Corruption continues to bedevil third world countries leaving billions to wallow in poverty. What is the genesis of this corruption and to what extent it has its roots in colonialism? However much the colonizers spoke of the ‘white man’s burden” and it civilizing mission, their sole objective was to exploit the labor of the colonized people and extract their resources.
Unfortunately, the leaders of these former colonies have not only inherited this colonial mindset but have continued where the colonizers left off. When one look closely at our public officials, one would see all the trappings of the colonial officials who were appointed to ‘serve’ in the colonies. These officials were not only rewarded with huge salaries compared to the pittance paid to the natives, but also alienated themselves from the people they claimed to be serving. Their homes were located in exclusive zones, what we would call gated communities today.
Shashi Tharoor in his book An Era of Darkness highlighted these discrepancies in colonial India where the British officials did not work but complained about the heat and resorted to the hill stations like Simla on the foothills of the Himalayas where they lived like tourists in the lap of luxury with a retinue of servants at their behest.
Worse was that the sons of Macaulay -coconut Indians- aspired to live like the British. They not only alienated themselves from their mother tongues and adopted English but also the British dress and their mannerism. When Mahatma Gandhi returned to India after more than 20 years of struggles to improve the lot of Indian laborers in South Africa, he was appalled to see the leaders of the Indian National Congress not struggling for independence but happily petitioning the governor for petty concessions within the colonial society. Gandhi had long seen through the poison of British culture and adopted his native dress, food, language and mannerism. Gandhi even saw through the education system that developed in Indians a hate for everything Indian. Gandhi went on to keep his two younger sons at home and provided home schooling to them after losing his eldest son to this debilitating culture posturing as enlightenment.
In Trinidad and Tobago this culture was adopted after independence in 1962 and was played out among the senior staff members in the sugar and petroleum industries. Not only were free houses, high salaries and perks part of the remuneration package but also yard boys and maids to attend to their every needs.
These pseudo- British mismanaged these enterprises by employing their families, friends and party hacks. Like the British who exploited the resources for their gains, our local managers worked not for the welfare of the companies but to full their pockets. Many were engaged in the selling of the assets of the companies to competitors in the outside for pittance.
Today, years after the death of Mahatma Gandhi, a few detractors continue to charge him for wrong doings. Nevertheless, no one has said that he was a thief. The same can be said for Dr Cheddi Jagan, the former President of Guyana. Though cheated of power by the British and the US with the active participation of the PNC led by Forbes Burnham, Dr Jagan stood tall and never stooped to pick up coins that were not his.
Pilfering the treasury is a colonial legacy and elected and appointed officials who indulge in stealing from the treasury must be called out. Worse, this stealing from the national purse is not confined to politicians but is practiced by all employees who arrive late, don’t work and leave early. Among them are teachers who do not complete the syllabi during the regular teaching hours but leave it to be done during extra lessons, thus putting several students who cannot afford the exorbitant fees at a disadvantage. Even our pandits are refusing to conduct their rituals in the mandir if they found the returns to be inadequate.
All the wealth, name and glory that we grave are all within us to be discovered. This is the teaching of Sanatan Dharma-look within oneself and therein lies all that one desires. Mahatma Gandhi knew that and throughout his life he never forgot that he was a seeker on the road to liberation. For those of us in public life it would be good to learn more of both Gandhiji and Dr Cheddi Jagan. Both men were accused by their detractors for many blunders but never once for stealing from the public purse.
If poverty has to be eradicated strong measures must be implemented to curb corruption. The model implemented by Singapore has proven to be very successful, that is, punishment of corrupt officials for their wrongs. This is the way forward, and not the legacy of colonialism which promoted corruption as a virtue.