"Foreign companies come in and everything improves"

He left a comment here two years back indicating that he was working on a story about shady land deals in Bengalooru. Scott Carney has now come up with one of the best write-ups on the land mafia in Bengalooru. It establishes a clear connection between increase in criminal activity and IT companies. Even though it only confirms what most people already suspected or knew, it also introduces us to some new MNC fans. Muthappa Rai, the well known Don is quoted as saying,

"Foreign companies come in and everything improves," he says. "I have seen this happen the whole world over. Now I'm helping make it happen here."

If only these gangsters would work on their English a bit, they could join the ranks of talking heads supporting globalisation.

Santosh Hegde is the Lok Ayukta of Karnatka.

Hegde blames the avalanche of corruption on the outsourcing boom. "Certainly IT companies contribute to the problem," he says. "They work with people who have only a shady title to the land. Then they occupy buildings that are constructed illegally, without permission from the authorities. I don't want to name specific firms, but huge companies build illegally here."

Hegde has reviewed two complaints that mention Muthappa Rai. In one case, a landowner alleged that Rai's men tried to intimidate him into selling a lot in Electronics City, a Bangalore suburb packed with IT companies. He asked the police for protection. "The officer told him that it was best to settle—an obvious case of corruption," Hegde says. "We began an investigation, and suddenly the man who filed the complaint disappeared. We had to close the case."

Now you know one reason, why lots of ordinary people in Bengalooru hate IT companies. You also must admit, at least to yourself, that a lot of us IT coolies really work for shady employers. This whole 'IT companies are cleaner' nonsense needs to be put to rest.

And some things never change; a comment on Scott's post calls him a gutter inspector. This term used by Gandhi to describe the writings of a British author who painted an unsavory picture of India at that time, has been used ad-hominem ever since by some to object to anything that is even mildly critical of India or Indians.

This story is another reminder that the slow progress of land disputes in courts is dangerous. The judicial system in it's current form is undermining democracy in a way that even all the gangsters in the country cannot. Chennai's Greenways road is where most of the justices of the High Court live. Everyday the justices leave their home and return at exactly the same time. You can set your clock based on their VIP vehicle sirens. If justice is a nine to five job, then gutter inspectors have a bright future.