Presented with a golden opportunity to rise and shine, India has an unmatched capacity to look prosperity firmly in the face, turn around, and walk off resolutely in the opposite direction.
The latest manifestation of this favorite national pastime comes in relation to deeply ingrained corruption practices at all levels of public life. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could have appropriated the cause and channeled the people's movement to enact tough new laws to rid India of corrupt practices and cement its economic future. Instead his government has responded with characteristic vacillation and, by using the powers of the state to intimidate and harass activists, stood firmly on the wrong side of history.
In 2008, Singh's government allegedly survived a no confidence vote on the contentious civil nuclear deal with the U.S. by bribing lawmakers. The recent rapidly multiplying mega-scandals include the 2010 Commonwealth Games boondoggle, a $40 billion telecom scandal, and a high-profile real estate scam in Mumbai. Telephone intercepts of a media lobbyist revealed a nexus of journalists, businessmen and politicians doing deals in a profit-for-everyone chain.