The Dirty Reality of Indian Politics- II
India should focus on judiciary independence—on a judiciary that is brave enough to confront politicians and criminals. We need:
Fast-tracked trials will take place only for elected figures who have been charged with criminal activity.
There are tough deadlines set for trying serious cases.
Real-time digital updates on important cases
• Plenty of results from strict witness protection programmes
And perhaps most important, having a judiciary that works without political intervention
What happens when justice is delayed? It’s treated like merchandise, given a burial and soon forgotten. Thanks to social injustice, crooks remain in power and honest people remain unseen.
We need justice to be quick, just and unbiased to keep democracy strong in our country. Standing for anything less is both a betrayal of law and of what the republic stands for.
Act V: Electoral Bonds—The Legalized Bribe System
What the country requires is not only speedy courts, but also judges who are not afraid to confront politicians and criminals with power. We need:
Swift courts should be set up only for elected officials with criminal offences.
• Fast schedules for hearings about important crimes
Live digital monitoring of notable cases
• Programmes where witnesses get substantial protection
But most importantly, a free-standing Electoral Bonds — The Government’s Approved Bribe System
Being honest about political funding is a necessary guarantee of accountability in all mature democracies. In India, the reform of 2017 led in the opposite direction: it made it hard to tell who was giving money, allowed more corporate influence and twisted the aim of clean elections into a laugh.
To see why Electoral Bonds are significant, it helps to realise that the scam lies in their legality. Bonds intended to bring clean money into politics were introduced by the Modi government in the Finance Act of 2017. That freedom from parliamentary scrutiny meant that everything passed through legislation. So they were inserted into the finance bill instead of being discussed in the Senate which was criticised by retired election commissioners and constitutional law experts.
The system allows anyone to buy electoral bonds with an SBI bank, then donate them to the political party selected. The public as well as parties and the Election Commission have no knowledge of the donor’s identity, but the government through the bank does. In most circumstances, the person receiving the donation can decide not to publish the name of the donor.
As a result, a system of political bribery grows, untouched by anyone checking for corruption.
Courts are kept free of outside political influence.
The result? Money that cannot be traced has spun away from the government, yet it largely stays with the ruling party. Election bonds gathered a total of ₹12,000 crore in 2024, of which over 57% went only to the BJP, according to the government’s disclosure. The rest of the crumbs was handed out to others. Companies, no matter if they were making losses or had only recently been registered, gave huge donations, often very close to winning vital contracts, licences or favours.
In a single surprising case, a firm being looked into by ED for financial fraud gave ₹55 crore to the ruling party in bonds. Only a few weeks passed before the company’s assets were unfrozen and the pending case vanished. Electoral bonds were the channel for a second massive company to give money in the same election. Just two months later, this firm was handed a large multi-state highways contract.
Coincidence? Hardly. What’s really happening is quid pro quo, but it’s being presented as support for policy decisions.
An even greater problem is that many of the safeguards have been removed. With the amendment, the Finance Act increased a company’s ability to give money (instead of being just 7.5% of net profits) and got rid of the requirement for companies to identify which political party got their donations. For this reason, a newly recorded firm can send ₹100 crore without people knowing.
It goes against every principle of democratic integrity around the world. Even the smallest dollar in campaign donations must be reported in the U.S. In the UK, information about someone who donated a kidney is freely available. Yet, it’s different in India where companies give in private and politicians make the policy changes in public settings.
From the beginning, the Reserve Bank of India and the Election Commission both rejected how electoral bonds were introduced. Both the RBI and the Election Commission stated that the scheme might easily promote hidden transactions and could harm transparency in government. They were not listened to in response.
Once the case arrived at the Supreme Court, it stayed quiet for more than six years. All through those years, five general elections and many state polls were hosted while bribery of lawmakers was ongoing. The Court did not rule the scheme illegal until February 2024 and ask for donor details to be revealed.
At that point, the harm was already there.
For more than five years, political fortunes in India depended on huge, anonymous donations. Policy went to the person willing to spend the most. The making of laws was done more in boardrooms than in Parliament. All of these approvals—environmental clearances, mining leases, media licences and contracts for infrastructure—were traded in a hidden influence marketplace.
And voters? They had blindfolds put on.
What happens when citizens don’t have all the information about who is funding whom? How can the opposition cheque what the government is doing when it can’t identify those funding its policies? How can reporters uncover corruption when all their leads end in a 'confidential' record that cannot be accessed?
Electoral Bonds took politics to a new level where companies pay for power and responsibility is ignored.
This issue wasn’t a mistake—it was how the system was made. This made it possible for political parties to amass billions of rupees without needing to explain one penny. It covered up crony capitalism. As a result, many companies were fearful of speaking up against government policies, knowing that authorities could monitor who didn’t donate.
When former Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi warned:
What we have is not electoral reform. We are now regressing back to older ways of voting. India’s political funding has returned to a time that was dark for transparency.
Electoral Bonds show that it is not the other way around in India: power does not bring money; money brings power.
To bring back any democracy, we must demand complete openness about how money is spent in elections.
All donations that go above ₹10,000 must include information about who the donor is.
• Ties for corporate donations should be set using statutory limits connected to the company’s profits
All political parties have to release audited financial reports once a year.
• The Election Commission should be able to take action, not only give advice
Most importantly, laws should put the needs of the community ahead of individual business gain.
If those in power can continue to acquire silence, policy and power through money, India will no longer be a true democracy.
Act VI: Data Doesn't Lie—It Screams
Data Doesn’t Lie—It Screams
In a society dominated by propaganda, loud nationalism and dictated storeys, data stays unblinking and honest. It’s honest. It won’t compliment you. If only we would pay attention, it will shout.
There are many wounds in India’s democracy, each one known, recorded and going unaddressed. You won’t find these numbers sealed away in some closed file. They come from government groups, bodies set up by the constitution and independent watchdogs. Even so, most people in the country dismiss such implications like background noise because they have grown tired of hearing about corruption.
A Rot in Data about Crime in Parliament
Let’s start by learning this dismal fact:
ADR reports that in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, almost half (43%) of MPs had criminal cases against them. There are almost 233 MPs in the nation's main legislative body whose cases are pending, with most of them facing charges for murder, rape, kidnapping, attempted murder and crimes against women.
Among all detainees, 29% have been accused of “serious criminal cases”. A few were accused of leading riots, threatening groups or spewing hate messages meant to cause disputes between the groups.
Let’s realise this: Over half of lawmakers have committed crimes.
- It’s only getting more severe. In 2004, fewer than one in four MPs faced criminal charges. By 2009, students who went on to higher education was 30%. In 2014, the number stood at 34%. In 2019, renewables made up 43% of all the energy used. This trend isn’t losing speed; it’s increasing at a rapid rate. This situation is not due to political decline. Political design is this.
- A Lot of Money Buys Democracy
- The cost to run in India’s elections has gone up dramatically. Spanning nearly ₹100,000 crore ($12 billion), the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were the most expensive elections ever. Still, the vast majority of this money went elsewhere, not through legal and open means.
- The Centre for Media Studies said that out of that total, ₹60,000 crore were black—unaccounted, untraceable and illegal. Much of the funds were spent on buying votes, paying off local government leaders and getting support from specific memberships by breaking the rules.
- Who funds this research? Donations from companies registered as shell companies. Electoral bonds. Side payments from the signing of contracts. Money flowing through fraudulent organisations and false trusts. Every election helps the highest bidder purchase democracy.
- Governance with Numbers—Or When There Aren’t Enough
- While those in power win more, the basic functions of government still breakdown. Let’s look at these figures:
UNICEF’s 2023 report shows that more than 2 crore children in India are not enrolled in school.
Getting reliable healthcare remains a major challenge for over three-quarters of India’s village dwellers (Niti Aayog)
The Global Hunger Index 2023 shows India in 111th place out of 125 nations.
India was placed 161st in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index which means it ranked lower than countries involved in war such as Palestine and Sudan
Only 26% of crimes against women end in convictions and lots of cases never progress past the initial charges
There's more to these numbers than you might think. They show that a country’s politicians are more determined to gain office than to do their jobs properly.
The link between criminalization and the growth of certain capital flows
The process doesn’t stop after the offence is found. There is a clear connexion between having a criminal record and becoming rich politically. According to ADR, those who have criminal cases win elections about twice as often as those who do not. Why? The reason is that they possess money, muscle and machinery. They have the money to support election campaigns, unite different castes and intimidate politicians into silence.
The amount of assets owned by Lok Sabha MPs on average rose by more than 500% between 2004 and 2019. In 2004, the typical MP could sell their house for ₹1.8 crore. In 2019, the total amount raised reached ₹20.9 crore. Some Members of Parliament showed that their assets total more than ₹1,000 crore. Even so, they serve the public.
They aren’t leaders at all. These people are real oligarchs.
The Choice or Compromise Face: Exploring The Voter’s Dilemma
It’s not clear why people are still attracted to these candidates. The data once more brings up troubling results.
Nearly 4 out of 10 Indians pick caste or religion when deciding whom to vote for (CSDS-Lokniti Survey)
Just over a third or 32%, felt that “development” was not specific enough to be used as a measurement of performance
In a lot of rural constituencies, people are regularly offered cash or free liquor for their vote.
• Because many can’t read or are cut off from the media and are fed government propaganda, they remain ignorant about politics
If people are not informed, democracy is like a show for the manipulators. That’s definitely clear from what the data shows.
The System’s Lack of Interest
Even organisations designed to keep authority in cheque such as the Election Commission, courts, CBI and Enforcement Directorate, have not always been impartial.
Between the years 2014 and 2023, almost all the ED raids were targeting opposition leaders as suspects.
After rule changes in areas such as Maharashtra and Karnataka, the CBI chose to drop more than 25 sensitive cases.
In the years after 2014, Election Commissioners have not made major complaints about electoral bonds or hate campaigns.
The point is made: institutions now serve interests, not decide them.
Simply put, data is virtually the sole piece of evidence needed.
When politics contains a lot of fake news, data helps us see clearly. But it also reveals who was involved. Such events happen many more times than they should. If 50% of Parliament has charges, political parties invest Rs.100,000 crores in elections and society is shown a spectacle—this is not a broken system. This is what the system is.
It’s hard to ignore how the data speaks.
It shouts out against injustice.
It makes it obvious that these governments are at fault.
It seems to be about betrayal.
But the most obvious cry is, when will we stop ignoring this?
Act VII: Democracy Under Siege
Democracy Under Siege
Democracy is more than going to the polls every five years. I think it involves having independent organisations, the public understanding what matters, officials who answer to everyone and laws that look the same for everyone with authority. Take away anything in this list and what is left is a ceremony dressed in freedom symbols, but without the meaning behind them.
Although at one time India was praised as the world’s largest democracy, its institutions are gradually being strangulated. The attack comes from inside the mind. Toxic comments happen all over the internet. The injuries are caused by the country’s own policies.
1. Too much Choice
The core of every democracy is the idea of choice. But when political parties often send people with criminal history, rely on money from secret corporate sources and are promoted by media that lies rather than shares facts—can anyone really see it as a choice?
At the 2019 Lok Sabha elections:
Nearly half of the MPs were involved in criminal cases.
It is thought that black money worth over ₹60,000 crore was used.
Many main media houses favoured the ruling party by giving their messages priority and some even received advertisement money directly from the government
We do not see an open election, but rather a system where a few make all the decisions and pretend it is democracy.
2. Is Our Parliament Real or Controlled by Special Interests?
What was originally viewed as a place where open debate and disagreement happened, Parliament now mostly goes along with what the executive wants.
Between the years 2014 and 2024:
Debating major legislation took less time or fell from 80 hours to under 30 hours.
Among these, many important rules—like the new Farm Laws and the update to RTI—were passed with none of the usual cheques of a standing committee
Ordinances were enacted without the usual legislative oversight.
If debate ends, democracy withdraws from the scene gently. With no sound at all. If we don’t resist.
3. Should the Judiciary truly work without bias?
India’s courts were previously its strongest guardians against harsh rulers. Currently, tax collection tends to look like a timid guard trying hard to protect an edifice that’s crumbling.
4.7 crore cases have not been completed in Indian courts yet.
Several tens of thousands of cases have not been resolved by High Courts over the past decade.
• Cases like the removal of Article 370, introduction of the CAA and Electoral Bonds were not decided by the courts for years and were passed when it was too late
Meanwhile, leaders choose who gets to be a judge and where they serve, critics of the government face contempt charges and people who promote hate and division remain free.
If the judiciary is afraid of the executive, it is not a cheque but rather a quiet place.
4. Is media most often considered to be the Fourth Estate or does it work as a secret fifth column?
At one time, India’s media was brave, but now it is mostly taken over, commercialised and made weak. What we call news today is really just noise. Putting ideological warfare in the driver seat of investigative journalism.
In 2023, India was placed at number 161 on the World Press Freedom Index.
The past five years have seen over 100 journalists either arrested, threatened with danger or attacked.
• A strong connexion between financial reward and favourable coverage is often part of government ads.
News anchors in Alexander’s era often did what members of the parties would have done. Editors self-censor. Closed meetings are where owners make their deals. The watchdog has turned into the lapdog.
5. Civil Society Under Observation
Protesters are now being put in prison under laws against terrorism such as UAPA. Children are sent to gaol for protesting. The FCRA also puts a ban on NGOs obtaining funds. Protests are often called anti-national. Individuals who expose wrongdoing are often badly viewed.
No matter if you protest at Bhima Koregaon, Shaheen Bagh or join farmers or climate movements—dissent is treated as a criminal act. What we are left with is a community full of fear..
Even through the internet, mass monitoring, fake news and armies of trolls work to mentally attack those who criticise them. The places we can share our opinions are getting fewer, both on the internet and in real-life.
6. Free Fall: Federalism Today
According to the Indian Constitution, the Union of States is not to be confused with a single unitary empire. However, opposition-ruled states are often targeted with the CBI, ED and IT Department. Being neutral, governors continue to mess with the political situation. The release of money has been put on hold. They adjust the old scheme names. Their free will is gleefully insulted.
This is much more than a lead-erly quarrel—it’s a rejection of the constitution.
Not a Coup Happened Here. They are nothing but Captives.
What sets it apart is the way it is done quietly. There has been no sight of tanks in the capital. The Constitution hasn’t gone up in flames. The United Nations still organises elections. Courts continue to give verdicts. Cable networks still air news programmes.
However, there’s much more to consider:
• Lawmakers are passing legislation that many people have not supported
• Executive influence is pushing judges in a certain direction.
Media uses a uniform and controlled message.
Many who disagree with the authorities just disappear, either into gaol or completely.
People are paying to have votes, rather than earning them through real interest
• Government power is now gathered in a single place, rather than being divided.
This isn’t democracy, it’s just humans allowing themselves to be controlled. It looks like a democracy, but acts like an authoritarian state.
The Final Question
The end of democracy isn’t instant. Deterioration can’t be missed as you look at the building. It decays whenever a lie is believed, a crime excused or a right sacrificed for what feels good.
No political crisis is gripping India. It is threatened with democratic extinction, hidden by propaganda, financed with black money and permitted by silence.
We don’t need to ask anymore if democracy is in danger.
We should ask:
We won’t call it a democracy any longer if these things continue.”
Act VIII: The Price of Corruption
What Corruption Costs
The problem of corruption in India is now not only a fault of ethics; it’s also a tragic disaster happening slowly. There’s more to it than hiding money abroad or exchanging bribes sneakily. There are millions of lives lost, tonnes of untapped potential and no justice promised. The way corruption affects costs us is not in money but in good lives, negative feelings and ruined dreams.
1. When Government Cash Gets Used as Party Profit
Last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) reported that over ₹7.5 lakh crore was misused or not made use of in government-sponsored programmes over the last ten years. Enough money was made for her to:
Free education would be given to every child in India for ten years.
It is important to provide healthcare to all citizens and restore shown in the picture
• Support 100 years of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme
The money should have gone to those in need, but it was syphoned away by politicians, contractors, bureaucrats and corporate friends—but India’s poor are still suffering and dying outside of hospitals.
2. Death by Delay—Health and Infrastructure
Remember how over 60 children lost their lives at Gorakhpur hospital in 2017 because there were no oxygen cylinders? The government did not pay for the cylinders because of a delay in handing over the small amount of ₹68 lakh. The children died after the supplier cut off the supply.
What happened wasn’t a coincidence; it was corruption behind the scenes. The money for buying essential medical equipment was held up or took from other uses. Just at that point, corruption cost people their lives.
The same is happening all across India.
When the bridge in Morbi, Gujarat (2022) fell, its poor condition was the result of dishonest tenders and led to many deaths.
In many cities, people build illegally on top of natural drainage ways, encouraged by bribes.
• Following monsoons, all the roads are wiped out, exposing fake reports on completion.
Whenever a bridge fails, whenever a school gets water damage or a pothole fills with people, corruption is the hidden culprit.
3. Poverty Isn’t an Accident, It Is Made to Happen
There are more than 230 million people in India living in multidimensional poverty, making India home to the largest number of such people—Global MPI 2023. Although MGNREGA and PDS were meant to help, corruption has destroyed their benefits for many:
In 2022, more than three out of every ten MGNREGA payments had problems.
Regularly, ration shops divert grain that should go to the poor.
In
most cases, gaining access to welfare in some states is tied to loyalty to the
party or from one’s social background.
The result? It is by design, not by luck, that people stay poor.
4. Problems at the top are corrupting the educational system.
More than 1.2 million government schools are active in India. But:
• One third of these homes do not have any basic toilets.
A fourth of people living in these countries don’t have access to electricity.
45% of Grade 5 students struggle to read a book on a Grade 2 level (ASER Report))
Why? Thank to funds being either stolen or wrongly distributed. The government gives contracts for daytime meals, school uniforms and books to friends in charge of local affairs. Hiring teachers is difficult because the system is filled with corruption.
A generation is experiencing betrayal on school days throughout their lives.
5. You Can Buy Justice
Justice does not go unharmed either. Previously, the Chief Justice of India acknowledged that, to some extent, the wealthy and influential can buy a favourable ruling. Poor people facing cases can wait for decades, while cases for influential people often receive quicker attention, alternative hearing panels or preferred decisions.
About 7 out of 10 of those undergoing trial in India are Dalit, tribal or Muslim—poor and unable to afford the cost of bail.
Meanwhile, those in question roam outside judgement, continue to make laws and join election races.
With billions in frauds on record, famous scamsters like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya get away in the end, protected by inside knowledge and politically arranged support
By the time it reaches them, the law is often too difficult for the poor to navigate. The important ones make this happen under the table.
6. Problems With Natural Resources
The environment in India is in decline largely because of corruption.
Goa, Karnataka and Jharkhand have seen whole ecosystems destroyed by illegal mining.
• Authorities let forest theft go through in return for money
• Delhi’s and other cities’ air pollution worsens because their environmental laws are not properly followed
When a bribe is given for illegal industry, the health of tomorrow’s air is damaged. All the more we rush to achieve profit today is more unnecessary climate destruction for tomorrow.
The Real Cost
Corruption isn’t just about values. This is both an economic, humanitarian and democratic disaster.
It makes people doubt and no longer care.
• It favours average performance and doesn’t value excellence
• It allows criminals to make profits, while encouraging honest people to face risky situations
• It blocks changes, shifts public policies and harms people’s confidence in the country.
Meanwhile, those who are described as honest bear the worst effects. Many talented people choose to leave the country. Entrepreneurs are frequently harassed. Those who disclose corruption are regularly gaoled or killed. Expectations of better are disappearing among citizens.
This wasn’t an accident of a broken system—this is the very system itself.
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To Sum Up: We Can No Longer Call Corruption a Leak—It’s a Flood
There are actual consequences to corruption. This can be found in:
• The baby because they didn’t receive the ICU care they needed
• A woman who went hungry from skipping her fair share
• A graduate with no work because he couldn't make the right connexions
A sane and just officer who was moved, wrongly charged or lost their life.
We see corruption in real life. It’s an experience that’s very much about you.
India will not succeed if the corrupt are in charge. It will not move forward if it relies on lies and theft. If this decay isn’t stopped now, we are putting our country’s very soul at risk and not only wasting our money.
Act IX: Experts are warning us about the dangers.
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Specialists Are Cautioning the Public
It’s usually the experts—including analysts, scholars, former judges, civil servants and watchdog agencies—who keep false perceptions in cheque. If public institutions become biassed, the media is muzzled and people are kept busy, it is expertise that helps us through the confusion. Now, the pleas of those in poverty are so strong they threaten the stability of any democracy..
Still, scientists across India are ignored, attacked or their views are discounted.
1. Now-retired Judges and Civil Servants Are Speaking Out
Those who served in India’s leading administrative and judicial sectors, long criticised for silence, seem to speak out more since leaving office. What we hear on the news is very upsetting.
Justice Deepak Gupta, a Supreme Court retired judge said in 2023:
“It is getting harder for the Supreme Court to challenge the executive. Doing this is a threat to our democracy.
Many former IAS officials, including members of the Constitutional Conduct Group, have issued open letters about the possible collapse of institutions, stronger authoritarian rule and staff being drawn into politics.
Recently, a letter from 108 retired bureaucrats plainly said:
An undeclared crisis is reaching India. Those charged with running societies are losing their power.
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2. Election watchdogs are warning about the risks.
ADR and Common Cause are among the groups that have frequently drawn attention to these problems.
At the time of the 2019 election, 43% of Lok Sabha MPs were accused of crimes.
During the years 2018 to 2022, 89% of the money raised through Electoral Bonds was given to the ruling party.
• The way candidates are chosen and money is spent in elections undermines the principles of good politics
Dr. Jagdeep Chhokar, who co-founded ADR and was a professor at IIM-A, cautioned about the issue.
“The people’s vote has been replaced by the will of possible donors in India’s elections.”
3. Global Rankings Show the Fall of Domestic Standards
India’s ranking in global democratic and governance scores is quickly declining.
Earlier this year, the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Report 2023 categorised India as an “Electoral Autocracy”.
In 2024, Freedom House rated India as “Partly Free” because it sees a decrease in press and free speech rights.
The index from Transparency International indicates that India falls into rank 93 out of 180, mainly because of widespread corruption in the public sector
These are not random statistics—they are warnings from global institutions with no political axe to grind.
to be continued .....................
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