Lessons in governance

The speed with which public institutions act in Britain — as shown by swift inquiries, and subsequent action on the phone-tapping front — is much to be admired.

What began as an expose into hacking by journalists of a 168-year-old newspaper, later forced to shut down due to the seriousness of the charges, has become a gigantic investigation into the way top public servants conducted themselves. British Prime Minister David Cameron’s former confidants haven’t been spared either for causing the establishment-shaking scandal of media malfeasance and conspiring to pay officials in return for information for stories.
Compare this to the way investigations into so many scams in India are progressing, in which public servants, including ministers, have not been seen to be acting with the probity expected of those in high positions. The investigation and legal process is so tardy here that it leaves the impression that politicians are only buying time till the next election, hoping that if they can pull off a victory it would wipe their slate clean.
In Britain, within months of the scandal coming to light, two inquiries are already running full tilt and a third one has now been opened, with regard to corrupt payments to officials by journalists in search of stories, some of which were to do with ferreting out the way the royal family lives, with the typical prurient touch of tabloids. Needless to say, we would be a better nation if we could only absorb some of these lessons in governance.

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