Beware of socialism

When India won independence from Great Britain in 1947, Jawahar Lal Nehru became free India's first prime minister. He was a great admirer of Soviet Union and a confirmed Socialist. He took charge of a huge bureaucracy left behind by the British and run by Indians.

Soon, the central government controlled everything: Telephone, electricity, road transportation, police, gas, cement, sugar, rice and all essential commodities. In addition, the government controlled auto manufacturing, steel industry and all other essential industries. All import was stopped in the name of encouraging local manufacturing.

The massive bureaucracy managed all these businesses, and was given unlimited authority to issue or deny permits to private entrepreneurs. The result was unbridled corruption. Bureaucrats began to extort bribes to provide even minor services such as issuing license to drive a car or even a motorcycle. Even to buy a car or a motorcycle, one had to bribe officials. To get permit for cement, sugar, cooking gas, rice, one had to go through a "broker" who extorted huge bribes. Bribes collected went all the way to the top including corrupt politicians who protected bureaucrats.

There was no legal recourse as courts were already flooded with thousands of unresolved cases and were also corrupt. The entire government became a fine-tuned corrupt machinery to squeeze bribes from even poor people. This culture of corruption pervades every aspects of life in India to this day even though more recently the government has become slightly more capitalistic.

K.P.S. KAMATH, Cape Girardeau