India: Arresting a self-styled Gandhian hunger-striker on August 16 was a foolish move by India. Manmohan Singh’s government claims not to have directly requested Anna Hazare’s brief detention, but the episode has cost it credibility. India’s political sclerosis may now worsen. In the short term, that will hurt an economy facing an inflation of above nine per cent and in dire need of decisive reform. Yet, the ruckus could have a good long-term outcome if the botched crackdown leads to tougher action on endemic corruption. The white-clad 74-year-old has fasted over plans to create a new anti-corruption watchdog.
He contends the government’s draft of the Lokpal Bill, originally mooted four decades ago, lacks teeth. He has a point. Graft in India is often claimed to cost the economy 1-2 per cent of GDP a year. The government has been rocked with scandals related to its handling of 2010’s Commonwealth Games and the allocation of 2G telecom licences. The legislation, in its current form, would make it hard for the watchdog to target top political figures, and the body would lack the autonomy Hazare and his supporters demand. Arresting a peaceful protester and 1,500 of his supporters may be unpalatable. Yet, the protests and overzealous crackdown are distractions from India’s pressing problems.
Above-target inflation is being intensified by infrastructure shortages and supply bottlenecks. A land acquisition Bill that would help ease the problem is stuck in the Parliament, which has achieved nothing in weeks. The so-called “monsoon session”, which ends in September, looks set to be a washout. Further paralysis is likely to defer needed reforms, casting serious doubts on India’s ability to sustain 8-9 per cent GDP growth. But, this could be a turning point. Singh has failed to act decisively on corruption.
The groundswell of support for Hazare’s methods, twinned with anger over the response, makes it difficult for inaction to continue. Anything that pushes corruption further up the agenda should augur well for India’s markets, foreign investment and economic growth. Nor does the lesson extend only to India. Others struggling with corruption should take note how peace and persistence can break more ground than sticks and stones.