The republic's tree of life

President Pratibha Patil might have meant well by using her Republic Day address to warn reformers not to shake the tree of state so hard in their drive to remove bad fruit that the tree itself is brought down but behind her arboreal metaphor lie contentious assumptions and unacceptable insinuations about the civil society movement against corruption. Nobody can disagree with the idea that India's democratic system must be safeguarded while introducing reforms in its political institutions such as a strong and effective Lokpal. Corruption in India, however, is much more than a case of some bad fruit.

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