Rule of Law in Rural India
Two news items, which tell volumes about the rule of law in rural India, caught my attention during this week.  The first one was a report in Business Standard about rural credit cards.  This was a sample validation of the scheme which has seen issue of 66 million Kisan Credit cards by banks ever since the scheme was launched by the government in 1999-2000 to provide credit to small and marginal farmers.  It is estimated that over Rs 10,000 crore has been disbursed through the Kisan Credit Cards in the last seven years. In a village in Chattisgarh, 13 farmers were startled to receive notices for loans worth Rs 13.80 lakh, pocketed by a local tout, who had taken their signatures under false pretexts.  If this is what can turn up in a sample survey, one can imagine the extent of the total amount siphoned off.  Even if there is no outright fraud, there may be heavy corruption, pushing up the real interest rates on the loan to the usual usurious levels.

I have come across many people who complain vociferously about the taxes the government is collecting from them.  Now, nothing being more certain than taxes and death, it does not serve much purpose.  In a country where the government will continue to play a major role to spur development and remove disparities, tax collection is going to be the main way to raise resources.  The real question is if these taxes are being spent in the right manner and if the money is creating assets for the poor which will make them self-sufficient.  One of the important mechanisms of ensuring that there are fewer leakages is to have a rule of law, when in case of a fraud being reported or corruption being noticed, the culprits can be swiftly and demonstratively brought to book.  This calls for deep and durable police reforms.

The instance, which underlines the need for promoting the rule of law, was reported from Nanded in Maharashtra, when several government officials were beaten up in presence of a police contingent.  While in this case, the policemen seem to have been outnumbered, it remains a fact that in rural areas the police machinery functions keeping the local power equations in mind and takes the path of least resistance and operating at low levels of professional competence.  This results in their losing the ability to take firm action when required suddenly and unexpectedly.  With expectations of each section of the society rising, such clashes will become more frequent and the police organisation needs to be able to remain insulated from the local political influences and give a better account of itself.  Another practical reason for pushing through some radical reforms!