Crime And Punishment…

Crime And Punishment…This posting is not about Crime and Punishment  a famous  novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky,which was first published in the literary journal The Russian Messenger in twelve monthly installments during 1866 and which  was later published in a single volume. This is about a corrupt IAS Officer of Patna, Bihar,who has been the subject of many articles in several media publications.His crime is that he was found to have amassed a lot of wealth through corrupt means.His trial is going on and in due course,he will receive punishment as per the court’s verdict.Meanwhile,pending trial,Nitish Kumar,the Chief Minister of Bihar,has taken a bold initiative of confiscating his huge house and opening a school for the down-trodden sections of the society,in these palatial premises.I first read the story through an Editorial in Financial Express.To read it on FE’s website,go to :

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/bihar-formula/845115/0 The bold initiative impressed me and in response,this is what I wrote to FE :

Dear Sir, This refers to your eye-catching editorial titled “Bihar Formula” (FE 12th Sept 2011) lauding Nitish Kumar’s bold action of confiscating the palatial house of a corrupt,suspended IAS officer,charged with amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income,even while the trial is on,and shifting a local school from a slum area to the new premises,much to the delight  and comfort of the students and teachers. This is a good lesson for other corrupt bureaucrats.Nitish’s formula of punishing the greedy and helping the needy will pave the way for other political leaders to follow the example of confiscating such properties of the “have-s” and using them for the good of the “have-nots”. Let us hope that after Anna Effect , “Nitish Effect” , will help to tackle the demon of corruption, meaningfully.Let us also hope that this is a not a one-time “show” for garnering votes but becomes a new tool for discharging,what can now be termed as PSR (Political Social Responsibility) like the much-hyped initiatives of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) hitherto. J S BROCA,New DelhiI am pleased to note that my views have been published in Letters to The Editor column in today’s FE,as under :Letters to the editor,The Financial Express,Monday, Sep 19, 2011 

Nitish effect  :Apropos of the editorial “Bihar formula” (FE, September 12), lauding Nitish Kumar’s bold action of confiscating the palatial house of a corrupt, suspended IAS officer, charged with amassing wealth beyond his known sources of income, and shifting a local school from a slum area to the new premises, is a good lesson for other corrupt bureaucrats. Nitish’s formula of punishing the greedy and helping the needy will pave the way for other political leaders to follow the example of confiscating such properties of the ‘haves’ and using them for the good of the ‘have-nots’. Let us hope that after the Anna effect, Nitish effect will help to tackle the demon of corruption, meaningfully. Let us also hope that this is a not a one-time ‘show’ for garnering votes but becomes a new tool for discharging, what can now be termed as PSR (political social responsibility) like the much-hyped initiatives of CSR (corporate social responsibility) hitherto. JS Broca, New Delhi.

To read my letter on FE’s website,go to :http://www.financialexpress.com/news/letters-to-the-editor/848385/0

I am also pleased to inform my readers,that a similar article was there in BUSINESS STANDARD a few days ago and I had responded to it as usual, with my views on the subject and lo behold,my views have also found some space in the Letters column of BS today as under :

Letters :Time for Nitish-Effect .Business Standard New Delhi September 19,2011:This refers to Satyavrat Mishra’s interesting article “At home in school” (September 17). Nitish Kumar’s bold action of confiscating the house of a corrupt IAS officer and turning it into a school for children will serve as a good lesson for other corrupt bureaucrats. Let us hope that after the Anna-effect, the “Nitish-effect” will help tackle corruption meaningfully. Let us also hope that this is a not a one-time “show” for garnering votes but becomes a new tool for discharging PSR (Political Social Responsibility) like the much-hyped CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).J S Broca, New Delhi.

To read the original article on website of BS,go to : http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/at-home-in-school/449408/

To read my letter on the website of BS,go to :http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/letters-time-for-nitish-effect/449574/

My views on the subject matter can also be seen live, below the articles on the websites of other newspapers. I shall give you leads to the articles in my comments below the posting.Meanwhile,like me,savour the moment,read and react !