The Devil's Pygmies

In an interview with PA Sangma who ran for President last year, this is what KaranThapar said to him:

“Mr Sangma, even if you look at the BJP, who you said a moment ago had increased their support for you to 26-28 per cent, are using you… as a stepping stone over the bridge to Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik. Mr Sangma you are a tool. You are a part of a strategy that supports their convenience. That’s why they are supporting you, not because they believe in you”.

Imagine, someone calling a presidential candidate a “tool”. Ever since that day I have nicknamed KT “The Tool”. KaranTool (KT) is the son of late General PN Thapar under whom India lost the 1962 war to China after which he resigned in disgrace. Naturally, that makes KT an expert in how the Army lives and conducts itself. So after Narendra Modi’s speech to ex-servicemen in Rewari (Haryana) on September 15 KT has a load of advice for him in “Lessons the Army can teach Mr Modi”. Where does he write it? Of course, in one of the members of the Unholy Trinity called Hindustan Times. Fair enough! We can all learn lessons from the Army. It always amazes how the soldiers’ legs are exactly in alignment in a march-past, how when they hold the rifles they’re aligned too. When they stand in rows or columns, the space between two soldiers is almost exactly the same. These are routines that come with a lot of training and practice. The soldiers help each other in getting these routines right. Okay! So when KT writes balderdash, who endorses him and seeks “action” not “abuse”? This guy Ram Guha, the “eminent distortian”! Here’s what Guha tweeted:

Alright Guha, what action do you want against some stupid analogy that KT draws because Modi addressed an ex-military crowd? Oh by the way, I wonder if Guha thinks calling a presidential candidate a “tool” is action or abuse. Let him ponder. So one writes crap the other endorses by scratching his back. Guha and KT are like two random hearts that fell in love with each other because they hate Modi. So what does KT really have to say? I’ll just pick a few samples and that will tell you the general idea of his whole article.

Regiments of the Indian Army, depending on their character, have their own mandirs, masjids, gurudwaras or churches. They have regimental maulvis, pandits, granthis, and priests. The Commanding Officer participates in all religious festivals. On Eid he will happily wear a topi. On other occasions a tikka or a pagri… An article in Daily Bhaskar.com (16/9) says: “(The) Army is the only place where you can see a maulvi conducting the proceedings of Janmashtami as Panditji was on leave.”… The truth is you can serve in the Army for years without being conscious of the religion of your colleagues. It simply doesn’t matter except in their private lives… Fortunately, Mr Modi has realised the Indian Army is the country’s most secular institution. In fact, he wants us to “take lessons in secularism from the Army”. Perhaps he should be the first.

Those are excerpts and anyone wanting to read the full crap should visit the HT page. While claiming to be “public intellectuals” (As Cacafonix fondly describes them) these guys don’t pause to look inside and think for a moment. KT probably wrote the article before the Nairobi massacre where the terrorists killed 39 and injured another 200. They were kind. They first asked all Muslims to leave. The Mail even reports: “Charles Karani, 41, an IT engineer, said: ‘I hid under a car with my daughters, and I saw the men line up maybe 40 people and ask them who was Muslim, and if they were to prove it by saying the name of the Prophet’s mother. Those who got it wrong were shot”.

Most of us have been to school. Kids wear the same uniforms, attend the same classes and learn the same lessons. People from different religions work in the same office and share the company’s mission. If a group of Indians were to travel on a ship with other nationals and it were to sink, who do you think the strong Indians will save first? Would they ask whether you are Hindu, Muslim or Christian? This is what morons like KT and Guha don’t get. That when you travel the same journey and share the same mission, religions and prejudices tend to take a back-seat. This is even more so when one is in the Army and is trained to combat enemies of the state. Imagine a Hindu and Muslim playing in the Indian cricket team. The Hindu is not going to say “I won’t take the catch off that bowler because he is Muslim” and vice-versa. Whether it’s a sinking ship, an office, a school, a cricket team or the Army, the members have a “shared cause” and they live and operate in a very controlled or mission-oriented atmosphere. That is not true for society at large.

The politicians and the political party these two guys so lovingly support and the news media have divided the nation so much that Indians as a whole DO NOT share many causes. These may be political, economic or social causes. When laws are made based on religion and caste the shared mission is eroded. When crimes of one community is overlooked, the shared mission is eroded. When SoniaG and MMS visit only Muslim victims of communal riots, the shared mission is eroded. The Army’s shared mission is fortunately not eroded so far but the politicians and media are working hard at it. The Army doesn’t have separate rules for Hindus or Muslims. It doesn’t even disclose the religion-wise composition of its members although one govt Committee did make an attempt to “sickularise” the army too. They wear the same uniform. They become one. They aren’t constantly bothered whether someone wears a skull-cap, tilak or a pagdi. The politicians and media will constantly bother and remind you of who wore a skull-cap and who didn’t and make it a national issue. That’s how stupid KT and Guha are. They have a very poor understanding of “structured organisations” with a uniform “mission”.

Society thrives in identities and prejudices; religion, colour, caste, creed, race, sexual-orientation. You won’t find KT or Guha complaining about ads for fairness creams, would you? It’s a reality only fools will deny. Narendra Modi didn’t create these. The best that Modi has done to combat this is “Sabka Vikas” and “India First”. On his stupid shows KT still sounds like “Pakistan First” and in an interview Madhu Trehan asked him why he was being seen as a “Paki agent”. KT may deny, but who created that perception? People? Or was it Modi?

The most classic line you will hear is that “Justice is blind”. Let me expand that line: “In this courtroom... justice is blind in matters of race, creed, colour, religion or sexual-orientation”. I love great lines from movies as most of us do (Video: 2.10 mins):

That’s a scene from the famous movie “Philadelphia” where Tom Hanks is sacked because he has AIDS. I wonder if KT or Guha would like to work with someone who has AIDS. I wonder if they would like to work with people not buying their vicious ideology while calling others “abusive”. The answer to the judge by Denzel Washington is simply stunning:

“With all due respects your Honour, we don’t live in this courtroom, do we?”

The Devil’s pygmies who pose as historians and media anchors would do well to learn that lesson. With all due respect to these Fiberals who distort and lie all the time, all of us don’t live in the Army, do we?

Narendra Modi V Proxies

In a private chat with a Muslim lady I was asked a question: “Is it possible to succeed in politics in India by ignoring the biggest minority”? My answer was a simple no. I added, though, that biggest or not, you can’t ignore anyone in politics but at the same time you have to choose if you wish to merely appease the biggest minority or help them with progress of their choice. The question from her was not merely curiosity. It was partly an assertion that appeasing the “biggest minority” is the only way to succeed in Indian politics. AB Vajpayee tried that route in 2004 and failed. When some members of the media mafia tell you that the Gujarat model will not work across India, this is exactly what they’re telling you. Why shouldn’t the Gujarat model work across India? Is there some evil curse in that model? Is that model funded by the Gambino family? Is that model importing sand from Africa and Arabia to fill the deserts of Kutch? Does the Narmada water in Sabarmati flow only under some bridges and not all?

In the 2008 election campaign Sarah Palin was asked in an interview about her views on the “Bush Doctrine”. Palin, who is as learned a scholar as our Rahul Gandhi or Sagarika Ghose, paused for a few moments and then asked “which part of the Bush Doctrine”? When our media morons refer to the Gujarat model they are asking a similar question. You see, there is no such thing as the Bush doctrine. It’s a name given by the US media to set of foreign policy principles of George Bush such as “you are with us or against us”. But instead of acknowledging her ignorance, Palin asked “which part”. The Gujarat model is something similar. It has not even been defined in any manner whatsoever by anyone. Basically, when our MSM refers to this model, the real question they’re asking is: Can Narendra Modi succeed without appeasing Muslims? Narendra Modi’s unnamed doctrine is “Justice for all and appeasement of none; minimum govt, maximum governance”. As simple as that! Now, if the Gujarat model is being referred to so frequently, what exactly are its elements? It’s simply, good governance, good infrastructure, good power supply, empowerment and jobs instead of subsidies and doles and so on. Now, why should such a model not work anywhere in the world, let alone India? How far the model is successful is determined by the electorate, as they have done over and over again in Gujarat.

What the pundits and the media mafia are pointing out is that unless Narendra Modi does what the Congress, SP, JDU, or BSP do, it’s not possible to succeed at the centre. They’re only avoiding adding massive scams and corruption to the list. And that he must also give free TVs, washing machines, laptops and tablets to succeed at the centre. Does the MSM mafia really give a damn about Muslims or Dalits or anyone at all? Laugh till you drop! They don’t! What worries them is that the Gujarat model also does not include appeasement of their mafia. It does not include huge doles in many forms that our media currently gets from the centre. It may also not include frivolous awards and honours. Modi may not celebrate the births and deaths of all his ancestors with full page ads and TV ads. Modi may not facilitate dubious sources and hawala funding of this mafia. This is what bothers them. Otherwise, if the Gujarat model is meant to signify development and growth there is no reason why the model shouldn’t work anywhere. The only difference will be the local natural resources and available skills. Even in that respect Gujarat is hardly a state that is blessed with great natural resources. And one of the most important elements of the Gujarat model is that it also, to some extent, delivers freedom from the nuisance of govt. So why complain about all this? Because Narendra Modi challenges the existing order of the establishment; an order under which some media mafia members have become extraordinarily wealthy and influential. The thought of losing this power bothers them.

So the entire clan of media celebs with their also-ran columnists, historians, propagandists, bimbos, acrobats, tin soldiers, carpenters, masons, rat-catchers, lion-tamers, snake-charmers, grave-diggers, scavengers, snake-oil salesmen are now once again busy trashing Narendra Modi. Keshubhai Patel famously said “there is fear in Gujarat” and lost. It’s fair to now say “there’s fear in Delhi and the Delhi media mafia”. The first episode had started with, of all things, a speech by Narendra Modi to students of Shri Ram College in Delhi on February 6 and then his meeting with EU representatives. So let’s see what burned our media folks.

A good place to start is always with some tools. So let’s start with the Karan Thapar show called “Last word”. It’s in line with the studio-created battle that’s lately going on at every channel. If after so many years in media KT has to ask a stupid question like “Rahul V Modi: Who is a better leader?” then you know how many years KT has wasted and learnt nothing. The awful truth is that lately Modi’s stocks are going up and RahulG’s stocks have been plummeting. This has been rattling our media folks for quite some time and they have, naturally, tied themselves into a knot over this. What is at stake is their own future, not that of RahulG. Now KT’s opener is from Ashok Bhattacharya (AB) who is the editor of Business Standard. Must be a very educated guy, right? So despite knowing the topic he lands up on the show as a very indecisive “leader” of a newspaper. When you’re given only two options, the obvious task assigned is that you weigh both and make a choice. But our editor from Business Standard does neither.

Here’s what AB shoots: “As a short answer to it – it’s neither of them… Can’t measure Modi only by economic performance and RahulG is a commodity who has not been tried. He has not done much, he has not said much. He is like an absentee landlord… had the opportunity of doing things but he kept aloof from action”. Now, a person describes RahulG like that and admits Modi has economic performance behind him. What does logic suggest a choice should be? And yet AB says “neither”. It should be obvious that this guy who’s an editor doesn’t seem to make sensible or logical choices. To him RahulG is clearly a non-performer but Modi? Oops! The only reason for not choosing Modi is pretty obvious isn’t it? So why do TV channels even call such indecisive people? Well, they need to balance the nonsense by saying “no to Modi” even when the reasons to choose him over RahulG are compelling and clear. If our Air-force is to go into dogfights in the air and AB is asked to choose between an experienced Top Gun and a rookie; guess which he will choose? Neither eh? Not surprisingly, AB is the one who used some bogus statistics on Gujarat’s economic growth in May 2012 and had to correct it within 24 hours when Tweeple pointed it out to him. That’s a long story.

We have to see Narendra Modi’s growing stature in light of the “larger picture”, right? And who else sees the larger picture better than flaky Nidhi Razdan of NDTV (Is Modi's international acceptance growing? February 7)! In one of the most idiotic discussions on NDTV, among the many things that Nidhi came up with was and I quote the essence of her statement: “Modi now talks about development and governance and not about temples”. Oh really? As far as I know Modi has always talked about development and governance no matter how one may measure him on that count. But temples? The temple comment is obviously being made with a few mentioning Ayodhya and Ram Mandir at the Kumbh Mela. But when has Modi ever waded into the Ayodhya issue since he became CM of Gujarat? This is not to suggest that he is not in favour of the temple but he hasn’t been vociferously campaigning for it. Fact: Under Modi many Hindu temples that were built illegally on encroached public land in Gandhinagar were demolished in October 2008. Yeah, 80 temples were fully or partly demolished (read TOI report). Now, is that consistent with his policy of “no appeasement” and not allowing illegal constructions? Can Congress or some of the parties I named earlier take similar action against illegal Muslim structures? So that’s another load of rubbish that Nidhi and her channel churned out. NDTV is consistent in their garbage.

Then it seems Narendra Modi forcibly invited himself to a lunch with representatives of the EU. He had a meeting with them in Delhi and as their “guest” he was the one who hosted a lunch for them. How nice! The guest hosts the lunch. After UK the media’s worst fears came true. The EU has more or less removed the boycott of Narendra Modi and Gujarat and may be doing business with the state. UK? Doesn’t matter! EU? Doesn’t matter! The media now claims the US has still not lifted its so-called ban on Modi. When the US too falls, the media can always claim that Jupiter has still has a ban on Modi. So Arnab The Apologist predictably started screaming and asking if Modi had apologised to the EU for 2002 on TimesNow. And that stirred a whole lot of dormant “apology-seekers” into action. There was Rajdeep Sardesai who is the default Minister of Apologies for 2002.

After the meeting the only statement EU ambassador Joao Cravinho made about 2002 was that “We were pleased that he was able to tell us that because of a number of changes that he has introduced that such events could not be repeated in 2013”. Any CM would naturally assure anyone that riots would not happen again. Where does it say anything about an apology? Besides, Modi has proved in the past 11 years that there have been no riots and it’s enough proof of his commitment. What the cottage industry built from 2002 want is that Modi should somehow apologise despite petitions against him and a massive industry of scavengers wanting to hang him as guilty over the riots. Sorry, not happening. And Modi will say and do what is right and not what these proxies of the Congress party, like Javed Akhtar, want him to do.

Then there are the likes of Ramachandra Guha. I call him an “Eminent Distortian” even if he parades as a historian. This guy is not a Modi critic; he’s a Modi-hater. He and Aakar Patel would make a lovely couple. He even uses a heavy dose of lies and distortions to vent his hate. In 2011 when this guy visited Ahmedabad he could write about nothing but sign-boards that said “Mahatma Mandir”. That is how stupid the man is. He couldn’t see Ahmedabad, he couldn’t see roads, he couldn’t see the 24X7 power supply and he couldn’t see Gujaratis and other people living in the city. All he could see was one sign-board and he wrote a whole school-boy essay about it. And he continues with more lies about Modi in his latest distortion titled “The man who would rule India” in The Hindu (February 8). Fear seems to have groped Guha all over. He misleads the public by claiming Modi had banned the movie “Fanaa” and other one called “Parzania”. This is not a mere distortion but outright lie. Although the movies faced protests there was no ban whatsoever. Mr. Goofer doesn’t care about facts; he is one of those historians who has a license to lie like many other of his gang. SandeepWeb (Guha Gargles Goo Again – February 9) has called his bluffs for the 50th time. That’s a Golden Jubilee of lies, distortions and bluffs. 

Is there anyone else? Sure, the woman who passes as the Social Genius and the biggest Modi-hater of all is so burned with Modi’s rising stocks that she couldn’t help ending up in a massive orgasm of hate. In my previous post I had explained her moronery on legal issues. Now she demonstrates her moronery on Modi. In what I count as hate-write titled “Modi’s ‘strongman’ image echoes an Indira Gandhi era” on Firstpost, Sagarika Ghose, the journalistic-bimbo vents her mindless rant over everything connected to Modi. She says “Anyone on Twitter or Facebook who dares to voice a single word of criticism against their ‘Beloved Leader’ is vilified for days as a “Congress agent”. Isn’t that written like a victim? Come to think of it, it’s not those who speak against Modi but those who speak in his favour that have been vilified by both the Congress and the MSM, including Rajdeep and his Dubiousy Editor Sagarika. Amitabh Bachchan, Ghulam Vastanvi, Anna Hazare and many more have been vilified by the media. Some have been forced to withdraw their favourable comments on Modi. Ghulam Vastanvi lost his job because of his favourable comments. Madhu Kishwar is being targeted by Congress supporters and the MSM for her change of views on Modi. And idiots like Sagarika are worried about Twitter and Facebook? And Modi is like Indira? That’s the depth to which a Modi-hater has fallen.

Indira Gandhi hated freedom in business and in any form. Modi is the exact opposite. IndiraG cemented the policy of appeasement and votebank. Modi is the opposite. IndiraG was unchallenged in the Congress as President or PM. Modi is neither president of his party nor an unchallenged PM candidate of his party. That is enough said. Only immature bimbos can equate Modi to IndiraG. The Macaulay Putras and Putris who live on the crumbs of the legacy of Nehru and Indira Gandhi cannot stomach that a home-grown desi like Narendra Modi has come to centre-stage in such a dramatic fashion. What they are unable to fathom is that the guy who they thought they had successfully buried post 2002 has risen beyond their comprehension. He has outsmarted, outwitted them and played his own game and never bothered what these idiots say.

So whether it is Rahul Gandhi or Renuka Chaudhury who is the PM candidate for Congress they aren’t the ones who are really fighting a battle. It’s only their foot soldiers, cronies and poodles in the media who are currently fighting the battle. Modi doesn’t feed them crumbs. These are the proxies who are scared of Modi. Very very scared! That’s the only reason they hate the Gujarat Model. It wouldn’t exactly have been surprising if the Congress had put out a ‘disclaimer’ stating the hanging of Afzal Guru has nothing to do with the rise of Narendra Modi. Maybe members of the media mafia need to put out such a disclaimer too, just to hide and camouflage their being proxies of the Congress.

Like Rats Fighting A Plague

Media introspection! Self-introspection! This is what Rajdeep Sardesai screamed for the 2016th time on his show on October 25. Here’s what I wrote in the post “Confederation of Indian Agitators”. It was an attempt at a sarcastic look into some NGO operations: “In case you haven't heard, over the last decade or so there are many NGOs created whose job is to just channel funds. They are NGO “fund raisers”. Some are even supported by banks. They collect funds from Indians, NRIs and others and channel those funds to the NGOs of the choice of the donor. Their earnings come from commissions from the funds donated.”.

Last night on Karan (The Tool) Thapar’s show on CNN-IBN they were discussing the conviction of Rajat Gupta for insider trading. Most of our media members are in deep shock over the conviction of such a “good man”. The Social Genius even tweeted she had met him once and he spoke “perfect Bengali” (Mr President, take that warning!). The judge who convicted Gupta told him there are many good men in history who have committed bad deeds. Naturally, during the Tool’s show Ramalinga Raju and his good deeds came up for discussion. Sanjay Baru, former media advisor to PM, mentioned all of Raju’s good deeds. No, he wasn’t defending Raju in any way. None mentioned the difference that Raju is still being “tried” while Gupta’s trial is over and he’s been sentenced. In some part of the democratic world, crimes do get punished and fairly swiftly. In India we should trust Beni Prasad Verma who laughed that Salman Khurshid could even be involved in a scam of 76 lakhs. Yeah, even petty NGOs do better than that.

This here is the pic of the website of Quadriga Art. The site claims it’s a “global leader in direct marketing and creative services.  We offer nonprofit organizations, fundraising agencies and commercial brands innovative direct marketing campaign solutions that produce extraordinary results. For more than seventy years, Quadriga Art has helped value-driven clients raise money and create connections”. So you see, as the first para says, this fund-raising broker thing is becoming fairly common in India too. But here’s the surprise as Anderson Cooper reported in a series of NGO frauds that had some connection to Quadriga:

“But here's the problem: Not one dime has gone directly to help disabled veterans. Instead, CNN's Drew Griffin discovered the charity sends free stuff to veterans groups - stuff they say they didn't ask for and don't need. We're talking about thousands of bags of coconut M&Ms, bulk shipments of chef's aprons and military dress shoes. The veterans groups have had to sell the items to raise money so they could buy items vets actually do need. So, where did the nearly $56 million donated by Americans go? Griffin followed the money trail to a company called Quadriga Art, a company that specializes in fundraising. Quadriga Art and its subsidiaries have more than 500 charities on their client list, including DVNF. A source who had first-hand dealings with Quadriga tells us it’s the "financial equivalent of heroin addiction for charities".

Now, the list of NGO frauds that Cooper covered in his series on AC360 is too long to cover in a single post. Just search for “AC360 Charity fund frauds” and you will likely run into a coal mine. No, this coal isn’t in mother earth. What should trouble us is the number of NGOs in India who are similarly receiving a lot of funds but nobody knows where these funds are really going. The US Senate has launched an inquiry into the NGO fraud mess. In sharp contrast some of these Indian NGO operators are celebrated TV panellists, have received Padma Shri awards and some individuals are even on govt bodies. One such person is Binayak Sen who is a ‘convict’ but is on the Planning Commission. Mine is not to wonder if he is really guilty or not. But fact is he has been convicted and his conviction is under appeal. Even before he is cleared by courts the GOI puts him on the Planning Commission. I guess, considering his brilliance, Rajat Gupta too would be welcomed on the Planning Commission by the GOI.

Following the Thapar show Rajdeep Sardesai, the Monk, followed as usual. Following the Jindal-Zee extortion spat he had the same topic on his mind again: “Media introspection”. Following a series of introspections viewers will be convinced nothing will change. Rajdeep’s whole show can be summed up in one sentence of Justice Katju: “You want everybody to be regulated except yourself.. You are what? Lords and Gods”? Following another slap from Katju, Rajdeep will learn nothing. Following…. Never mind! If there was ever true and honest introspection, the news media would have wondered about many panellists they get on their shows that are dubious. Since we are on NGOs, let’s talk about Teesta Setalvad.

The most outrageous decoration ever has to be that of Teesta Setalvad. According to reports she is on ‘anticipatory bail’. Time and again the funding of her NGO, her fake affidavits and complaints from her own colleagues have been reported. In yet another damning report this is what The Pioneer carried today:

“The FCRA permission granted on November 21, 2007 to CJP by the Ministry of Home Affairs mentioned that “The bank account mentioned in your application should be used for receiving foreign contribution and no other amount should be credited to this account”. However, a local donation of Rs 10 Lakh, received from The Chatwal Groups by cheque no376284 dated 26/02/09, was deposited by CJP in this FCRA account… These were in clear violation of condition mentioned in the FCRA registration”. Huh? The Chatwal group? Oh, like Teesta got Padma Shri I recall somebody from The Chatwal Group was also awarded Padma Bhushan despite wide protests. Do read the full report in The Pioneer for the amazing transfer, handling and misuse of funds reported in Teesta’s NGO.

If newspapers are repeatedly carrying so many reports on wrong doings of Teesta how is it that she is such a favourite panellist with our TV channels? It doesn’t stop there. She not only gets a Padma award, she gets to be on Sonia Gandhi’s NAC. This is like a private club that drafts laws for the nation. Rajat Gupta must be regretting his misdeeds weren’t in India. He could have been making laws here. A convict on the Planning Commission, a tainted NGO operator in the NAC! What’s the message to ordinary citizens? Crime Pays? That’s not all Teesta is also on the govt’s Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE). This is a body under the HRD ministry that influences decisions on education in India. No wonder many people joke that we might as well have Ajmal Kasab teaching marketing tactics in business schools.

The serious question is about the Coalgate issue being totally buried in the media. If Zee had, as alleged, blackmailed Naveen Jindal to the tune of 100 crores for silence why are the other channels silent on Jindal and Coalgate? Why shouldn’t one suspect that they have already been silenced through some form or the other? There is another case of payments by a steel company ISPAT to VBS (suggesting Virbhadra Singh of Congress) which has been in the news. The reports are around a page long in most sites and newspapers, including The Hindu (October 22). Buried in the report is one sentence that Rajdeep and others aren’t talking about yet. It says: “Mittal diary for 2006-2010 show routine payoffs to…. Payments to journalists for stopping negative articles and photographs are also listed in these cash accounts”. Why isn’t the media or the BEA or the PCI asking for these names? Shouldn't this raise quite an alarm in the media? Nothing!

The charade of introspection and self-regulation is as big a scam as Coalgate. Last night on Rajdeep’s show he had N. Ram as a panellist to discuss this so called “media introspection”. None of the channels has so far even vaguely reported the land grab case of N. Ram. Nothing! All the NGO representatives and business celebrities who often feature on media panels somehow turn out to be connected to some scam or wrong-doing or the other. That the media is the first line of defence for the corrupt is increasingly coming across as true. Corruption and scams are a nation-wide plague. The more one scams the more the respectability. Scams less than crores seem to have even lost respectability. The day illegal dealings and scams in the media start being punished severely I believe corruption will start diminishing in other spheres too. In the meantime, imagine a battalion of rats trying to protect you from plague.