Daily Lessons from Life 19 October 2010 - Commonwealth blame game erupts in Delhi amid graft probe

"Commonwealth blame game erupts in Delhi amid graft probe - Tue, Oct 19, 2010 AFP

NEW DELHI, Oct 19, 2010 (AFP) - Days after the most expensive Commonwealth Games to date concluded in New Delhi, a mud-slinging contest has broken out between the event's organisers and city rulers.

A panel set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has begun probing allegations of corruption over soaring costs, shoddy construction and shady payments to contractors as the budget tripled to an estimated S$7.8 billion."

Interesting to know in this same news report that the leader of International Transparency India said a report cannot undo the corruption that had already occurred. It is of no use UNLESS the guilty parties are brought to justice and get punished for it. Yet it is not holding out hope that this will be the case as Indian politicians and bureaucrats NEVER get punished and it will be business as usual once the glare of the media if off!

Lessons for me are:

1. the culture of 'unaccountability', as the Indian press put it, will mean NOTHING will be done when wrongs were done! It is as simple as that! If the culture is corrupted, corruption is not an ill!;

2. it is not for the people outside India to assess and criticize if the most expensive Commonwealth Games is a success or failure. The truth is no many really care about the game. I certainly did not watch the live or delay telecast of some of the actions in this Games. What is more important is the culture of unaccountability! Is there a sense of shame? If there is none, corruption is no ill!;

3. many nations, mistakenly, in my view, takes the successful hosting of a multi-discipline sports event as a statement of come-of-age nationhood! This may be true for truly world event like the Olympics Games or the Football World Cup. Any other events are simply not of that status. Still, even these games are, to me, not a measure of if a nation has arrived at the 'Developed' stage or not! It is in the sense of shame of the people in authority that if they had failed to provide a better living condition to their people, they should be ashamed and take responsibility to RESIGN or to CHANGE for the better.

May the mud slinging contest begin. Oh, don't get the innocent public caught in the cross-fire!