New Delhi:
There is a vicious cycle in the entire saga. Do people get the government they deserve?
Or whether, some ulterior forces make a meek nation surrender passively to the ruffian and hooligan elements?
India makes a foray into the 75th year of Independence on August the 15th.
The issue of nexus between crime and politics is a stain that poses a serious challenge to the sincere proponents of Indian democracy, often hailed as world's largest democracy.
Snap credit: Amarjit
But the crime-politics nexus is a permanent slur and the menace exits across all political parties and across states.
The issue of criminalisation of politics in essence means 'politicisation' of the criminals. Bigger worries are this menace is often encouraged and exploited.
Now, this issue has come into public focus - incidentally on the eve of India's 75th Independence Day - after the Supreme Court passed an order imposing penalties on nine political parties for failing to comply with the top court's directions in relation to disclosure of details of candidates with criminal backgrounds on their official websites and in newspapers and on social media in the Bihar Assembly Elections in 2020.
The issue is not about one province only though influence of criminal elements in India's few northern and eastern states including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Rajasthan have been huge.
An angry Supreme Court said, “The political parties refuse to wake up from deep slumber... Cleansing the polluted stream of politics is obviously not one of the immediate pressing concerns of the legislative branch of government".
Justice Rohinton F Nariman and Justice B R Gavai also said exhortations for amending laws to prohibit involvement of persons with criminal antecedents “have fallen on the deaf ears”.
This makes the issue serious. On the fault line are the ruling BJP, the principal opposition Congress, the two communist parties and other provincial parties for their lackadaisical approach towards criminilzation of politics.
People expect a 'criminal' or a convicted person to be in prison. But there are legal loopholes.
A general definition of criminal is different from a person who has been 'convicted'.
The existing law does not bar individuals who have criminal cases pending against them from contesting elections and one could be disqualified only if there is conviction.
“The Criminalisation of politics essentially means politicisation of criminals, and therefore it is a serious matter that threatens the essence of Indian democracy,” says analyst Ramakanto Shanyal in West Bengal.
He says, "When a known ruffian is given party ticket, it actually legitimises crime and sometimes these criminals are promised of tickets to contest elections as it would rehabilitate them. It is sinister and vicious".
Varanasi-based Tushar Bhadra says, “At present the law allows a convicted person to contest. This is faulty because the presumption of innocence should not apply when conviction has already taken place. A case on trial is different.
And this lacuna has been well exploited".
He also says in 2014 before becoming the Prime Minister, the present incumbent Narendra Modi had promised to be firm with people with criminal antecedents.
“I remember Mr Modi saying we will not spare even leaders from the BJP, but nothing really has happened. The issue for politicians to go along with criminals and those facing criminal cases is political compulsion. Otherwise a corrective step and a good law on this could have been easily legislated by now,” he says.
In fact, things are of grave concern as studies have revealed that there is instead an increase in number of 'criminals' making it to elected bodies at various levels.
A study by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which works on election related statistics, says as high as 29 per cent of those elected to the House of People (Lok Sabha) in 2019 have declared serious crimes.
In fact, there has been a gradual increase in recent past.
There was 30 per cent of the members of the Lok Sabha in 2009 with criminal cases against them which went up to 34 per cent in 2014. This has now reached an alarming 43 per cent as regards the elected members in the Lower House of Indian Parliament in 2019.
If the general notion has been that criminal elements have field's only in states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, here are other shocking revelations.
The highest percentage of candidates facing criminal charges has been in Goa (32%), Kerala (29%), Bihar (26%) and Jharkhand (26%).
Of course, the states of Uttar Pradesh, and two 'developed' states Gujarat and Maharashtra top the list with the highest percentage of Members of Parliament accused of criminal and serious criminal offences.
The moot point is - no party is above board, and so no wonder nothing much has been moving on to treat this malady.
Three decades back, in 1993, a panel led by a federal Home Secretary N N Vohra had said - that the existing criminal justice system, which was essentially designed to deal with the individual offences/crimes, is "unable to deal" with the activities of the Mafia and that the provisions of law in regard economic offences are weak.
It was said, the money power acquired by disgruntled elements is "used for building up contacts with bureaucrats and politicians and expansion of activities with impunity".
The money power is used to develop a network of "muscle-power" which is again used by the politicians during elections.
Reports in 1990s had claimed that even agencies such as Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Intelligence Bureau also had said that nexus between the criminal gangs, police, bureaucracy and politicians has come out clearly in various parts of the country.
But in circa 2021, what deserves critical study is how politicians and political class have actually used ‘criminilisation’ of society to create metaphors that suit them.
But the common people an faceless Indian voters have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked, mostly passively.
It is usually said that people vote for criminals out of fear.
But it does not end here; and then comes matters which appear very worrying.
Crime, Politics and Terror
In fact, the 1993 the panel under the federal Home Secretary was set up only after police and other agencies reported that activities and linkages of the 'Dawood Ibrahim gang' with politicians and others consequent to the infamous bomb blasts in Bombay in March 1993.
Dawood is a underworld crime lord now suspected to be 'hiding' in Pakistan.
An official dossier says, Dawood Ibrahim had masterminded the 1993 Bombay bombings.
In 2003, the Indian and the US governments declared Dawood a 'Global Terrorist' and in 2008 Dawood Ibrahim allegedly provided the logistics for the November 26 (26/11) Mumbai attacks.
There is another element that is typical of Indian politics. The overlapping of 'caste' with crime.
In some Indian provinces, in 1990s and early part of the 2000 decade, there was a "Robin Hood" syndrome that justified crimes and gave a 'social sanction' or nod to the criminalization of politics.
Thus, it is high time the issue of criminalisation of politics is addressed effectively. No piece meal solution can work overtime and the problems have to be studied in their entirety.
Police reforms is something pending for decades.
But do politicians and political parties have time for all that ?
Take a jaundiced view, the Monsoon session of Parliament that began on July 19 was a washout marred by protests and pandemonium scenes.
Finally, it ought to be understood that with regard the Government 'of' the people, 'for' the people and 'by' the people, the political class and common masses including pressure groups have always had varied views according to the variations in the emphasis of the three prepositions - 'of, for and by'.
ends
Criminilisation of Politcs is actually politicisation of Crime
On the move, but India needs to clean up its politics :::
The politician-criminal nexus poses a serious challenge to the nation celebrating 75 years of independence. The issue of nexus between crime and politics is a stain that poses a serious challenge to the sincere proponents of Indian democracy, often hailed as world's largest democracy.
It ought to be understood that with regard the Government 'of' the people, 'for' the people and 'by' the people, the political class and common masses including pressure groups have always had varied views according to the variations in the emphasis of the three prepositions - 'of, for and by'.
Philosopher Joseph de Maistre famously said, “Every nation gets the government it deserves.” Was Maistre close enough when it comes to India?
As India makes its foray into its 75th year of independence on Aug. 15, the nexus between crime and politics continues to pose a serious challenge to the country's democracy, hailed as the world’s largest.
The unsavory nexus between the two is a permanent slur and exists across political lines and regions of India.
“Criminalization of politics essentially means politicization of criminals and therefore is a serious matter that threatens the essence of our democracy,” says political analyst Ramakanto Shanyal.
The bigger worry is that this menace is often encouraged and exploited in democratic India.
The issue came into public focus, incidentally on the eve of Independence Day, when the Supreme Court imposed penalties on nine political parties for failing to disclose details of their candidates with criminal backgrounds.
The parties were supposed to give this declaration on their official websites as well as in newspapers and on social media during the Bihar State Assembly elections held in 2020.
Among those failing to comply with the apex court order were India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the principal opposition Congress, two communist and other provincial parties.
An angry Supreme Court said the nation continues to wait and is losing patience.
“Political parties refuse to wake up from deep slumber ... Cleansing the polluted stream of politics is obviously not one of the immediate pressing concerns of the legislative branch of government,” the court said.
Justices Rohinton F. Nariman and B.R. Gavai said the calls for amending laws to prohibit involvement of persons with criminal antecedents have “fallen on deaf ears.”
People expect both a person accused of a crime or convicted of a crime to be in prison. But there are legal loopholes that political parties cleverly exploit.
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Indian law does not bar individuals accused of crime, with charges pending in court against them, from contesting elections, though they may be disqualified if convicted of the crime.
This legal lacuna is often misused by parties in ways Shanyal described as “sinister and vicious.”
“When a known ruffian is given a party ticket, it actually legitimizes crime and sometimes is even used to rehabilitate criminals,” he said.
Before he became the prime minister in 2014, the present incumbent Narendra Modi had promised to be firm with people with criminal antecedents.
Varanasi-based political observer Tushar Bhadra recalled Modi promising voters that he would not even spare leaders from his BJP. But nothing happened.
“A simple, corrective step like enacting a good law could have resolved the issue by now,” Bhadra said.
Instead, an increase in the number of criminals making it to legislative bodies at various levels is being reported.
A study by the Association for Democratic Reforms said as many as 29 percent of those elected to India’s Lok Sabha (house of the people) in 2019 have cases of serious crimes related to murder, rape or crime against women registered against them.
In fact, there had been a gradual increase in the number of elected Indian parliamentarians with criminal and serious criminal cases pending against them, from 30 percent in 2009 to 34 percent in 2014.
It had reached an alarming 43 percent in 2019, the non-governmental organization said.
There is a general notion that the criminal-politician nexus is rampant in Hindi-speaking northern India, especially in states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
The shocking reality is that the most developed states of Gujarat and Maharashtra in western India top the list when it comes to parliamentarians with criminal and serious criminal offenses registered against them.
The highest percentage of candidates facing criminal charges was found in Goa (32 percent), Kerala (29 percent), Bihar (26 percent) and Jharkhand (26 percent).
The moot point is that no party or province is above board when it comes to the criminalization of politics in India.
Some three decades back, in 1993, a panel led by the then federal home secretary N.N. Vohra had said that the existing criminal justice system, which was essentially designed to deal with individual crimes, was unable to deal with the activities of the mafia.
The Vohra panel was set up after fears over the political links of India’s most famous fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, whose role was suspected in the serial bomb blasts that rocked Mumbai in March 1993.
In 2003, the Indian and US governments declared Dawood a "global terrorist."
After the terrorist attack on Mumbai in November 2008, targeting Indians and citizens of several other countries, the gangster’s name again cropped up with investigators suspecting him of having provided logistical support from his hideout.
But nothing was done to get Dawood Ibrahim, who is suspected to be still hiding in Pakistan.
It is said that money power acquired by criminal elements is often “used for building up contacts with bureaucrats and politicians and expansion of activities with impunity.”
It comes handy for politicians during elections.
Media and independent study reports in the nineties claimed that India’s top agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence Bureau confirmed the nexus between criminal gangs, police, bureaucracy and politicians in various parts of the country.
In 2021, what deserves critical attention is how the political class has actually used this criminalization for its own benefit while the common, faceless Indian voters have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked by them.
It is usually said that people vote for criminals out of fear. But there is another element that is typical to Indian politics — the overlapping of caste with crime.
In the nineties and later in the 2000s, many criminals in the badlands of northern India gained a Robin Hood image among their caste fellows to justify crimes and attain a social sanction for a future successful political career.
Every political party takes their help in winning elections.
It is high time the menace of criminalization of politics that has attained menacing proportions is addressed effectively before it is too late. Police reforms could be a good step to start with. It has been pending for decades now.
But do the nation’s politicians and political parties have the inclination and time to end the criminalization of their own field?
As the Supreme Court of India put it, what is needed is a “major surgery for weeding out the malignancy” which, it added, was “growing day by day.”
And yet the latest monsoon session of the Indian parliament turned out to be a washout, marred by protests and pandemonium with no worthwhile subjects coming up for discussion or decision.
The issue is who will bell the cat.
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