India, Oct. 29 -- India, celebrated for its relentless growth, its rising GDP, its swelling demographic dividend of over 140 crore people, offers an impressive feat of numbers and optimism, served with some inconvenient truths. A country as diverse, managing with wealth inequality, yet working hard on lifting its poor with targeted welfare schemes and giving them a chance of dignity.

But if there is one adversary we consistently fail to conquer, it is corruption - so deeply rooted in governance that our attempts at change are stuck in a loop, returning only familiar disappointment. Take the Lokpal, our designated guardian against corruption. What makes headlines? Not convictions, but an open tender inviting bids for BMWs worth '70 lakh e...