As India marches into its 65th year of independence, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the man credited with making the nation an economic powerhouse, said corruption is crippling India and that it will not be easy to eradicate.
‘Today the world recognizes our potential to be one of the major economic powers globally. But the problem of corruption is a big obstacle in such a transformation,’ Singh said from the ramparts of the historic Red Fort in Delhi in his address on Independence Day this week.
Singh’s speech came as a veteran activist planned a hunger strike in the capital to demand a strong new ant-graft law. A fast on the same issue by Anna Hazare in April had snowballed into a major protest drawing thousands of supporters.
The prime minister acknowledged several cases of corruption in recent months involving government officials.
‘If our system delivers justice in an effective manner, government officials would think twice before committing a wrong act out of greed or under political pressure,’ Singh said.
He said the government had introduced an anti-graft ombudsman bill in Parliament and invited citizens to put forward their views.
The government also intended to introduce a legislation to lay down strict rules for public procurement and reduce corruption in government purchases.
But for many in India and among its vast Diaspora, Singh’s speech did little to inspire and comfort as a culture of corruption of gripsthe world’s largest democracy which is sitting on a hot US$1.6 trillion economy that is growing at an average of 8.4 percent with foreign exchange reserves of US$282.3 billion and US$24.67 billion in gold.
While some were appreciative of Singh’s candid remarks about the enormity of the problem of corruption, others felt that his admission that he did not have a “magic wand” only showed he had no clear roadmap to weed out this malaise.
Those who listened to the prime minister found in it little to cheer them in these inflationary times awash with reports of corruption in high places, reported IANS.
The 21-year-old Talha Ahmed, an undergraduate, encapsulated the youth’s apathy towards politics and public affairs. “I did not listen to the PM’s speech as I woke up at noon. Moreover, what new could he have spoken? He has got the same set of words for every occasion, be it the Parliament or Red Fort,” Ahmed told IANS.
“I am least interested in PM’s speech as I don’t want to start my day with false promises. I am in the mood to celebrate,” said Gurjot Singh Aneja, a 26-year-old software engineer from west Delhi’s Patel Nagar.
In Mumbai, the 50-year-old V. P. Singh watched the PM’s speech on TV, but found it to be lacklustre. “The PM focused on the relevant issues confronting the nation, especially corruption and poverty, which was very much on expected lines,” said Singh.
Falguni Pandya, a housewife living in Vile Parle suburb, said she always watched the I-Day function in the Red Fort and found the prime minister’s references to women’s reservations and declining male-female ratio as matters of “concern.” However, most school and college children missed the speech since they were required to remain present in their respective educational institutions for Independence Day functions.
In Orissa, many sat glued to their television sets out of habit, but not many were impressed. Priyanshu Mohapatra, a college student in Bhubaneswar, was “disappointed,” and said that the prime minister did not assure that the government will accept the suggestions made in Jan Lok Pal bill by Anna Hazare and his team.
Cynicism about promises made and not kept cuts across different states, across India.
In Chennai, J. Muralidharan, a manager with a public sector unit, said he did not listen to Manmohan Singh’s speech and rued that there was “no independence for middle class from the rising prices of essential items.”
In Meghalaya, R G Lyngdoh, a former home minister of the state, said sceptically: “I didn’t even switch on the TV. I don’t really listen to empty promises.”
However, not everyone was cynical about what he said.”We really need to praise him this time as it appeared from his speech that he was willing to invite political parties to strategise ways to combat corruption,” said Ram Narayan, a retired scientist in Lucknow.
The prime minister’s exhortation that fasts are not the way to end corruption elicited sharp criticism. “He said he has no magic wand for corruption, and at the same time he targeted Anna Hazare saying fasting will not solve any problem,” said Shabnam Saif Khan, a manager at Hotel Green Horizon in Ranchi. “The initial part of his speech was totally dedicated to saving the face of his government. Are the people more important or politics?” he asked.
Captain S.S. Yadav, a 93-year-old freedom fighter who served in the Indian National Army (INA) of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, feels that the country has progressed a lot in the last six decades, but corruption too has increased exponentially.
“Corruption has bugged our administrative system badly and I really feel ashamed when youngsters ask me if we fought for the freedom to provide them a corrupt system,” Yadav told IANS.
Octogenarian Pratima Kaushik, who spent two months imprisoned along with her two brothers in Lahore, remembers moments spent in jail, fervently singing patriotic songs with the hopes of a free India.
She feels that India has got independence but people have failed to understand the real meaning of ‘azadi’.
“Independence is not as it should have been...there is widespread corruption and back-stabbing. Many times, I think I made a mistake in fighting for the nation and that it was not worth it,” an angry Kaushik shot back at IANS.

Highlights of Manmohan Singh’s Independence Day speech

• Without understanding and restraint, our security and integrity can get adversely affected.
• Some people who want to create disturbances in the country so that our progress gets stalled.
• This is the time “to rise above our personal or political interests and build consensus on issues of national importance”.
• We have provided political stability and socio and economic progress.
• We have established an environment of communal harmony in the country.
• His seven years have seen rapid economic development.
• We have taken special care of the needs of our brothers and sisters from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, minorities, women and children.
• Promises food security legislation soon.
• The country is full of “confidence and self-respect”.
• Corruption is a big obstacle in national transformation.
• Corruption should be discussed in a manner that “should not create an atmosphere in which country’s progress comes into question”.
• The government is taking strictest possible action in cases of corruption.
• There is no single big step which we can take to eradicate corruption.
• Corruption cannot be eradicated unless “we improve our justice delivery system”.
• Want strong Lokpal to prevent corruption in high places.
• Hunger strikes and fast-unto-death will not help.
• Nothing should be done to dilute independence of the judiciary.
• Acknowledges “misuse of governmental discretion in allocation of scarce resources”.
• Government taking steps to reduce corruption in government projects.
• Government will lay down principles and practices with regard to government purchases.
• No government has a “magic wand” to eradicate corruption.
• We have to fight against corruption on many fronts.
• Compliments farmers on producing a record level food grains.
• We need a second Green Revolution.
• Acknowledges “a phase of sustained high inflation”.
• Our government fully understands its responsibility to control rise in prices.
• International markets fuel inflation in India.
• Finding a solution to inflation will be our top most priority in the coming months.
• Land acquisition must be transparent and fair.
• Government will establish a new Education Commission to suggest improvements in education at all levels.
• 12th Five Year Plan should focus on health.
• Investment in infrastructure has grown more than one-and-a-half times in the last seven years.
• “We want to make India slum-free...We want the slum dwellers to get ownership of clean houses.”
• “Malnutrition in women and children is a matter of concern for all of us.”
• Declining sex ratio “a matter of deep regret...essential to change the approach with which our society views girls and women”.
• Should not lower guard against terrorism; it is a long battle to be fought jointly by the central government, state governments and citizens.
• Will eradicate the very reasons which gave rise to Naxalism.
• Warns against climate change and promises “an environmental assessment and monitoring authority to streamline the process of environmental clearances”.
• Acknowledges the younger generation’s higher aspirations; institutions should tap our people’s potential.
• “Our entrepreneurs and businessmen should not feel constrained in their activities.”
• “We should all stay away from tactics that create suspicion or apprehension among those connected with industry, business and investment.”
• Development should not increase inequalities.
• We have the collective capacities and the confidence to deal with tensions and conflicts in society.