Beyond cash-on-camera scam: The return of feudalism

His arrogance has only two conceivable sources. One is his status as the former ruler of a small Rajput princely state in a predominantly tribal, and desperately poor, state.

The second is generous support from the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership after The Sunday Express published an expose of a "sting" operation in which he took a bribe to help a company with mining contracts.

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The feudal background is all-important. The culture of India's princelings is inseparable from their subordinates' slavish ji-huzoori. (The rajas were equally slavish towards the British who upgraded many to high positions from mere robbers.)

Central to this culture is infallibility. The prince can do no wrong -- not even when he accepts bribes for a dirty cause.

Mr Judev thinks he's infallible. When confronted with evidence of bribe-taking, he first dismissed it as a concoction. His second response was that even Mahatma Gandhi took donations!

Mr Judev rationalises this by citing Hindutva and ghar-wapsi (re-converting Adivasis from Christianity). He has created an insane level of hype about Christianity in Chhattisgarh. But only 1.8 percent of its population is Christian. And most Adivasis are ancestor-worshippers or animists, not Hindus.

There is a huge difference between Gandhiji using Jamnalal Bajaj's donations to promote national liberation, and Mr Judev stealthily taking a bribe, or raising Parliament questionsthe only ones he ever asked -- at the behest of predatory mining interests out to violate Adivasi rights.

Yet, the BJP defended Mr Judev to the hilt. It levelled preposterous charges about the sting operation, attributing it to Mr Ajit Jogi's machinations. Following it, even the CBI made selective leaks against Mr Jogi.

Mr Jogi may have played foul. But that doesn't let Mr Judev off the hook. Nor does it justify the CBI's partisanship: its job is to investigate crime, not play political games.

The BJP's defence of Mr Judev contrasts sharply with its past treatment of its own president Bangaru Laxman, a Dalit. After Tehelka's expose, the party dropped him like a hot potato. The RSS branded him a "failed swayamsevak".

However, the BJP and RSS portray Mr Judev as the "victim" of a "Christian conspiracy", organised by "a missionary frontman". Mr Judev is a Hindutva hero, like Mr Narendra Modi, because of his involvement with the RSS's Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram.

Even Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee drew untenable distinctions between the Judev and Jogi cases, saying one is clear, the other blurred. It's only on December 16 that he called both scandals a "disgrace".

Mr Judev was rapturous on the BJP. He said: "the BJP has given me so much honour … I will even sweep the floor at 11, Ashok Road (BJP headquarters)".

Mr Judev is not the only former royal the BJP has recently honoured. Ms Vasundhara Raje was in that league. So might be Raja Bhaiyya, who ran a private empire, including his own personal prison.

True, the BJP isn't the only party which promotes a feudal culture of corruption. The Congress too has done that.

What is new are the socially retrograde forms of contemporary corruption and the growing darbari culture within numerous parties. Also important is the special role of former maharajas within the explicitly Right-wing BJP. In social conservatism, the BJP is closest to the former Swatantra Party.

Broadly, three trends are noticeable. First, a majority of our politicians have abandoned republican people-oriented politics. They see politics as a means of making money, acquiring privilege and dispensing favours. The beneficiaries of their patronage are not social groups. Rather, they are individuals within a narrow circuit of friends and relations.

Second is the emergence of criminalised business groups with vaulting political ambition. These have penetrated the topmost layers of government. They can make or break policy on telecom, oil, PSUs. These conglomerates' power is wholly unprecedented. They shamelessly use feudal connections and influence to win sweetheart deals.

Their work is lubricated by a growing neta-babu nexus. Corrupt bureaucrats are shielded by the "Single Directive" amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act, which says senior officers can only be pursued if the CBI obtains the Centre's prior approval. This gives immunity to corrupt bureaucrats. The CBI too has become an instrument of manipulation.

And third, "five-star" elitism is growing among our political class. Their lifestyles have been transformed. Ten years ago, at least three-fourths of MPs arriving at Parliament House would drive up in Ambassador cars and some even in (special) buses.

Today, a majority use swish sedans, and increasingly, Sport Utility Vehicles like the Scorpio. Soon, an even bigger fuel-guzzler, the Mitsubishi Pajero, could become our MPs' hallmark, like with feudal filthy-rich Pakistani politicians.

Similarly, at political lunches or dinners, five-star hotels cater expensive food. Mr Vajpayee has pioneered this five-star habit with his BMW car.

Under this culture of ostentation, Cabinet Ministers have recently given themselves a hefty pay rise. They will earn Rs 38,000 a month, of which only Rs 6,000 is taxable. They enjoy unlimited travel and telephone call entitlements. Their 14 personal staff alone cost Rs 3 lakhs a month. India's per capita monthly income is under Rs 2,000.

Now, MPs too have given themselves a bonanza, including higher allowances. They will get lifelong monthly pensions of Rs 3,000 if they have served even for a day. All those who were MPs during the Morarji and Charan Singh governments of 1977-1980 can now claim pension.

This defies comprehension. Like austerity, public service is a worthy value in democracy. It's absurd to reward people with pensions 20 years after they quit Parliament. This goes against democracy's spirit.

Praful Bidwai is an eminent Indian columnist.