Philanthropy in the UK continues despite the recession — and we have just experienced it in Somerset with the local population (including Alexander Evelyn, the grandson of novelist Evelyn Waugh, the author of Brideshead Revisited) raising money to fund a school in India. This week we attended a literary festival for the fundraising and came away rejoicing that we could discuss serious issues, our own books and yet be able to collect money over a great meal, great wine and even greater yoga. I was thrilled to know that in that wonderful, pastoral and fabulous part of the world, we could still think of the deprived children back in India. The event was called “Indian Summer” and was organised by the marvellously talented author and Indophile, Charles Allen (presently writing a book on Ashoka). I was simply amazed to be there, and to discuss my book. My husband spoke about the links between India and the UK — it was, indeed, a day to rejoice about long-lasting bonds. Because during dinner, looking over a fabulous estate opening up to the Welsh border, I met descendants of Lord Irwin, Lord Clive and many others still connected, almost by an umbilical chord, to a country where they feel still very much at home.
And this was the happy part. The sad part is to find (despite strong arguments from a fellow attendee Pankaj Mishra to keep the flow of aid from UK to India through agencies like DFID alive) that our idyllic respite for a nobler, higher purpose in the Somerset valley had been, perhaps, in vain. Is that money being painstakingly raised by that bunch in Somerset even needed in India? Because the India the happy philanthropists are working for, is quite busy stealing money from its poor… I have just landed in Delhi right in the middle of the Commonwealth Games scam and I wonder if there is any point collecting these small amounts of money when the Government of India appears to be throwing away crores in peculiarly foolish ways.
And then, the contrast between the two countries in dealing with a scam is quite an eye opener. When underhanded dealings are discovered in the UK, there is an enormous price to pay. People are indicted and heads roll — there is a quick investigation and even if the government is slow to act, the media is relentless. Perhaps because it is a small island, the media lands at the doorstep of the scamster and nothing is left to the imagination. In more cases than one, the investigation is often led by the media — which is independent of selective government leaks.
In India I am astonished that people are content to allow the “truth” to emerge at a convenient time — often 25 years after the event. And if the media is aggressive, it is swatted away. Similarly, now the argument is to investigate the issue after the Commonwealth Games are over. There is an amazingly cynical agenda at work: let us allow the thieves to get away because after all the glory of India is far more important than the many crores snatched away unfairly. What false pride are we interested in? Isn’t it better for the government to step in and confess that a huge mistake was made? And that they trusted the wrong people? Wouldn’t there be much more glory if, for once, India owned up that corruption exists? But instead of that we have a marvellous scenario wherein plenty of time will be given for all to escape…
But quite honestly, for those at the helm to say they had no knowledge of what was going on is, frankly, disingenuous. My husband and I were present at the so-called ceremony in the UK to hand over the Queen’s Baton at Buckingham Palace. Anyone with any experience of event management would have been perplexed at the poor organisation: the seating arrangements, the stage management, the clumsy entertainment, including “circus” type acts which included people on stilts! It had very little to do with India and even less with sports. We watched the entire programme frozen with embarrassment and then hoped that no one in the UK had noticed how bad it was.
That event alone should have been enough for an enquiry to be pushed through immediately. But there was a conspiracy of silence — and now, alas, we have no choice but to let the Games roll on. So let us blame Darbari, Kalmadi etc… but the truth is that Delhi is rife with rumours about who is involved… and who is betting that the real criminals will get away. Calls are now out for someone in the government to take responsibility, but, of course, no one ever will.

MEANWHILE, LET us look at another neighbouring country whose President is having a really tough time. In London, fierce protests broke out over Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to the UK. Sadly, MPs from the Labour Party were also instigating the violent reaction. Mr Zardari was unwelcome because firstly the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, had already slammed Pakistan for harbouring terrorists, a charge denied by the Pakistani government. Secondly, a few elements determined to derail the Pakistani President’s visit, protested that Mr Zardari should not have come to the UK because there were floods in Pakistan. The truth is somewhere in between. Mr Zardari needed to come because he is an important partner of the UK and there is a long way that both countries have to go. Even if Mr Cameron decided to speak out about Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), little harm was done as the facts are well known. However, what was shocking was the week-long protests by the Brit-Asians of Pakistani origin. Does this mean that those of Pakistani origin in the UK had no idea of the role of the ISI, or did they simply decide that they will not recognise it?
I can see that there is a common approach between the denial of the Pakistani community in the UK over Mr Cameron’s remarks and that of the United Progressive Alliance over the scams in the Commonwealth Games… sometimes we desperately hope that the wearing of blinkers will make the problem disappear.

MEANWHILE, A word of support for the newly-launched “Boris bikes” in London. The cycling Mayor of the city, Boris Johnson, is trying to inveigle us onto bikes by making them available to us at strategic points all over London. You can hire them for an hourly price and dock them in post-journey. A lovely idea which one wishes could be emulated in Delhi to get rid of the frequent traffic jams. But could such a scheme survive scams and monsoon floods? Unlikely.

The writer can be contacted at kishwardesai@yahoo.com