“Criminalisation of politics and administration (India)” Dr. Choudhary Lakha Ram Ph. D (public Administration), Office of the PAG (Audit) Haryana, Chandigarh Online published on 20 June, 2019. Abstract The growing criminalisation of politics and politicization of criminals have taken heavy toll on policing in the country. This phenomenon has further eroded the credibility, effectiveness, and impartiality of the police and resulted into lack of trust and confidence in police forces in large sections of the society. After Independence ‘criminalization of politics', people with criminal backgrounds becoming politicians and elected representatives and ‘criminalization of administration' or politicalization of administration, not rule of law but rule of dada's and thug seating into the vitals of the country have become chronic and administration was accused of inaction and collusion. The democracy of India are now in hands of the criminal who are supported by the administrators. A new trend of giving tickets to the confirmed criminals and history sheeters or even to the persons behind the bars has grown very rapidly more than that the situation appears to be more alarming when we find such persons being elected for the State Assembly or Parliament. Elections are won not by right but by might. It seems that we are living in a ‘jungle raj' where there is no law. Criminalization of Indian politics and the consequent cult of the gun is the greatest danger that faces Indian democracy today. The elections to Parliament and State Legislatures are very expensive and it is a widely accepted fact that huge election expenditure is the root cause for corruption in India. Criminalisation of politics and corruption in public life has become the biggest threat to India, the world's largest democracy. The political parties and independent candidates have astronomical expenditure for vote buying and other illegitimate purpose through these criminals or so called goondas. The electorate have made certain wrong choices in the past, but in the future national interest should guide them in making intelligent choices. Criminalization is a fact of Indian electoral politics today. The voters, political parties and the law and order machinery of the state are all equally responsible for this. Misuse of state power and criminalization of politics can be reduced and eliminated only if people participate on a larger scale in running the affairs of the state. Power must a decentralized, rules and regulations must be transparent, and there must be greater involvement of people in the government running through citizen, committees, cooperatives etc. Public opinion needs to be mobilized on all these fronts Opposition to individual politicians with criminal antecedents is necessary; but only deeper systemic reform can address the real crisis. This nexus is the real shoot in arm to the criminalization of politics or in other words ‘Bemired politics'. Indian politics is not a philanthropic activity instead it has become a means to accrue power by the avid and abhorrent leaders. Top Keywords Criminalization, Administration, jungle raj, democracy, Politics, Politicians, political parties, Corruption, bureaucracy, elections etc. Top |