ROADS TO HELL IN "GOD'S OWN COUNTRY"

The state of Kerala in India is a land of exquisite beauty, and Keralites call their land "God's own country."  There can be no quarrel about that since its beautiful beaches, coconut and mango groves, back waters of the Arabian sea, mountains of the Western Ghats, serene temples, etc., do captivate one's heart and make one feel a special affinity to nature there.   This blog , however, is unfortunately not about that beauty but about the roads of Kerala which are the worst death traps of absolute lawlessness and chaos.

Every life is precious, and Kerala, like any other state, owes to do its best to protect those of its citizens and visitors.  Bereft of much industrial development, the state depends on tourism and is becoming a major destination for international tourism. The sustenance of that industry and the ability to ensure that visitors return and recommend the state as a tourist destination make it absolutely critical that the State acts decisively and firmly to improve conditions on its roads.  Also, it should be a matter of pride and self respect for any state that it does not have to suffer a blog like this one.  In short, this is being written not to ridicule or vent but to inspire a clean up which takes only better driver education and some rules and their efficient enforcement without corruption.

  

It is the curse of India that at Independence it was left with little broad roadways except the very very few that the colonial powers had built leading to ports in Calcutta, Bombay and Chennai primarily to ship its shameless loot to England and to its markets.  While India has added much to its road network since independence, limitations in resources for expansion - and even more acutely for maintenance - have resulted in a situation where most roadways are narrow and in disrepair.  In Kerala, the problem is compounded (like in West Bengal) by decades of Communist rule that has created an entitlement minded, lazy, and unruly labor force and cadre of public servants.  Communist rule also left the state without much Central government support from the ruling Congress party over many decades.  But those alone do not explain away why road trips in Kerala are a death defying experience.  I have traveled in many cities and countrysides of Europe where roadways are narrow and even of cobble stones etc, and people do manage much better.  It is more a matter of discipline, law and order, and the efficiency and truthfulness of law enforcers.  In this, we can't blame the Britisher or anyone else but ourselves when we fail.

In case you are wondering what I am complaining about, let us take a typical experience of travel say from Coimbatore to Palakkad.  There is supposedly a highway with two lanes in each direction, but intermittently long stretches of the lanes are closed for repair or clogged up by long lines of trucks waiting for clearance from state authorities.  Traffic in a direction is rerouted onto a lane meant for the opposite direction and that too into the passing (overtaking) lane.  But there are hardly any warnings that the roadway in the latter direction has turned into a two way with only one lane available for each side.  One also wonders if such warnings would matter, for, even after near collision like experiences, drivers of all types of vehicles continue to recklessly overtake each other risking head on collisions at high speed.  See the short video clip






which is one of the benign ones I shot and can show since most others came out too shaky from all the last minute coliison avoidance efforts of our driver.

Indeed, even when two lanes are available in each direction, it is common for vehicles to use one in the wrong direction to gain speed, and sometimes they do this right under the nose of police officers who stand and watch.  See the video clip





An Australian friend of mine once described road travel in India as a macabre game of chicken, and the ones in Kerala are versions meant for the champion dare devils only.  Are there any studies on the rate of traffic accidents and those resulting in serious injury and deaths in Kerala and those especially related to careless overtaking ?  Why can't authorities post clear warnings of traffic reroutes repeating them periodically as reminders, make the affected sections no-passing zones, and above all enforce the rules strictly?  Aren't these a matter of common sense or a part of their duty?

In the least, authorities can stop contributing and adding to the problem.  Once again, the Vazhayar check point along the Coimbatore Palakkad route is a worthy example.  Many vehicles including trucks are stopped here by authorities right on the roadway causing tremendous headaches and delays for all. Tourist taxis and commercial vehicles are required to buy an interstate permit but do this at the check point shed leaving the vehicle on the roadway adding to the clutter; why can't this be done online and receipts simply collected or checked at a toll booth on a pass through basis?  Not only does a tourist taxi have to buy a permit to cross the state line, the driver has to go to a booth and pay a ransom in cash, an  extortion fee with no receipt, to avoid harassment and delay and that explains why the system encourages drivers to park and come into a shed.  The last time we got stuck there and endured this was not some random day but when the RTO was inspecting the check point. So much for official oversight.  Rumor has it that everyone from the constable to the ministers has a share in the extortion monies collected.  All we know is that our driver caughed up a 100 rupee bill with no receipt given.  Everyone complains but complies as though it is a God ordained ritual and rule to follow.

Look at the long lines of trucks with all kinds of industry and retail material and find out about the typical delays suffered by them at the check point which is measured frequently in days and not even in hours, and ask yourself what is the impact of all this on the productivity and economy of both Kerala and Tamilnadu.  It is fair to surmise that what we see here is a microcospic example of what goes on across the country.  Will some university economists and departments of economics study the economic impact of this and similar problems and suggest remedies instead of writing papers getting lost in mere words?  So also for the so called think tanks.

Whichever way you cut it, Kerala and any other place in India that is similar, needs to clean up its act if it is to progress and make life better for its own citizens.  Please pass this blog to someone if you agree and take steps to pressure the governments to act.

This is written on January 22, 2015.  I note this specially because nothing will please me more than to have to write someday that my blog of this day has become irrelevant since matters have improved significantly.

Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya !

CAN INDIA PUT AN END TO CORRUPTION? Some Lessons from the Jayalalitha Saga

“… corruption is not (to) be judged by degree, for corruption mothers disorder, destroys societal will to progress, accelerates undeserved ambitions, kills the conscience, jettisons the glory of institutions, paralyses the economic health of a country, corrodes the sense of civility and mars the marrows of the Governance.”

   The above quotation by Justice Cunha from one of India’s Supreme Court pronouncements highlights many of the consequences of political and official corruption.  But temporary euphoria or shock from his judgment aside, is enough being done by India to put a real end to corruption?  Can more be done, and if so what ?   We examine some concrete ideas below.

    Swift Justice: The first and foremost glaring aspect of the Jayalalitha case, as of many others, is the inordinate amount of time it takes for cases to move through the system to judgment.  Indian courts need to set time limits for trials, disallow repeated motions to delay proceedings, and be hard on legal tactics and attempts to game systems that were intended primarily to protect the innocent.  But more importantly, the entire system needs to recognize that the first step is to book and convict the offenders quickly on whatever charges that can be proved easily and unquestionably.  Get them quickly out of a position wherein they can wield their office and power to impede the law and do greater harm with a sense of invincibility.  With the habitual offender behind bars for a convicted offense, the system can work on other more involved charges and put the person away for a much longer period in subsequent trials, and they indeed should.  Such an approach also prevents the possibility of an entire judgment being set aside and the person going scot-free for all crimes committed.

    Count each Offense Separately:  In the Jayalalitha case, only four years for the level of corruption and egregious wealth amassed through it by her appears to be a mockery of justice.   Compare this to a poor thief getting a few years behind bars for the much less offense of stealing from one single home a few paltry thousands of rupees.   Since the statutes may have imposed a maximum of seven years for official corruption, count each act as a separate crime subject to the maximum punishment .  This is, after all, the practice in most of the Western world with reputable judicial systems.  Is our system substandard not to follow that standard?  Without that, there is no way courts can meet out punishments in proportion to the crimes committed and even more seriously to kill the perception that crime eventually pays and the costs, if at all incurred, would be minimal relative to the loot left over.

    Stop the ability to influence: In the case of a high-powered politician and official, it is imperative that in addition to jailing them steps are taken to prevent them running their empire by proxy from within jails.  The experience of Italy, the U.S., and many other countries in the way they handled the mafia dons has enough lessons to review and learn from.

    Call a spade a spade: Stop referring to felons by respectable titles like “madam” or “amma.”  A felon is a felon period, and should not be given any honorific.  Also, stop all attempts at equivocation by citing other good things done by the person.  There has to be zero tolerance for corruption by all.

    Make the punishment real: A corrupt official who draws a jail term should be treated as a common criminal by the jail system and not offered any special privileges as a VIP or VVIP irrespective of prior rank and position.  One may even argue that the higher the position held by the person, the higher should be the punishment for the greater betrayal and its greater consequences.

   Punish the bribe giver too: Unfortunately in India, many otherwise honest people are put in a situation of having to yield to corruption and pay a bribe, for sometimes it is hard to get even essential things without greasing someone’s palm.  But the flame of egregious corruption by major politicians is stoked by the corruption of the rich bribe giver who has nothing more than his or her own avarice to blame.  When such is the case, there should be no mercy shown to the bribe giver either and they should be sent to keep company for the bribe taker in the same jails.

    Be action oriented: There are enough articles and opinion lamenting about what all ail India.  But what good are they if we don’t also include a few actionable and practical ideas and even more importantly work to get people to act on them?  Swachh Bharat (Clean India) has to go far beyond physical cleanliness and should encompass all aspects of Indian life.

    Related closely to the topic are the issues of political turmoil and political violence.  In India, fear of these seem to actually get in the way of trying political personalities and in giving them due punishment.  Once again, the solution to this problem is to show zero tolerance  towards violence and destruction of public property or the impedance of normal societal activities by anyone irrespective of party affiliations.  For many offenses, an oral testimony of an eye witness or a police officer is considered enough to convict, and then why are so many who are seen in photographs and videos  destroying public property and indulging in political violence not prosecuted ?  To protest is a democratic right and may also have a cathartic effect, but protest has to be law abiding and respectful of others’ rights.  With sufficient planning to photograph or capture on video unlawful protest related violent and criminal activities and by dealing out quick justice, this menace can be stopped effectively.   A trial for a person seen in a video destroying public property or beating up another need not take more time than that for the conviction of one for a traffic offense in a mobile court.  Once again, can our legal system step up please?

     Underlying the political turmoil is the hoodwinking of the poor and illiterate public through the grant of all kinds of largesse by the corrupt politician.  All too often, the funds for the largesse come not from the politician or party but from protection money grabbed by threats and innuendo from businesses.  Make every politician and party account for every penny spent on such largesse listing names of donors and make it part of the investigation to see if monies are given voluntarily or involuntarily.

    Finally, in the long run morality cannot be legislated or imposed by a justice system.  It needs to inhere in each individual.  We need to develop a culture of shunning corruption and the corrupt, be it in our family or friend circles, local community, or country at large.  Religious institutions have a strong role to play as well by paying greater attention not just to the donors’ wealth and status but what sustain them.  But unfortunately where India is today, there have to be some immediate harsh measures to get a handle on corruption before it destroys the country and the freedom won with great sacrifices by so many.

The author, Dr. V. Ramaswami, is an Indian citizen residing in USA and is motivated to write this article by the pain he feels on the state of corruption in India, a country to which his forefathers gave all they had to gain freedom and independence.