti-important socio-political movement. Democratic customs and lofty values based on highly adorable progressive thriving culture could not be bloomed in our sensitive national consciousness. If we want to accelerate the blossoming of new cultural values in our social life, unprejudiced cultural standard has to be given high importance in the field of education. We have to stop in no time the propensity of mixing the spiritualism with modern science. Religicization (religion-orientation) of education has also to be shut off at this moment in the field of ethical values and social morality admixing the mediaeval old religious values with humane values and humanistic ideologies.

Now a days many educationists think, world-class qualitative college or university can be made if that institution is given sufficient pecuniary help and grant along with enforcement for rigid educational laws. More than 100 years ago, the infrastructure of Presidency College was contrived dexterously, but its blue-blooded nobility today is weltering on the ground because of its degradation of cultural standard. Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge have become world-famous saving the situation and highly adorable performing penance and being absorbed in deep meditation. Cambridge, 800-year old university, is one of the greatest among famous educational organizations even today with its heraldic sign.

In our disdained down-cast country in the educational meadow, gradually-increasing devastating politics is spreading large-scale violence, unrest and anarchy in the institution campus. So, to make the path of higher education expansion strewn without thorns as far as possible – we have to put up a bold front against the politicization of education besides fanatic religious intrusion in the educational compounds. I want a new education system which is needful and competent for the creation of true honest committed human being. Is our higher education only for making necessary serviceable clerks, scribes and bureaucrats? India’s present education system is teaching student-community in the mechanical way so that they become blinded by selfishness, self-centered and predestinarian. Our patriot teachers and professors de profundis have to come forward working against the clock to save the society from this moral degradation and decadence.

Our govt. is forming various educational commissions to elevate the study and research of colleges and universities of our country parallel to the international standard. But, if the teachers and professors are not accountable, dedicated and trustworthy – all our auspicious efforts will be in vain through fair and foul. After every five years in the country, the incumbent govt. will bid farewell and a new govt. will take charge. But carefully nourished moral values for life of our renowned professors and researchers will stay forever. Only teachers can inspire and invigorate students to make them true human beings with the help of the ideologies of humanism and freedom of choice. Today in our country the rulers of the society, which is governed by the interest of personal profit-making motive, is trying to mould our students selfish and self-devoted through the depreciated decadent education-system. Teachers and professors who are promise-bound to the society have to put forth counter-arguments against all these misappropriation. At present in all parts of the country, teachers and professors are fat-salaried persons; so their responsibility is much higher than ever before to make our students highly-educated. The entire moral and cultural standard of a nation is calibrated according to the excelled educational performance. India’s present decision-makers, director or directrix, in the education system are giving extreme importance on technical education, but in the field of higher education methinks if the girth of study of literature, philosophy and social science is curtailed, we will not be able to act of bringing into agreement and harmony between education and culture. If our ideal teachers and professors, who should guide to lead us in peril, can stay vigilant with alacrity about their duties and responsibilities to the state and civil society, that will be good for our great nation with a seismic shift in the socio-cultural change.