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The latest problem involves doctors hired by the state. They have called for a strike to begin on Thursday, to protest the government's refusal to increase their wages. The doctors have threatened to refrain from treating patients, thereby abandoning them completely if their demands are not met.
Strife in public services is not limited to the healthcare sector. The state police are reeling with chaos and confusion. In two separate incidents in the past two weeks alone, state police have been accused of criminal links. In both cases the state’s home minister and his son were named for their alleged involvement with criminals.
In the latest of the two incidents -- which was broadcast live -- a fake “yogi” was seen holding a pistol to his own head and threatening to commit suicide inside a police station as a protest against his “character assassination” by the local media.
While police officers, with great respect, were trying to calm the pistol-wielding charlatan, he jumped from the room onto a veranda in front of the police station where the local media had gathered. He pointed the weapon at the media and threatened to fire. In a brawl with a police officer who tried to take his weapon, the gun went off, injuring the yogi.
Media reports allege that the treatment this man received at the police station was exceptional. Some police officers reportedly refused to sit in front of this imposter, for fear of his close connection with the home minister and his son.
In an incident reported a week earlier, another “holy man” was arrested on charges of fraud, trafficking women and involvement in sham property deals. This person is even named on Interpol's most wanted list.
A search of the man’s office revealed his close connection with certain high-ranking police officers of the state. It also turned up pornographic videos, allegedly of the “holy man” and some of his followers in compromising poses with women. The uniform of a police officer was also recovered from the man’s home. The inspector general of police says the department is not sure to whom the uniform belongs.
Rumor has it that both these “holy men” were very close to the state home minister. Yet from past experience it can be expected that no inquiry will be made into this, and should a tie turn up in the course of investigations, it will never be acted upon.
These incidents may sound like scenes from a movie, but in fact it is an open secret in Kerala that the state’s high offices are reeling with corruption. For a person who knows India well, this is no big news. A few property transactions that benefit ministers or their children, a few police officers accepting bribes, a few names lambasted in the local media are all part of the regular state of affairs in any state in India. There is no reason for Kerala to be different.
Corruption in public life is accepted as normal. Ministers, police officers and other government officials, even teachers, all expect to make a little extra income through “external” means. Where else in the world would government doctors demand that their private practices at home and in private clinics be legitimized, while they are serving as government medical officers?
Many doctors run small clinics at their homes, to make extra money in their off-duty hours. Many doctors even insist that, in order to receive good treatment at the government hospital, they must first consult the doctor at his residence. Patients view this home consultation as a necessary prerequisite for receiving good care at the hospital. Giving and demanding gifts before and after treatment is the norm.
As for teachers, many of them conduct regular “tuition” classes for their own students, without which a student is destined to underperform. The approach of other government officials to their jobs is the same. It is as if they receive their salary merely because of their job title. If one expects them to actually do their jobs, they must be paid extra, in the form of extra charges or gifts.
Law enforcement agencies are no different. For example, jobs in departments that deal with state taxes are much sought after by young persons. There is no special charm or benefit inherent in such jobs. In fact most of these jobs are so strenuous that an honest officer would find little time to spend with his family.
Yet youngsters opt for such “uniformed” jobs primarily because of the possibilities they afford for demanding bribes. Obviously the bribe likely to be offered by a wealthy businessman to the officer in the tax department has no comparison to that a villager would be willing to pay a village officer to issue a birth or marriage certificate. Ministers who manage such lucrative departments are considered more powerful than others, due to their bribe opportunities.
A few months ago even the state government admitted that millions were being lost to tax evasion at interstate borders.
One could write endlessly about the forms of corruption in India. If so much is possible in Kerala, a relatively small state compared to states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, much more is possible in the feudalistic northern states.
The question is, why have ordinary people tolerated this so long in India?
To answer this one must look at the options available to an ordinary citizen. In Kerala, there is a department to address corruption -- the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Department -- but it is in fact an extension of the state police. This speaks volumes about how steadfast this department might be in addressing corruption.
There is no point in beginning a debate as to where the cleanup should begin. The fact is it needs to begin at some point. It seems that Indians are not good at this for some reason. They seem to prefer to tolerate the status quo, in the shameless silence of defeat.
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(Bijo Francis is a human rights lawyer currently working with the Asian Legal Resource Center in Hong Kong. He is responsible for the South Asia desk at the center. Mr. Francis has practiced law for more than a decade and holds an advanced master's degree in human rights law.)
Comparing to other states in India, it is truely God's own Contry.
Only problem is HARTHAAL....and poor roads
ps. it is least corrupt state as per a recent survey