N Dilip Kumar is best suited to write a book demystifying corruption as a manifestation of evil in his book The New Age of Bakasur published by Speaking Tiger.
Dilip is a pioneer in many ways and perhaps one of most successful officers to have dealt with what he describes as the “cesspool of corruption”. He has the unique distinction of being the first Indian Police Service (IPS) officer to use a spy camera or carry out sting operations to nab corrupt government functionaries red handed, many of them were cops. As the head of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi, he had supervised 50 sting operations to catch functionaries in the act of taking bribes, not just that, he secured convictions in most of these cases. Not surprisingly, he wasn’t popular with politicians and was soon shunted out of the ACB rather unceremoniously. Later was appointed Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police in charge of the Vigilance Department. And there too made a mark, particularly exposing the police-sand mafia nexus.
A native of Andhra Pradesh, Kumar spent time in Goa, Arunachal Pradesh and in the CBI, apart from Delhi and now lives in Visakhapatnam. India Today named him one of the top 35 “Action Heros”. And is an avid writer, he has many books to his credit, some are in the pipeline and is a regular columnist with national; dailies. His talisman is simple: be true to your duty and commitment to the Constitution of India, and don’t let any extraneous consideration or personal interests sway your judgement; there will never be any confusion. His sincere, pragmatic and fairly innovative approach to solving the cases has set an example for others to follow and made him one of the most effective anti-corruption police officers I have come across.
When Arvind Kejriwal was the chief minister for the first time, N Dilip Kumar was his advisor on anti-corruption matters. He was impressed by Kejriwal's commitment against corruption, and he was the one who made the first draft of the Jan Lokpal Bill. And on his advise an FIR had been filed against Mukesh Ambani by the Delhi ACB based on a written complaint by a former cabinet secretary TSR Subramanian, lawyer Kamini Jaiswal and two others in that matter of doubling gas prices would cost the country driving at least Rs 54,500 crore every year and allow Ambani’s Reliance India Limited to make future windfall profits of Rs 120,000 crore. Kumar had prepared a detailed note recommending an FIR by the ACB, which, like the Central Bureau of Investigation, has concurrent jurisdiction in these matters.
The book lucidly shows there’s no escape from corruption, is all pervasive, from issuing of birth certificates to ration cards, driving licenses to death certificates. It remains one of the safest crimes, with little accountability. A strong and independent Lokpal and Loyayuktas in the state, he believes is imperative if India is to deal with the scourge of corruption with an element of success. All the political parties have done little in this direction.
He’s also disillusioned with Kejriwal who formed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) “that promised corruption free governance.” He writes in his book The New Age of Bakasur , “Unfortunately, Kejriwal wound up AAP’s internal Lokpal after its fanfare-filled initiation. Furthermore, he hasn’t set up an independent Lokpal in Punjab after AAP formed the government there although he has the authority to do so.”
THE NEW AGE BAKASUR Mythological tales are “a powerful tool to communicate and explain ideas”. Every story in the mythology speaks about the struggle between good and evil. “There were put together by wise men with a social conscience,” feels Dilip. Godly characters embody qualities and attributes to be emulated. While the evil characters, the demons or the rakshasas , are to be loathed. Bakasur in Mahabharat is one such evil character.
To Dilip corrupt people are manifestations of demons. In his book, he gives corruption a face. Bakasur best exemplifies a corrupt person for the demon has an insatiable desire to eat, all the time. He would wander in search of food from one village to another, eating everything given to him, and, the legend goes, would end up eating those who wouldn’t feed him. The more he was fed, the hungrier he would get. There was no stopping him. In his modern avatar, as visualised by Kumar, Bakasura the corrupt, makes for a scary picture. His double tongue signifies hypocrisy and deceit.
According to the myth, Bakasur was killed by Bheema (of the five Pandavas) in a pitched battle that lasted for days. It would require a herculean effort like Bheema’s to checkmate corruption. Alas, regrets Kumar, there is no modern world Bheema.
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