On Corruption and Benevolent Loot

They were sitting in my hotel room, waiting for Rohit to get ready. In between our discussion about the falling rate of the rupee in comparison to the dollar, somebody took Baba's name and hijacked the conversation.

"Do you know sir that Baba had actually died 7 days before his death was announced to the public?"

Baba was a prominent politician of the area, now dead.

"What do you mean?", I asked.

"Baba’s death was announced on the 14th, but he had actually died seven days earlier due to an organ failure."

"Why? Why would his family do such a thing?"

"It is rumored that it took his family and accountants seven days to clear all evidences wherein Baba could get implicated. In the last 7 days, they cleared all the proofs, took all fingerprints, faked all documents that had to be faked and sent all the money abroad that had to be sent abroad. His body was kept in a sealed casket when it was shown to the people so that they could not smell the decay. The casket was opened and immediately the body was cremated."

"So he didn't get peace at death also! Anyways, this hotel we're staying in was also inaugurated by Baba, right?"

"Actually sir, the investment was done by him. So the hotel really belongs to Baba himself. But publicly it is in the name of their family doctor. Similarly the new hotel on the other highway is also in somebody else's name but the investment is Baba's."

These two hotels were the biggest hotels in the city.

"Similarly the sugar factories also belong to him. In fact, the 3rd factory was gifted by him to his local representative. PVR complex and Shopper’s Stop is owned by him too. Now that he is gone, these people will own the hotels and the factories due to the benevolence of Baba."

"Baba really changed the fate of this place. He turned it from a countryside town to a sprawling city. He brought in much money; the life of the people has changed. Matur is now a bigger economy than any of the cities nearby."

"Baba did all this."

Matur has a PVR, showrooms of all major car manufacturers, flyovers, underpasses, its own city bus service, an airport, a thriving private luxury bus business, train connectivity to Mumbai, a ring road around the city… Once my driver had remarked that Matur is more developed than Nagpur because the flyovers here had been built and were now damaged due to use whereas flyovers in Nagpur were under construction since many years.

"You know sir, he left 1700 crores in cash at the time of his death. When Baba was alive, not even a single banner of the opposition could be put up in the city. If someone did put up a banner, he would be contacted and by the evening the banner would have been changed to his own party's."

"You mean he intimidated people who opposed him?"

"You can say that. But it was never by violence. He would make them an offer they couldn't refuse. You see, political motivations aside, everyone is in it for the money. If you get popular, them Baba would buy you out. You get your money. He retains his power, which you wouldn't have been able to oust anyway."

"Sir, one incident is particularly hilarious. During the elections, the opposition was running head to head with his party. So at the last polling booth, they rigged the ballot. No matter which button you pressed, the vote went to his party. They replaced the chips in the machines! The opposition was dumbfounded!"

"Are, do you remember the case of Shambhu? He was the owner of a land which Baba had wanted. So Baba sent him the payment in cash for the land. A Sumo filled with money was sent to his home. You will not believe that when the man saw so much money, he could not believe his eyes and suffered a heart attack. Never had he imagined so much money. Died on the spot, he did!"

"At least in this area, nobody had the caliber to oust him. He was the king. You should see his house. It’s built like a fortress."

"Not just this area sir. Baba's was the king in Mumbai also. His business empire is more than we can imagine. He even owns a hotel in Singapore. All the international cash transactions used to take place from Chennai."

“His relatives however have turned against him now. That’s because his children got married to women of lower castes. One son even married a Christian. The relatives no longer consider them of the high caste. No one will give their daughter to them now.”

"Now that Baba is gone, Matur has gone back in development. Baba changed a lot of people's lives by giving them employment through his business outfits. Now that he is gone, money has stopped flowing into the city. Whereas earlier SpiceJet was running flights to the city, the airport has not seen a commercial flight for more than eighteen months. He got a train directly from Mumbai, but the coaches are empty.

BHEL was building a plant at the village of Nusa. A four lane highway had been built from Matur to Nusa and we could see tractor-trailers carrying over-dimensional cargo to Nusa. Now the highway is badly broken with craters for pot-holes and the same tractor-trailers are carrying the machinery back from Nusa.

Those who had got used to easy money are now finding it hard to feed their lifestyles and are now turning towards crime. Those who were not fortunate enough to be blessed by Baba have now started asking for their share. It’s a pretty solemn scene now. Several murders have taken place in the city, all for monetary motives. This wouldn’t have happened had Baba been alive..."

“Hey guys! What’s up?” It was Rohit. He was ready to go for dinner. My two companions said goodbye and left.

And after they had left, one thought came to my mind. I care not much for Baba or Mahur, but I have traveled across the state and seen the condition of the common man and the state infrastructure. It is testimony of lopsided development and the rising divide between those making money through a political-business alliance and those working honestly. Fortuners and Range Rovers cruise over pot-holed roads through towns in which both men and women sit on the road side for relieving themselves.

There is no proof of anything my friends told me, but that is not important. It is not important because the striking part of this conversation was the matter of fact way in which my friends told me the story. These friends of mine had so taken corruption for granted that they considered it obvious. Although they would not engage in it directly themselves, they were quite content to be beneficiaries of it. A hadith of the Prophet Mohammad (may peace be upon him) comes to mind, which says, “Whoever among you sees wrongdoing, let him rectify it with his hand. If he is unable, then with his tongue. And if he is incapable of that then with his heart and that is the weakest level of faith."

Our faith is indeed weak. And I feel that no matter how many Annas come and go, corruption will always be a part of our culture and will only increase as people become more competitive and intolerant of one another. Greed has been injected in our veins. Most people who side with Anna Hazare, who oppose corruption on the streets, do not do so it because they are against it. No, they oppose it because, and only because, they are not part nor beneficiaries of it.

[This is a work of fiction, and relates to no person living or dead.]