Credible and transparent decision-making: the way forward

The Indian scene, in respect of both politics and economics, was dominated last week by the exposure of payoffs and wrongdoing as brought out by the tapes covertly recorded by tehelka.com. There are several angles to this very unfortunate development, which has already had an impact on the stock market, and political effects, which have not been fully played out. There would naturally be a clamour for bringing the guilty to book and for getting to the bottom of all the alleged wrongdoing by people who have been named directly or indirectly. Indeed, the prime minister has already announced the government?s intention of setting up a commission of enquiry headed by a retired or sitting judge of the Supreme Court. This is essential for creating confidence among the public and for finding out the extent of the rot that exists in the award of contracts, particularly in our defence establishment. It would be unfortunate if what these tapes have revealed is only a symptom of a much larger problem, for not only would this be unacceptable for ethical and moral reasons but also for strategic reasons, because the defence of the country cannot be subjected to considerations of personal profit and corrupt practices involving anybody in either civilian or military positions. If, however, the events of last week result in exposure of the truth, no matter how unpalatable and unfortunate, the end result would be satisfying. It would then show that Indian democracy is far from what happens in banana republics and tinpot dictatorships. However, merely getting hung up on the tehelka tapes would be a myopic action. What is most important is to bring about a major reform in campaign financing and to introduce total transparency in donations to political parties and in their expenditure. Not only is this essential for restoring the credibility of the political process but also for ensuring the well-being of Indian society and ensuring that economic decisions are based on fair, honest, and morally definable considerations.