THOUSANDS are today taking part in an anti-corruption protest in Delhi, the capital of India, hoping to press the government to repatriate billions of dollars that have been hidden overseas by wealthy individuals.
There are no firm figures for how much has been sent abroad by those seeking to avoid taxes or hide ill-gotten gains, but estimates range into hundreds of billions of pounds over six decades.
Baba Ramdev, a Yoga expert, and Anna Hazare, a social activist, led the demonstration in Delhi park near parliament. They are taking part in a symbolic day-long fast.
Ramdev told cheering supporters he and Hazare would hold more demonstrations in August “to bring back black money stashed abroad”.
The protests, along with a string of other high-profile scandals, have embarrassed the Indian government, especially Manmohan Singh, the prime minister.
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While Singh has long been considered an honest technocrat who brought growth by liberalising the economy, he is now facing opposition to the theory that capital gains by the country’s richest will trickle down to benefit the masses.
“All we need is a corruption-free India,” Ramdev told demonstrators, some of whom waved Indian flags or wore white cotton caps similar to his trademark headwear.
Ramdev also challenged the prime minister to review his team of ministers, saying “Your personal honesty is not enough. You have to be politically honest, too. You have to keep your cabinet honest.”
Ramdev and Hazare held several hunger strikes last year and have managed to focus national anger on the corruption that permeates Indian society.
The problem is so entrenched that bribes are routine for most government services, from registering a marriage to obtaining a driver's licence or securing a child's place in school.
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The campaigners’ demands for legislation to crack down on government corruption led to a bill that is being debated in parliament.
Speaking today, the country’s parliamentary affairs minister criticised the attacks on the prime minister's office, and cautioned the activists against undermining anti-graft agencies.
Harish Rawat said: “They have full freedom to voice concern against corruption [but] if they want to destroy the existing institutions, then the country will not accept it.”
The government released a report last month on the amount of Indian money that has been moved abroad, but gave no total estimates.
It claimed Swiss banks provide the only information on Indians holding money abroad, and that there was less than £1.3 billion in Swiss accounts in 2010. Estimates by other organisations suggest the scale of Indian tax avoidance may be much greater.
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The Institute for Global Financial Integrity in Washington says £67billion had been moved overseas by December 2011, while another study by Dev Kar, a former International Monetary Fund economist, put the figure at £138 billion.