A20 The World


EZ SU


KLMNO


SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010 In India, a deadly anti-corruption fight


Violence against whistleblowers spurs call for protections


BY RAMA LAKSHMI IN NAYAKANPETTAI, INDIA When police found Vaidyal- RAMA LAKSHMI/THE WASHINGTON POST


The father of ShanmuganVel, left, was fighting corruption in the local weavers’ cooperative.He was found dead alongside this road.


ingam Balasubramanyam’s body dumped beside a road in this southern Indian village recently, his family said that telling the


truth had cost him his life. The hand-loom weaver turned whis- tleblower had been fighting cor- ruption in the local weavers’ co- operative for the past three years. “We suspect some people kid-


napped him, forced open his mouth to pour in poison or pesti- cide and threw him out of a moving vehicle,” said his son Shanmugan Vel, 25 , as he sat on the floor next to his father’s framed, garlanded photograph at his home in the sari-weaving


district of Kancheepuram, in Tamil Nadu state. “My father spent all his time investigating the office files for corrupt practic- es. He sent dozens of complaints to the top officials and leaders.” His father had been warned of


the risks he was running,Vel said, but had responded that the docu- ments “contained the explosive truth that will clean up the sys- tem.” Eleven people have been killed


or found dead in mysterious cir- cumstances in India this year after exposing corruption in schools and public utilities, ille- gal mining and unauthorized wa- ter and electricity hookups, ac- cording to activist groups. Hun- dreds of others have been at- tacked, threatened or harassed for similar crusades. In July, about 500 whistleblowers marched in New Delhi to protest the deaths and demand effective anti-corruption and whistleblow- er-protection legislation in a country where graft is more the norm than the exception. The demand for such a law


began six years ago after a nation- al outcry over the killing of a 30-year-old engineer who had exposed a corruption scandal in highway construction. Lastmonth, the Indian govern-


network. to the family Welcome


ment finally introduced land- markdraft legislation—titled the Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to PersonsMaking the Disclosures Bill—that proposes a system for dealing with corrup- tion allegations and a three-year jail term for officials who disclose whistleblowers’ identities. “It has been felt that the per-


sons who report the corruption or willful misuse of power or willful misuse of discretion, which causes demonstrable loss to the government . . . need statu- tory protection,” said Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state for per- sonnel, public grievances and pensions, while introducing the bill.


Despite recent rapid economic


growth, the expansion of the middle class and the spread of education and mass media, India was ranked 84th out of 180 coun- tries last year in the annual corruption perception survey conducted by the global watch- dog Transparency International. Of the various Indian depart- ments analyzed, the police force emerged as the biggest offender. Since 2005, anti-corruption crusaders have used a law man- dating the right to information to access official files and expose malfeasance. Balasubramanyam had collected hundreds of official documents indicating that a sin- gle family held a monopoly over the cooperative management, ac- cording to Vel, who showed a reporter photocopies of the docu- ments. The files also showed evidence of embezzlement. “Due to heavy rainfall last year,


the government sent compensa- tion money to hand-loom weav- ers. But I did not get any of it, even though the records in the cooperative showed that all the


weavers had been paid,” said Sukha Lingam, 40, a weaver in Nayakanpettai. “The managers ate up all the money meant for the poor.” Balasubramanyan always car-


ried with him a yellow cloth bag containing files he had accessed. The bag is now missing. The police registered a case of “suspi- cious death” after his killing and sent his body for examination. Analysts say public intolerance


of corruption has grown in recent years, spurring the push for stronger laws to combat it — but also inviting violent reprisals. “For many decades, Indians


kept saying, ‘What can we do?’ Butnowcorruption has reached a level that it is difficult to look the other way,” said Sumaira Abdu- laali, a member of theMovement Against Intimidation, Threat and Revenge against Activists, an in- dependent coalition. “When ille- gal activities take place on such a major scale, then we can be certain that the entire system of politicians, officials, police and criminals are mixed up in it.” Many activists say, however,


that the newwhistleblower bill is still inadequate. It covers only the government bureaucracy and not the military or the corporate sector. It is silent on those expos- ing corrupt politicians. The bill empowers a body called the Cen- tral Vigilance Commission to in- vestigate cases, but the govern- ment is not bound to follow its recommendations. It also says anonymous complaints will not be accepted. “It is just a showpiece legisla-


tion,” said Arvind Kejriwal, head of Parivartan, a New Delhi-based group that campaigns for trans- parency. “The entire emphasis of the bill is in keeping the name of the whistleblower a secret. That is the last concern of the people who blow the whistle. What they want is swift, guaranteed investi- gation and action on their com- plaint so that they are not vulner- able to physical threats and pro- fessional harassment.” The ministry has invited activ-


ists to comment on the draft legislation by the end of Septem- ber. Last month, the Delhi High


Court ordered the government to pay compensation to Mahendra Kumar Tyagi, 65, who was ha- rassed at work for complaining against his bosses’ corrupt activi- ties in the state-owned oil compa- ny. For 10 years, Tyagi said, no- body spoke to him at the office and he received no promotion. “I was made an outcast and a prisoner in my office cubicle. It was like slow poisoning,” Tyagi recalled. Last month’s court order


hailed him as “courageous.” “I have been vindicated,” he


said. “But at what cost? I ruined my life, my health and my peace of mind. Today I tell my son, ‘Don’t be honest. You will get nothing but trouble. In India, the honest are punished, the corrupt are rewarded.’ ” lakshmir@washpost.com


Just switch to any T-Mobile FamilyPlanand add your kids for free. (taxes & fees additional)


Buy one


get one FREE


After $50 mail-in rebate card. New activation on qualifying plan with 2-year contract required.


RAMA LAKSHMI/THE WASHINGTON POST


Weaver Sukha Lingamsaid he hasn’t received subsidies owed to him, even though a cooperative’s records show the money was dispersed.


W FOR Enter ainment Enterttainment never loo looked better. Watch James Cameron’s Avatar, exclusively preloaded on Samsung Vibrant™ Call 1-800-TMOBILE | Go to your local T-Mobile® Store | Visit t-mobile.com


Offer expires 11/2/2010; subject to change; participating locations only. Free added lines: No monthly recurring charges until after 12/31/2011 for voice and messaging services on new lines added to qualifying 2-line family plans. Taxes, fees and charges for other services additional, including Regulatory Programs Fee of $1.41 per line/ month. After 12/31/2011, regular monthly service pricing will apply to all added lines. Max. three added lines. Device: Taxes and fees additional. Qualifying post-paid plan & new two-year agreement required for each device. Devices must be purchased and activated at same time on the same account; limit two free devices per account. Allow up to 8 weeks for rebate card. See rebate form for details. Mail-in rebate not required for free devices in RI, CT and Miami-Dade County. Vibrant only; while supplies last. Device and screen images simulated. General terms: Credit approval, $35/line activation fee, & new two-year agreement on all or some lines of family plan may be required; up to $200/line early cancellation fee applies to 2-year contracts. Taxes approx. 6–28% of bill. All unlimited features are only for direct communications between 2 people; domestic only. Coverage: Service and 3G coverage not available everywhere. Abnormal Usage: Service may be limited or terminated for misuse, abnormal usage or significant roaming. See store and Terms and Conditions (including arbitration provision) at www.t-mobile.com for additional information. T-Mobile and the magenta color are registered trademarks of Deutsche Telekom AG. Samsung, Vibrant, and Galaxy S are all trademarks of Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and its related entities. Avatar © 2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. © 2010 T-Mobile USA, Inc.


WEEKEND ON FRIDAY. EEKEND PLANS, CHECK OUT


EVERY DAY THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF WAYS THE POST HELPS YOU.


If you don’t get it, you don’t get it. SF612Tipb 2x4.5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166