02-11-2004, 05:16 PM
If Pakistan's Khan were in India
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->India, too has been remiss in its response to the events, given the peace process that is in place, and does not want to indulge in any verbal sparring with its neighbor. The Indian government has all along kept a studied silence on the issue, except for a mild statement criticizing Pakistan issued by foreign minister Yashwant Sinha during the visit of his British counterpart Jack Straw. Even as election-related speeches gain tempo in India, nobody from the Indian establishment has overtly attacked Pakistan.
This story illustrates a critical difference in the way corruption or moral standards in public life are viewed separately in the two nations. It is not as if corruption is not endemic in India - it is, as evidenced by a slew of recent scams involving tinkering with the stock market, spurious stamp paper and ministers being caught on camera accepting bribes.
A recent analysis titled "Why Indian N-tech wont leak," in The Times of India, reads: <b>"In the past, other countries like Iraq and Iran have expressed interest in Indian nuclear and missile technology, but have been politely shown the "not for sale" sign.</b> How do Indian scientists resist the lure to flog WMD technology around the world? According to a former nuclear scientist, there are several reasons - foremost being the strong culture of bureaucratic control by the prime minister and the Cabinet.
However, Indian nuclear and missile scientists have not been needlessly lionized and made to feel they are above the law. Second, Indian efforts have been largely indigenous and did not require an extensive network of illegal back-channels where the "hook or by crook" and "money is no object" culture prevailed.
Third, Indian WMD capabilities have evolved with a strong system of formal and informal government controls. According to a former atomic energy department head, India has had such export controls since the 1950s' Atomic Energy Act. Since the 1990s, even these have been tightened by written guidelines disseminated to all public sector units on what can be exported and to whom.
Indeed, it is the informal controls in the form of norms of behavior that define the way the corrupt, or others who are perceived to be corrupt, are treated in this country.
Such has not been the case with Pakistan, where all is fair as long as it meets the agenda of putting Pakistan on an even keel militarily with India.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->India, too has been remiss in its response to the events, given the peace process that is in place, and does not want to indulge in any verbal sparring with its neighbor. The Indian government has all along kept a studied silence on the issue, except for a mild statement criticizing Pakistan issued by foreign minister Yashwant Sinha during the visit of his British counterpart Jack Straw. Even as election-related speeches gain tempo in India, nobody from the Indian establishment has overtly attacked Pakistan.
This story illustrates a critical difference in the way corruption or moral standards in public life are viewed separately in the two nations. It is not as if corruption is not endemic in India - it is, as evidenced by a slew of recent scams involving tinkering with the stock market, spurious stamp paper and ministers being caught on camera accepting bribes.
A recent analysis titled "Why Indian N-tech wont leak," in The Times of India, reads: <b>"In the past, other countries like Iraq and Iran have expressed interest in Indian nuclear and missile technology, but have been politely shown the "not for sale" sign.</b> How do Indian scientists resist the lure to flog WMD technology around the world? According to a former nuclear scientist, there are several reasons - foremost being the strong culture of bureaucratic control by the prime minister and the Cabinet.
However, Indian nuclear and missile scientists have not been needlessly lionized and made to feel they are above the law. Second, Indian efforts have been largely indigenous and did not require an extensive network of illegal back-channels where the "hook or by crook" and "money is no object" culture prevailed.
Third, Indian WMD capabilities have evolved with a strong system of formal and informal government controls. According to a former atomic energy department head, India has had such export controls since the 1950s' Atomic Energy Act. Since the 1990s, even these have been tightened by written guidelines disseminated to all public sector units on what can be exported and to whom.
Indeed, it is the informal controls in the form of norms of behavior that define the way the corrupt, or others who are perceived to be corrupt, are treated in this country.
Such has not been the case with Pakistan, where all is fair as long as it meets the agenda of putting Pakistan on an even keel militarily with India.
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