2006年VOA标准英语-India's Sacred Cows Become Tool of Corruption

By Patricia Nunan
New Delhi
25 July 2006

Like many developing nations, India contends with endemic corruption².  Even the management of one of India's most enduring symbols - the cow, which Hindus consider sacred - is rife³ with corruption and fraud. The country is trying to tackle the problem with small steps, such as putting microchips in cows to make tracking them easier, and enabling Indians to obtain information on how government money is being spent.

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In a government-run shelter in India's capital, New Delhi, cows are undergoing what may seem a strange procedure, they are being forced to swallow microchips which remain permanently⁴ in one of their four stomachs. 

With the use of special scanners, municipal workers can read the numbered microchips, identifying the cows and their owners.

In India, the cow is sacred as part of the Hindu religion's story of creation. But they are also a source of currency or collateral⁵ in the society here, and being able to count and track them is vital to some businesses.

But these protected animals tend to be allowed to roam freely through Indian cities, often causing public nuisance such as traffic jams and eating garbage, which taints⁶ the milk that ends up going to market. 

Municipal authorities routinely round up the stray cows but have not been able to identify owners, who would be fined for breaking the law by letting them wander off approved grazing lands.

The microchip system is changing that.

Ashish Anand came up with the microchip idea, and his company, Everest Enterprises, is now under contract by the New Delhi government to provide tracking for cows.

"They used to put an ear-tag for identification and control, but these farms and other vested interests just used to tear the tag off of the animal.  It's like a vehicle without a number plate," he said.

One benefit to controlling cattle is cleaner milk. United Nations health experts say about 50 percent of India's milk supply is sold informally, without any processing or pasteurization. If a cow has been eating garbage, this can lead to health problems for consumers, and a subsequent drain on health services.

But cow problems go even further than that.

Farmers often use cows and other livestock⁷ as collateral for government loans and subsidies⁸. By borrowing cows from each other, the farmers can fool officials about the number of cattle they own, and obtain larger loans, which get wasted.  Anand says that type of fraud has prevented India's agricultural sector⁹ from developing.

"The amount the government has spent giving loans to farmers across the countryside to purchase animals, if those really existed, the milk production would have been doubled or tripled by now," he noted¹⁰. "Milk production has remained more or less stagnant¹¹, while the number of animals keeps increasing on paper. So that, in itself, shows the total ramifications¹² and the total volume of fraud that you're talking about. It should not be less than half a billion of dollars every year."

Manoj Dagar, 15, is one of many Indians who feels the effects of that type of fraud.  His family owns 21 dairy cows and buffalo¹³ on a farm in the village of Meerut, outside the capital.  The family is struggling to send Manoj and his brother to college.

Massive fraud has now made loans less available to farmers like the Dagars who want to expand their business. 

Dagar says if the government passes new loan schemes, if they provide us with more property and land, we could have farms like the ones in America, with 100 cows and machines to milk them. He says that if the government were to help his family, they could really increase their profit.

A related problem, analysts¹⁴ say, is that government funds intended for agricultural development sometimes end up in the pockets of corrupt¹ officials.  The World Bank estimates that 60 percent of India's population, of about one billion people, works in agriculture, while the sector only represents about 20 percent of India's gross domestic product.

So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering¹⁵ growth. But it goes far beyond agriculture and farmers.

The Indian office of the corruption watchdog, Transparency International, says Indians paid an estimated $4.8 billion in petty bribes¹⁷ in 2005, simply to receive standard services, such as utilities, health care and police protection.

About 62 percent of Indians surveyed admit to paying bribes, and 75 percent say the problem is getting worse.

That is why India recently launched a national anti-corruption campaign.  A consortium of dozens of organizations is using the campaign to publicize what many see as groundbreaking legislation: India's Right to Information Act.

The legislation, signed last year, aims to counter endemic corruption. Now, anybody can petition the independent Information Commission to investigate how public funds are being spent, or why a service has not been rendered. The new law requires that information be supplied within 30 days.

Even with the new legislation, one of the challenges will be to change the mentality¹⁸ that paying petty bribes is the easiest way to get things done.

Bhaskara Rao is with the Centre for Media Studies, an independent organization in New Delhi that promotes good governance.

"Our slogan is, instead of [paying a] bribe¹⁶, the Right to Information may work better and faster," he said.  "Even if you pay a bribe, there's no guarantee that you'll get it within 24 hours.  We need to see how much that potential will be unleashed¹⁹ in the coming months."

It may be some time before India fully²⁰ turns the corner and makes corruption the exception rather than the rule. 

But with innovations such as the microchipping of cows and the new laws on making public where government funds actually go, progress may be on the way.

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

5 collateral   

adj.平行的；旁系的；n.担保品

参考例句：

• Many people use personal assets as collateral for small business loans.很多人把个人财产用作小额商业贷款的抵押品。
• Most people here cannot borrow from banks because they lack collateral.由于拿不出东西作为抵押，这里大部分人无法从银行贷款。

6 taints   

n.变质( taint的名词复数 )；污染；玷污；丑陋或腐败的迹象v.使变质( taint的第三人称单数 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• Meat taints readily in hot weather. 天气炎热，肉容易变味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This disease of money and greed taints other people. 别人会为了贪财争赃而丧心病狂。 来自辞典例句

7 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

8 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

12 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

14 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

15 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

16 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

17 bribes   

n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• corrupt officials accepting bribes 接受贿赂的贪官污吏

18 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

19 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。