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Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

economist.com

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Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#111

Post by pkd »

RestlessMind wrote: post #109
pkd wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Indians want to immigrate because of the much higher pay and savings in the western economies compared to the pay for the same job locally. I am sure a lot of people are motivated by the much more modern western culture as well but I can assure you that money is the motivation for the majority, as condescending as that sounds.

But why is it that its possible to make more money in western economies than in India? I asked this question to myself (and I am sure many others did too) and at least for me, the principle factor came out to be pervasive corruption. In case you are familiar with both India and western economies, can you think of any other bigger factor?

Yes, there is a bigger factor. Western economies are stronger than India's. The average pay is higher and the standard of living is higher (this also means that the cost of living is higher but that gets compensated by the fact that the conversion rates from eg USD to INR are so high that even a little money makes a huge amount of difference).

When I did Google Summer of Code in my freshman year in college I got paid $5500 for three months' work, which when converted to INR was more than my father was making in a whole year working fulltime.

Rs 1 million (ballpark figure) is considered to be a good salary for an average software engineer in India. By PPP conversion this is only equivalent to $57k, which is less than half of what some freshers make in the Bay Area or NYC.

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#112

Post by MarkMc »

kazagistar wrote: post #20
poitor wrote: post #16

India has one of the largest below poverty line and uneducated population in the world. Isn't it obvious that you can just win them over giving them a little money as less as 500 or 1000 Rs which is gonna make their days. I remember when the voting guys come to my town, the parties generally setup up a buffet system for lunch and if you had voted for the party you get free lunch. An then there is giving free gifts li…

Anonymous voting, so you can just lie about it and get the free gifts anyways?

Isn't voting in India already anonymous?

I suspect that even with anonymous voting people's psychology will compel them to vote for the party who gives them a gifts.

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#113

Post by Nano2rad »

tumbling_stone wrote: post #98
sonink wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you buy votes if the ballot is secret ? Not saying that people don't try, and there is that odd politician who does come only from money. By and large most chief ministers victory can be explained not by money, but more by identity/group based politics. This is pretty much also exactly the same to what happens in the US.

Politicians don't dole out cash and go pray that the voters will honor their agreement. They have a way of making sure that their bought votes are delivered to them. Buying votes happens mostly in slums and other non-affluent areas. These are the places where the concept of privacy hasn't yet formed and everybody knows what everybody else is doing. Also, a politician is not expected to work for them his whole term. I…

Vote is secret in India. There is no way for politician to find out where your vote went except some guess work, but still people vote for the politiician who paid the money which is strange. There have been no news report about politicians taking revenge because people did not vote for him. If such news had come election commission would do something and media would not be silent.

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#114

Post by Nano2rad »

marklgr wrote: post #57
aisofteng wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>People who dare to oppose these powerful people discover the true meaning of hell. It's true practically everywhere in the world including the US. It can be true in the US, but it definitely is not the norm. This statement rings false. For all the problems the US has, yes including corruption in some places, it is almost entirely unique in its freedom of speech and its allowance for political opposition without fear…

> its allowance for political opposition without fear of retribution as a modus operandi. Are we talking of the country of COINTELPRO, that killed civil rights activists, or obliterated unions and the US socialist party by force and shady tactics? it's like, you can say what you want, as long as it has zero consequences -- otherwise, prepare to meet some serious shit.

Where are the unions in Indian IT companies and BPOs?

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#115

Post by zhemao »

sonink wrote: post #77
zhemao wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? The article says something negative about Indian politics therefore it sounds racist? You realize this is a teaser for a book written by an Indian author, right? Indian politicians being more likely to have criminal allegations against them is an easily verifiable claim. And why do you think The Economist is generally racist? Because they don't shy away from criticizing shitty behavior just because the people…

> Indian politicians being more likely to have criminal allegations against them is an easily verifiable claim. Unlike America, India's court are more accessible to each and everyone. Cases are filed liberally in the political process - in some ways this is reminiscent of our freedom struggle where going to jail was considered a right of passage, and rightfully so. If you use this to assert that Indian politicians ar…

Again, it's a review of a book written by an Indian author. Perhaps the book has further evidence that these charges aren't just political posturing.

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#116

Post by RestlessMind »

pkd wrote: post #111
RestlessMind wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But why is it that its possible to make more money in western economies than in India? I asked this question to myself (and I am sure many others did too) and at least for me, the principle factor came out to be pervasive corruption. In case you are familiar with both India and western economies, can you think of any other bigger factor?

Yes, there is a bigger factor. Western economies are stronger than India's. The average pay is higher and the standard of living is higher (this also means that the cost of living is higher but that gets compensated by the fact that the conversion rates from eg USD to INR are so high that even a little money makes a huge amount of difference). When I did Google Summer of Code in my freshman year in college I got paid…

Sorry if I was unclear, but my question is why are western economies stronger than India's? Its been 70 years since independence. What is it that India is lacking at this stage?

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#117

Post by sanjayts »

RestlessMind wrote: post #116
pkd wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, there is a bigger factor. Western economies are stronger than India's. The average pay is higher and the standard of living is higher (this also means that the cost of living is higher but that gets compensated by the fact that the conversion rates from eg USD to INR are so high that even a little money makes a huge amount of difference). When I did Google Summer of Code in my freshman year in college I got paid…

Sorry if I was unclear, but my question is why are western economies stronger than India's? Its been 70 years since independence. What is it that India is lacking at this stage?

The cut goes far deeper than corruption, we have had traitors running our country after Independence; leaders who put themselves and their petty desires before their country.

Other factors which contribute to holding back the country are: illiteracy, population explosion, blind faith, diversity used against the masses to incite hate and so on.

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#118

Post by sanjayts »

andrewvijay wrote: post #2

I'm an Indian and can verify that. A lot of scumbags keep winning and hold onto power here usually by hook or crook. In fact even the prime Minister modi was on a mass murdering case of Gujarat 2002. He was the chief minister when the riots Happened!! That guy has still not even apologized or said sorry to the families whose people were killed. The current govt has the largest share of criminals in power. There are s…

> The current govt has the largest share of criminals in power

Surely you jest? No mention of Congress who have literally destroyed our country by their rampant corruption and being in power for so long that it is proving to be a gargantuan task to get back on our feet?

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#119

Post by flukus »

tominous wrote: post #78
Griffinsauce wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't underestimate how much you don't see. Millionaires fly without even seeing border security, meanwhile every other person spends hours waiting in line. It may not be beatings in the street but there are many laws that simply don't apply when you're rich enough.

Johnny Depp would disagree with you that the laws simply don't apply: https://youtu.be/ORpBAIB9j64

Remember that this was only notable because the laws did apply.

Re: Why many Indian politicians have a criminal record

#120

Post by flukus »

smallnamespace wrote: post #71
flukus wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You ever see the president get a pat down when he returns from over seas?

I'm as much in favor of equal application of laws as anyone else, but please explain how wasting the President's time would help anyone else one iota?

This is an extreme example, but I do think that having lawmakers out through the same process as the plebs would lead to better laws.
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