By Vijay Shankar Pandey
Indian politics today stands drenched in corruption. Corrupt politics inevitably breed corrupt politicians — it cannot be otherwise.
When those entrusted with power are themselves busy plundering the nation, who will investigate whom? Who will prosecute whom?
The looters cannot be expected to hold each other accountable.
For decades, the political class has played this dirty game in full public view, shamelessly mocking the very spirit of democracy.
Unless the people rise, reject these corrupt forces, and refuse to be silent spectators, this farce will never end.
One thug will merely replace another, and the musical chairs of deceit will continue — with citizens watching helplessly, even amused, at their own exploitation.
This, make no mistake, is not democracy. True democracy and corruption cannot coexist.
Yet, tragically, India’s political system continues to justify corruption under the pretext of “needing money to reach the people.”
Politicians claim that election campaigns require massive funds — and that justification has become the mother of all corruption.
In reality, democracy is not about the rulers; it is about accountability to the people — the ultimate source of power.
Every elected leader must remember that he is in office only because of the people’s mandate.
It does not matter who is asking the questions — what matters is that those in authority must answer truthfully and transparently. In a democracy, there is no hiding place.
Those who evade questions or mislead the people eventually meet their downfall — history has proven this time and again.
India’s history is littered with examples. The infamous Bofors scandal was brushed under the carpet by those in power, much like countless defense scandals that followed.
The 2G spectrum scam, the coal allocation scam, and several others were initially ridiculed by ruling parties, only for the truth to later destroy their credibility. Those who mocked public outrage now lie buried in the dustbins of political history.
The notorious Mauritius route for laundering black money into India’s stock markets is another dark chapter.
Thousands of shell companies registered in a single building in Mauritius have been used to funnel back the illicit wealth of corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, and industrialists.
In 2010, along with other public-spirited citizens, I approached the Supreme Court of India through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), exposing this sinister mechanism.
On 4th July 2011, the Supreme Court directed the creation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge, to investigate this black money network.
The SIT was empowered to register fresh FIRs, conduct investigations, and prosecute offenders. It was a landmark moment — but, unfortunately, the promise of cleansing the system was never fulfilled.
The reasons remain beyond comprehension for those who truly care about justice.
A simple look at the Reserve Bank of India’s data reveals the shocking magnitude of this racket: between 2000 and 2014, nearly 40% of India’s total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) originated from Mauritius — a tiny island nation with a population of less than 1.5 million.
This statistic alone exposes the deep-rooted collusion between political power and illicit finance.
Why do such massive scandals go unpunished, with barely anyone held accountable? The answer is painfully simple. When political parties spend billions of rupees to win elections, they inevitably become beholden to corporate financiers and moneyed interests.
In return, scams become the price of political survival. From Bofors to fodder scams, mining scams, fertilizer frauds, cement mill sales, sugar mill scams, and the more recent Delhi excise scandal, corruption has spared no party, no ideology, no state.
This is the tragic truth: politics in India is rotten to the core. Corruption is not an aberration — it is the system itself. And when the system is corrupt, those who hold power will never expose or punish their own.
Unless the citizens of India awaken and reject this entire nexus of deceit, democracy will remain a hollow word — a mask hiding the ugliness of greed and exploitation. If we continue our silence, we are complicit. We will remain the spectators while looters change seats in an unending charade of democracy.
This is not democracy. It is a betrayal of democracy.
The author Vijay Shankar Pandey, Former IAS Officer & Ex-Secretary, Government of India
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